Germany, Heer. A Collection Of Documents, Including German Cross In Silver Award Document, To Major Alfred Dorrong

The collection consists of: a Wehrpaß (106x147mm, fair); a German Cross in Silver award document (139x198mm, fine); a deployment document (104x147mm, very fine); two POW camp documents certifying payments and legal possession of money (209x109mm, near very fine). It includes a certificate of authenticity by Detlev Niemann.

1) The Wehrpaß is in delicate, worn condition with pages loose but all present, and having suffered water damage. The photo of Dorrong remains, but is damaged beyond recognition. The Wehrpaß is dated to June 10, 1945, evidently a replacement for the original which presumably was lost in the chaos of the final days of the war. Many of the entries were copied from Dorrong’s Soldbuch.

2) The German Cross in Silver document is named to Major (W) (= in charge of weapons and ammunition) Alfred Dorrong. It is dated to the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Army on January 6, 1945 and signed in blue ink by a Lieutenant General, the name is illegible.

The deployment document states that Major Dorrong has been redeployed to the Wehrmacht weapons department Wa Mun/Fz (weapons & ammunition/ordnance). It is dated to April 28, 1945 and signed in pencil by the department chief, a Colonel, the name is illegible.

The two payment certificates were issued in Lager (camp) 6 in 1945. No specific date is given, but presumably they can be dated to June or July. They state that Dorrong received his army salary in value of 216 RM and money for clothes in value of 60 RM, inclusive of June 30, 1945, and that he is in possession of 1100 RM, which are legally his. The documents are signed by a Major, the name is illegible.

Footnote: Alfred Dorrong was born on August 22, 1908 in Arys (present-day Orzysz, northeast Poland). An engineer by trade, he joined the army in May of 1929 and was assigned to Artillery Regiment 1 in Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad, Russia). In early 1934, Dorrong first joined an army munitions institute (Heeres-Munitionsanstalt, H. Ma.), the one in Jüterbog near Berlin. Until the end of 1936, he would be redeployed to several others. At the beginning of 1937, Dorrong joined the Staff of the 3rd Panzer Division. During the war, he took part in the Polish and French campaigns, and in the attack on Russia. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on November 28, 1939. Dorrong went on to serve on the Staff of Panzer Army Supreme Command 4 in early 1942, and he joined the Feldzeug-Kommando III (ordnance command) in March. In April, he was hospitalised due to a tonsillectomy. On April 22, Dorrong was awarded the War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords. Dorrong was promoted to Major on June 1, 1942. (The dates of his earlier promotions are not mentioned in the Wehrpaß; a note states that records are unavailable.) About a year after his tonsillectomy, Dorrong was hospitalised again, this time suffering from paratyphoid fever. He was redeployed to the Feldzeuginspektion (Fz Jn) of the Supreme Army Command on October 20, 1943. In this line of service, Dorrong was tasked with finding a solution to Germany’s crippling ammonium nitrate shortage in August of 1944, which was due to Allied bombing raids destroying supplies. This seriously threatened the German ammunitions production. Within just three weeks, Dorrong and his team had found and tested a substitute in halite, ensuring the continued production of ammunition for the war effort. For this, Dorrong was awarded the German Cross in Silver on January 6, 1945. The request for this award was approved by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.