Papers Please!: Identity Documents, Permits and Authorizations of the Third Reich [Hardcover]

Ray Cowdery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

In a clear encyclopedic style this 144 page hardcover book describes and shows a range of over 80 fascinating German World War II identity documents in full color and gives a page-by-page analysis of the contents of each one. Nazi membership books, passports, paybooks, civilian IDs, etc.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ray Cowdery born 1941 in the USA, career in international business. Has studied Nazi Party identity documentation for over 25 years in the United States and in Europe. Author of two best selling volumes of the history of the World War II jeep. Josephine Cowdery born 1963 in the Netherlands. Career in international travel and fluent in five languages. Has researched origins and historical locations of the Nazi Party in Germany for over 10 years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Victory WW2 Publishing Ltd; First edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910667365
• ISBN-13: 978-0910667364
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Brandy, November 22, 1999

By 

Paul Penman "Sunfire" (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Papers Please!: Identity Documents, Permits and Authorizations of the Third Reich (Hardcover)

This study of the arcane field of identification documents in the Third Reich is a remarkably solid and detailed contribution to its subject. The book is produced on photographic plate paper and the illustrations of the various examples-the German Army Soldbuecher, the Wehrmacht Drivers' Licenses, the Arbeitsbuecher (Employment Idenfication Documents), the Hunting Permits, the members-artists, actors, composers, puppeteers! of the Reichskulturkammer, the German Red Cross IDs-are lavishly illustrated and expertly glossed and elucidated. One example concerns the Soldbuch of which the joint authors, Ray and Josephine Cowdery, write as follows: "While American and English speakers would probably assume a `Soldbuch' to be a `pay book' in which a solder's monthly pay was recorded, the name Soldbuch in German is applied to the authority itself; in other words, the holder of a Soldbuch had the authority to draw pay. Little or no `pay' was ever recorded in it in most cases." The authors travelled in the old German Democratic Republic, observed that every time they "crossed the border we entered a perceptible time warp in identity documentation. The East German police were operating their border crossing stations according to policies and procedures that had been established during the Third Reich." Highly recommended for the buff, the collector, and all those with a taste for what C.P. Snow once termed "old brandy"-the rare, the off-beat and the esoteric.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reenactor's must have!, April 12, 2004

By 

Donald J. Borja (Indianapolis, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Papers Please!: Identity Documents, Permits and Authorizations of the Third Reich (Hardcover)

Not only is this book a must for every reenactor (usually required to have reproduction documents), this book should be required reading for anyone interested in how the German people were well organized during WWII. Plenty of color photos of documents and detailed line-by-line descriptions. This book will also give an idea of daily life in Germany and the strict control placed on the civilian population as well. If you ever run across an old German document at a flea market or an auction... or if you are a WWII German reenactor, this book will provide plenty of information. I highly recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Papers please!, August 3, 2008

By 

Thomas Magnusson (Ängelholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Papers Please!: Identity Documents, Permits and Authorizations of the Third Reich (Hardcover)

This book gives you a good overview and is a ecxellent starting point for anyone who wish to research in the german ID cards, and togehter with German Third Reich Era Documents, Volume Two: Military Documents it gives a detailed overview of the pappers used by the third reich.