This collection of documents from the Third Reich era and the immediate post-war period provides a compelling glimpse into the life of a young woman who lived through various phases of German history between 1938 and 1946. At its center is a data card from the Reichszentrale Landaufenthalt für Stadtkinder e.V. Berlin (Reich Central Office for Rural Stays for City Children), issued on June 20, 1938, for a girl born in 1925 from Vienna.
The Reichszentrale Landaufenthalt für Stadtkinder was a National Socialist organization established after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 as part of the comprehensive policy of Gleichschaltung (coordination). Its stated goal was to accommodate children from urban areas in rural settings for limited periods. This measure was officially justified on health grounds – city children were to enjoy the “healthy country air” and be strengthened. In reality, however, the program also served ideological education in line with the National Socialist Blood and Soil ideology.
The issuance of the card on June 20, 1938, falls within a significant historical period. Just three months earlier, on March 12, 1938, the Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich had taken place. The fact that the girl was from Vienna demonstrates how quickly National Socialist organizational structures were extended to the newly incorporated territory. Within months of the Anschluss, Austrian children were already being integrated into Reich-wide programs.
The note “This card must be worn visibly!” is characteristic of the bureaucratic control mentality of the NS regime. Such identification documents served not only organizational purposes but also permanent surveillance and categorization of the population. The visible wearing of identification papers allowed authorities and functionaries to verify a person's authorization and affiliation at any time.
The accompanying work book dated March 22, 1941, documents another important aspect of life in the Third Reich. Work books were introduced in 1935 and were mandatory for all employees. They contained detailed information about professional careers, employers, wages, and qualifications. The work book served multiple purposes: it enabled control of the workforce, prevented “labor flight,” and documented “Aryan descent.” From 1939, with the outbreak of war, labor direction became increasingly restrictive, and the work book became an indispensable instrument of the war economy.
In March 1941, the date of issuance of this work book, Germany was in the midst of World War II. The young woman, born in 1925, was approximately 16 years old at this time and apparently entered working life. For adolescents and especially young women, this frequently meant employment in the armaments industry, in the compulsory service system, or in the Reich Labor Service, which became mandatory for all young women from 1939.
The third component of the collection, an employment card dated May 27, 1946, takes us into the immediate post-war period. Austria was at this time occupied by the Allies and divided into four occupation zones. Vienna itself was, like Berlin, divided into four sectors. The economic situation was catastrophic: destroyed infrastructure, food shortages, and millions of displaced persons and refugees characterized the scene.
Employment cards in the post-war period served several purposes. They were necessary for the allocation of food ration cards, documented official employment, and were part of the denazification process. The Allies attempted through strict controls to ensure that former National Socialists did not return to important positions. A valid employment card was often a prerequisite for survival in the post-war period.
These three documents together tell the story of a young Austrian woman who experienced the Anschluss as a 13-year-old, worked in wartime Germany as an adolescent, and finally had to rebuild her life in occupied post-war Austria. They represent exemplarily the fate of an entire generation that spent its entire youth under National Socialist rule and was confronted as young adults with the consequences of catastrophe.
For collectors and historians, such document ensembles are of particular value because they provide not just individual snapshots but document biographical continuity across a crucial historical period. They illustrate the bureaucratic penetration of everyday life under National Socialism and the transition into the post-war order.
