Pferdepass (Horse Passport) Occupied Poland

Pferdepass (Horse Passport) Occupied Poland

This is a WWII Pferdepass issued by the Nazi occupation government in Poland. Similar to a Wehrpass for horses it appears that a version of this document is still used today. The document has most of the text written in German with Polish translations underneath. This particular horse lived in Nienadówka which fell under Rzeszów County (Renamed "Reichshof" by the occupying government, both the original Polish name and German name are used side by side here). This was administratively part of the Kraków District for the German occupying forces. The horse was originally registered at the relevant Ministry of Livestock registry in Sokołów. It was first registered on September 11th 1941 and later had a change of ownership June 23rd 1943. The handwriting is difficult to read so the name of the original or subsequent owner is unknown at this time. The horse appears to have been inspected at least three times by military inspectors in 1942, 1943, and finally in 1945, but there's no corresponding record of military service so for whatever reason either the Wehrmacht did not want it or failed to record its service history in the book. Interestingly, there's a "Lot Price" list on the back cover with corresponding breakdowns in Polish Zloty per piece. This appears to be the cost of the booklet. The average number of horses in the German army during WWII was over 1 million where they served an important logistical function.

This was acquired in 2022 in an antique store in Johannesburg, South Africa.

September 11th, 1941