(Kriegsmarine Unterlagen). A lot of documents named to Oberbootsmannsmaat Bernhard Kellner, including a Third Reich-period Arbeitsbuch, constructed of a card stock binding, the interior with 32 pages, with seven pages of handwritten entries and the remainder unspoiled, issued 25 January 1938, measuring 108 mm (w) x 148 mm (h), in extremely fine condition; a Soldbuch, constructed of a light brown card stock binding with 40 interior pages, with 32 pages of handwritten entries, featuring a black-and-white photograph of the bearer, measuring 105 mm (w) x 145 mm (h), age-appropriate material fatigue evident, in overall very fine condition; a Weimar-era Arbeitsbuch, constructed of a blue card stock binding, the interior with 32 pages, with three pages of handwritten entries, measuring 105 mm (w) x 146 mm (h), in near extremely fine condition; a Schifferdienstbuch, constructed of a beige card stock binding, the interior with 31 pages, with 15 pages of handwritten entries, issued on 5 January 1964, measuring 147 mm (w) x 210 mm (h), in near extremely fine condition; a letter, constructed of off-white paper stock with multi-coloured ink, addressed to Kellner from the Lord Mayor of Wesermünde, congratulating him on behalf of the city for receiving the German Cross in Gold, dated 14 August 1944, measuring 210 mm (w) x 296 mm (h), with a central folding crease and some soiling evident, in overall near extremely fine condition; a lot of leave passes, each measuring 102 mm (w) x 148 mm (h), a lot of eight Bundesmarine documents, and; a pair of wartime photographs, including one depicting four Kriegsmarine personnel, each wearing a 1939 Iron Cross ribbon and a Minesweeper War Badge, unmarked and undated, measuring 58 mm (w) x 89 mm (h), in extremely fine condition, and; a photograph of Kellner’s locker and belonging, undated, measuring 90 mm (w) x 120 mm (h), in extremely fine condition.
Footnote: Bernhard Kellner was born on 22 November 1914 in Geestemünde, then a suburb of Bremerhaven, Germany. He enlisted in the Reichsmarine on 2 April 1929 and was employed as a sailmaker through April 1933, and thereafter remained in Kriegsmarine service as a sailmaker through January 1938. He later transferred to minesweeper duty and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the DRL Sports Badge (30 November 1936), the Iron Cross II Class (4 December 1939), the Minesweeper War Badge (28 November 1940), the Iron cross I Class (22 July 1942), the Wound Badge, Silver Grade (16 June 1944), and the German Cross in Gold (4 July 1944). Kellner survived the war and later re-enlisted in the Bundesmarine, with service records continuing through January 1961.