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answered my reply, refuting what I said. I stand by my answers:
1- It is Soldbuch, not Wehrpass. I don't know what a Wehrpass is. I never had one. I still have my Soldbuch and can look at it any time I want to.
2- Hiwis were prisoners of war (ours, in the Flak, were Russians) who assisted German troops. They did *not* wear German Wehrmacht uniforms. There were foreigners in the German armed forces, serving as regular soldiers and wearing the uniform of the service they were members of, and everyone had a Soldbuch.
3- You could indeed 'volunteer.' To be more precise: At some point, before the military got to you, you were 'mustered.' That was an examination made by military doctors, followed by an interview, at which you could express a preference for what branch you wanted to serve in. You could certainly, at that time, 'volunteer' for the Waffen-SS, and they would accept you if you were suited. You could volunteer at other times, also. To be strictly correct, their was no 'draft' in Germany, similar to the draft in the US, where a draft board pulled your name out of a hat and then sent you to serve. In Germany, all men were mustered and, if suited, received their Stellungsbefehl (order to report for induction).
There might have been other points made by Intersurfa, but I am sorry to have to say that AOL interrupted me in the middle of replying to him and kicked me out.
Remember, Mr. Intersurfa, I was there. Were you?
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