War diary
A war diary (KTB) has been an officially or unofficially kept record of the events of different days within a war since the middle of the 19th century .
historical development
The oldest German-language war diary is considered to be the sketchbook of the Saxon mercenary and master bridge builder Paul Dolnstein , who took part in the Danish-Swedish War (1501–1512) on the Danish side around 1500 . In addition to 19 pen drawings, it also contains reports on his experiences as a mercenary . Since the formation of standing armies in the German states in the 17th century, it was customary to keep password books in which the orders of various command levels were recorded for service use in addition to the daily password. Sometimes individual officers, often adjutants , kept diaries on their own initiative or on behalf of their immediate superiors of the military events in which their units or troops were involved.
On April 22nd, 1850, the Prussian Minister of War issued the regulation on the diaries to be kept in war by the higher troop commanders and independent units . From that time on, from the day of mobilization, all command authorities, units, and independent units and agencies had to keep a war diary on a daily basis. All essential military actions, changes of location, important reports and orders, personnel and material losses, transfers etc. had to be entered. The annexes to the war diary were of particular importance. At first they mainly contained reports on combat operations, outpost lineups and the like. Ä., later also various activity reports, statements, maps and sketches. This handling remained essentially unchanged with all the modifying provisions on the keeping of war diaries (August 17, 1870, June 18, 1895, June 19, 1916, April 23, 1940).
In the 19th century, the type of depiction in the war diary was largely optional, but over the course of time, sometimes practiced in maneuvers, binding forms emerged.
During the Second World War, the war diary and its annexes contained the essential documents of the relevant command authority and its staffs (e.g. the Wehrmacht command staff), the troop units, etc. and partly reflected their activities in detail. The Army High Command issued an Order in World War II Provisions on war diaries and activity reports, was described in detail in those who had to carry out certain entries to what extent.
Official war diaries based on current practice
Official war diaries are now written evidence of the activities and measures taken by commandos , authorities and agencies during war (on special occasions also in times of peace). They serve to collect and evaluate experiences.
An official war diary consists of several volumes, each volume covering a quarter of the year. In addition to an organizational plan, the war diary also contains a detailed description of the events in the form of reports or notes with activity and situation reports, as well as corresponding attachments (e.g. situation maps with precise times, reports on special incidents, war rankings, lists of casualties , circulars, etc.) .
As an alternative to the war diary, so-called activity reports can be drawn up.
In the Bundeswehr , the war diary is kept by specially trained soldiers who attend a course for this purpose. Usually the war diary keeper is part-time, the task is an integral part of a job description, e.g. B. S3 Sergeant in a battalion .
Unofficial War Diaries
Unofficial war diaries are records of private persons (mostly soldiers) about their daily experiences and experiences during a war. There are no regulations for the writing person for the structure and content of the diary .
In many cases, for reasons of confidentiality, it was strictly forbidden for unauthorized persons to keep private diary notes from which conclusions could be drawn about the course of military actions.
War diaries were already published during the First World War and then in the Weimar Republic. The best known and always reissued is Ernst Jüngers In Stahlgewittern . There are also new releases from recent times, such as B.
- Karl Ludwig Hampe : War Diary 1914–1919 , Munich 2004.
- Peter Fischer: Today I am fed up to my neck - The war diary of the Edesheim winemaker Adam Bourdy , Ludwigshafen 2006.
- Uwe Deißler: Side notes - a hundred men and one order. As a professional soldier in Afghanistan, as a person at home - A diary of two worlds , Isny 2008.
- Dr. Heinz Kolz: Home shot - diary of the young infantry soldier Albert Kolz , Bad Kreuznach 2016, ISBN 978-3-945676-23-3
Archives and collections
Many of the surviving war diaries from the Second World War are archived in the Federal Archives-Military Archives (BArch-MA) in Freiburg im Breisgau. The holdings of the German National Library (DNB) also contain numerous publications of war diaries. They are important sources of military science and military history work.
swell
- Dictionary of German military history. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic VEB, Berlin 1985.
Web links
- UK National Archives Source Online Edition : Operation War Diary . 2014. (War diaries of commanding officers in the First World War; English homepage; initially 2000 TB will be published)
- Source online editions of the Library for Contemporary History (Stuttgart)
- List of German war diaries of the submarine war
literature
- Anne Boden (Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena): Mediated Authenticity: World War II diaries as media of war memory in East and West Germany 1949-1989 (2009)
Footnotes
- ^ P. Rainer Rudolf SDS: Dolnstein, Paul. In: Burghart Wachinger et al. (Hrsg.): The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . 2nd, completely revised edition, Volume 2 ( Comitis, Gerhard - Gerstenberg, Wigand ). De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1980, ISBN 3-11-007264-5 , Col. 183 f.