Hi!
Could somebody identify this unit (see photo)please?
I've found this picture among a lot of others concerning my hometown Linz-Ebelsberg (Upper Austria). Is it possible that this are guarding(?)-troops of the local ammunition depot "Marinelager" run by "Marinewerft Kiel" for the "Donauflottille"?
I can't make out the badge on the hat - too fuzzy - but the arm patch looks similar to the Reichs Arbeits Dienst - the labor corps. Maybe someone else can be more specific.
Thank you Gespenst!
I also thought of RAD but I was confused by their uniforms which look very similar to the Wehrmacht.
After some google-research I'm sure it is the Arbeitsdienst. Sorry for spamming the forum.
never truely a "stupid" or dumb question,.............just lots of ignorant people out there, who wouldnt be able to understand the "truth"!
what you've got, are photos from a RAD unit, unit number 314, or 316, 5th group/company. they were set up in districts, there are books out there, that go into detail where each of the camps were, etc.
it was manditory, to join the RAD, when you graduated high school, or turned 18, sometimes 17. you were supposed to serve for 6 months, before you joined the military. you learned how to march, drill, become one with the land,...........and, of course,.............the most obvious,........you had to live in a barracks, with lots of other people, and get ready for living in a military barracks in the near future. you learned how to do things in small groups, move logs, build roads, harvest crops, etc.
the guy who's photo you have here, is a RAD (reichs arbeits dienst, or labor service) officer. he has a golden party badge, which means he was a dues paying member, for 10 consecutive years, and was one of the first 100,000 members.
hope that helps ya!
if you post, or send me some more of the pictures, i might be able to tell you some more.
happy collecting!!
I am interested in buying / trading for photo albums, photo groupings, diaries, feldpost groupings,etc, from any country in the world, any army/navy, etc, mostly 20th century!!
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