Tiger brooch

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Page 1 of the Tiger Primer

With the Tigerfibel and the panther brooch the German trod Wehrmacht in World War II, a completely new approach in the design of manuals for training with prescriptive. They were used to train crews, commanders and platoons of the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger and the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther . The Tiger Primer was issued on August 1, 1943 by the General Inspector of the Panzer Troops, Heinz Guderian , as service regulation D 656/27 . The panther primer followed on July 1, 1944 as D 655/27 .

Emergence

The very complex “Tiger” weapon system required extensive, new training documents. The lieutenant colonel and knight's cross holder Hans Christern , who was responsible for training the armored forces, commissioned his regimental comrade, Lieutenant Josef von Glatter-Götz, to prepare a leaflet. In a way, this was a stroke of luck: he was of the opinion that a large amount of very important, but quite dry subject matter can only be conveyed quickly with an appealing and humorous style. The concept convinced Christern immediately and he gave Glatter-Götz a free hand in the very unusual implementation. The language was held in military jargon and was therefore immediately well received by the tank troops in training. The graphics and the illustrations made offset printing necessary. Elsner Verlag in Berlin was commissioned with the printing.

character

Contrary to the previous and otherwise common style of presenting what was required in a matter-of-fact and dry technical prose, the style was shifted to the fibula . At that time, primers were known to everyone from their own elementary school days and were characterized by pair of rhyming verses and memorable phrases that were supplemented by simple pictures. The same pattern was used for the two military "fibulae". In addition to short, factual, colloquially formulated presentations, humorous verses dominate (" Grouchy only the gate plagues, the tiger man learns with humor "). The inevitably necessary technical drawings were supplemented by a multitude of caricature-like , funny and erotic illustrations. The fact that this type of presentation was very well received and successful can be seen in the development from the tiger primer to the panther primer. If the tiger primer was even closer to the well-known technical operating instructions and training booklets of the old type, the outer appearance of the panther primer was completely adapted to the new style. Funny verses and humorous illustrations had almost completely supplanted everything else. To further support the training, a board game printed on paper was also included. In the stick game, game figures (to be replaced in the field with cartridges or stones) had to be brought over a course marked with numbers by rolling the dice. A number of fields were marked as breakdowns or good fortune ( "You noticed the mines quickly, which reinforced the lock here. Therefore, because the bypass is successful, it is advanced to 24." ). Even the driest topics, such as the spark plug, are prepared in a stylish manner:

The most common disease is the inflammation
in the engine, it's a murder invention!
But
if he shouldn't torment himself uselessly, you have to choose the right candle.
For your panther it is well known:
The W 2 25!

As a result, Guderian even asked to approve the primer with twelve verses and put it into effect ( "... The panther primer is approved. Anyone who doesn't know it will be dealt with." ). The idea on which the concept is based is also presented in rhyme in the panther primer:

Recipe
Solid skill is a treasure
Drum it serves as a sediment here.
On top of it colorful knowledge and humor
Then it seems half as difficult to you,
mixed with a few flashes of inspiration
and important reminders,
this is how the panther punch is brewed that
everyone digests easily.

More primers in this new style

Due to the success, some later training regulations were written in the style of the tiger primer: (List not complete!)

Bundeswehr (after 1955)

The Bundeswehr followed the path taken by the panther and tiger primer at the beginning of its existence. An example of this is the security primer, which was used in the mid-1960s to raise awareness among the troops in matters of espionage , etc. Interestingly, the same illustrator appears to have been used for the humorous rule. What the above mentioned primers have in common is that they break with the old state tradition of instructing servants with a threateningly raised index finger, but instead rely on the greater memorability of funny verses in very security-sensitive questions. The actually old teaching principle ( three-three-three, at Issos brawl ) is now being incorporated into German military training regulations for the first time. Although the method was recognized not only as original, but above all as an efficient and pioneering way of imparting knowledge, the Bundeswehr abandoned this path and returned to the old-style regulations. Subsequently, however, these were illustrated more strongly than before and in some places even showed traces of boyish humor in the illustrations.

swell

  • Service regulation D 656/27, Die Tigerfibel , o. O. 1943 (Reprint: Melchior Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-941-55523-5 ).
  • Service regulation D 655/27, Panther-Fibel , o. O. 1944 (Reprint: Melchior Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-941-55539-6 ).

literature

  • Wulf-D. Brand: Tiger brooch . Teutonia publications, 1997, ISBN 0-938242-32-6 .
  • Portner, Schulz, Driftmann, Wullich: Basics of general military education . Regensburg 1977.
  • Translator: Carruthers, Bob :, PEN & SWORD BOOKS Verlag, Tiger I - Official Wartime Crew Manual: (The Tigerfibel) , ISBN 178159225X , German / English

Web links

Commons : Tiger Primer  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Egon Kleine, Volkmar Kühn: Tiger - The story of a legendary weapon . Flechsig Verlag, ISBN 978-3-88189-633-7 , p. 61.
  2. D 656/27 Tigerfibel, p. 3 Motto
  3. D 655/27 Panther Primer, game board supplement
  4. D 655/27 Panther Primer, p. 66
  5. D 655/27 Panther Primer, p. 5
  6. D 655/27 Panther Primer, p. 5
  7. Portner, Schulz, Driftmann, Wullich, Fundamentals of General Defense Education , Regensburg 1977