German WWII Wehrpass Military Identification Document

A Wehrpass, the German armed forces personal service record book, with a printed eagle-and-wreath emblem on its covers. The personal information page identifies the holder as Lorenz Gillissen, born 8 March 1897 in Wickrath, district of Grevenbroich, listed as of Deutsches Reich nationality and Catholic faith, with occupation given as a trained joiner (Schreiner). The page bears a photograph of the holder along with official stamps and his handwritten signature, with personal details including height, eye and hair colour, and distinguishing features (spectacle wearer) also recorded.

The Wehrpass served as the standard lifetime military record for German servicemen, documenting personal data, training, unit assignments, and campaigns, and this example provides a genuinely detailed biographical entry point into one individual's wartime service record.

The Wehrpass was introduced following the reintroduction of conscription in Germany in 1935, replacing earlier Weimar-era military papers, and served as the lifelong record of a man's military obligation, training, unit postings, promotions, and campaign service throughout the Wehrmacht era. Born in 1897, Lorenz Gillissen would have come of age during the First World War and, given his birth year, was likely called up or re-registered for service or Landwehr-type duties well into middle age under the expanded mobilisation demands of the Second World War. As a trained joiner from the Rhineland, his record reflects the broader pattern of tradesmen and civilian workers being absorbed into military or auxiliary service as Germany's manpower needs grew through the war years.