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A very rare and complete preserved set of two original German souvenir booklets (Erinnerungwerke) from the 1. Kompanie / Infanterie-Regiment 166. This regiment was part of the 82. Infanterie-Division. This is not a standard military logbook, but a special edition printed in a very limited run specifically for the men. A company at the time numbered around 150 to 200 men, which already made the print run of these booklets extremely small. No digital archive versions or other copies of this set are known online. An absolute one-of-a-kind for the advanced document collector. Part I (23 pages): Contains the chronicle of the company’s founding and the early campaign in the west (May/June 1940 through Belgium and France). Part II (31 pages): Contains the continuation of the company’s history up to the winter of 1941, including a printed introduction by the company commander dated Weihnachten 1941. Historical context & Dutch connection: The booklets contain a very detailed and locally historical account of this company’s stationing in the Netherlands as occupying forces during the years 1940-1941. The text mentions several specific Dutch locations: The initial billeting in the Friesland-Kazerne in Groningen (including leisure memories of Paterswoldsemeer). The move in June 1941 to the coastal region around Leiden, with quarters near the beaches of Katwijk and Noordwijk. The transfer in August 1941 to Scheveningen for coastal defense (Küstenschutzabschnitt Den Haag), where the company was put in charge of a 12-kilometer sector of the early Atlantic Wall. Unique group photo: Part II contains a full-page, sharp original group photo of the entire company, posed in front of the historic Morspoort in Leiden on 28 November 1941. Unique roster with continuous wartime and postwar administration ("Wo bist Du, Kamerad?"): At the back of both Part I and Part II is the complete printed roster with the ranks and home addresses of all officers and men of the company (mainly from Remscheid and the Ruhr area). What makes this specific set museum-worthy are the extensive handwritten changes in pencil and ink. Over the years, this set served as an active 'living' document bridging two historical phases: During the war (1942-1945): As the company was sent from its stay in the Netherlands to the Eastern Front in Russia, the roster was kept up to date by hand to record which comrades were killed (marked with an ink cross +) or went missing ("verm."). A striking example is Schütze Johann Horper, who was already entered as an early loss note on 26-09-1940. After the war: The set was preserved after 1945 by a survivor or veterans' association. At the time, postwar address changes and early West German phone numbers (such as Tel. 28482) were systematically added by hand to keep in touch with the survivors (many of whom are marked with a tick). This makes the set a unique, continuous administrative file that meticulously documents the fate of these men from 1940 well into the postwar years. Condition: In neat, complete condition. Given the fragile wartime paper, both...

Brand: Rurfront Militaria

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