German WWII Wehrpass Military Identification Document, Heer

A German armed forces service pass (Wehrpass) with a grey printed cover bearing the national eagle and swastika emblem above the title "Wehrpass" and the red-stamped branch designation "Heer". The opened personal data pages identify the holder as Ernst Adolf Heinrich Otto Dittmar, born 15 April 1896 in Nettelnburg, district Winsen/Luneburg, listed with the occupation of farmer, alongside a photograph of the holder and his signature. Personal details continue with information on his parents, Otto Dittmar and Wilhelmine Dittmar, and various official stamps appear across the pages.

The Wehrpass was the standard German military service record book issued to soldiers of the Wehrmacht, documenting personal data, service history, unit assignments, and campaigns, and serves as a key genealogical and historical record for individual servicemen of the period.

The Wehrpass was introduced following the reintroduction of conscription in Germany in 1935, replacing earlier Reichswehr documentation and serving as the lifelong military record for men liable for service in the Heer, Kriegsmarine, or Luftwaffe. It recorded pre-military training, physical fitness assessments, unit postings, promotions, and campaign participation, distinguishing it from the Soldbuch, which functioned as a soldier's active-duty paybook and identification carried on the person. Given the holder's birth year of 1896, he would likely have been of an age to have seen service or registration during the First World War as well as being subject to Wehrmacht call-up in the Second, making such documents valuable for tracing individual military biographies across both conflicts.