This is a large perspex frameddeath card/Memorial Card with booklet and Funeral Tribute to Matthias Fruth (1918–1940) Oberschütze (Senior Rifleman / Private First Class) Matthias Fruth, a 22-year-old German soldier in the 20th Infantry Regiment or 20th Infantry Division (Motorized)
The pair of paperwork cards are still very solid not crumbling or braking up and have been mounted in a large perspex fronted frame with all the information and translations the frame measuring 16 inches long by 12 inches wide making it perfect for display or a collection.
German World War II death card (Sterbebilder or Totenzettel) was a memorial card created by families to honor soldiers killed, missing, or taken prisoner during the war. They were typically printed on thin paper and handed out at funerals or sent to relatives as a way to cope with deaths on foreign soil
Matthias Fruth Army infantryman who died on 10 July 1940. The collection includes a small funeral prayer card and a larger folded memorial sermon booklet distributed at his funeral.
Biographical Information
Matthias Fruth was the son of a farming family from Eckertshof, Germany. The memorial booklet describes
him as hardworking, religious, and devoted to both family and military duty. He was born in 1918 and entered military service after the outbreak of war in 1939.
The portrait
The photograph shows a shoulder strap bearing the number “20,” for the 20th infantry regiment part of the 20th Infantry Division (Motorized).
Campaign Service in Poland and France
Attached to the 20th Infantry formation, Fruth may have participated in the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Battle of France in May–June 1940. The 20th Infantry Division (Motorized) was part of Germany’s fast-moving mobile forces during the early “Blitzkrieg” campaigns.
Death and Funeral
The memorial cards state that Fruth died “infolge Unglücksfall” (“as the result of an accident”) on 10 July 1940, only weeks after the end of the French campaign. Unlike cards for combat deaths, the wording avoids the term “gefallen” (“fallen in battle”). The larger funeral sermon explains that his superiors considered him suitable for training younger soldiers and therefore kept him in the homeland rather than assigning him to front-line combat at the time of his death.
Possible causes of such wartime “accidental” deaths included vehicle crashes, weapons mishaps, training accidents, or ammunition explosions. His exact cause of death remains unknown.
This is a large perspex frameddeath card/Memorial Card with booklet and Funeral Tribute to Matthias Fruth (1918–1940) Oberschütze (Senior Rifleman / Private First Class) Matthias Fruth, a 22-year-old German soldier in the 20th Infantry Regiment or 20th Infantry Division (Motorized)
The pair of paperwork cards are still very solid not crumbling or braking up and have been mounted in a large perspex fronted frame with all the information and translations the frame measuring 16 inches long by 12 inches wide making it perfect for display or a collection.
German World War II death card (Sterbebilder or Totenzettel) was a memorial card created by families to honor soldiers killed, missing, or taken prisoner during the war. They were typically printed on thin paper and handed out at funerals or sent to relatives as a way to cope with deaths on foreign soil
Matthias Fruth Army infantryman who died on 10 July 1940. The collection includes a small funeral prayer card and a larger folded memorial sermon booklet distributed at his funeral.
Biographical Information
Matthias Fruth was the son of a farming family from Eckertshof, Germany. The memorial booklet describes
him as hardworking, religious, and devoted to both family and military duty. He was born in 1918 and entered military service after the outbreak of war in 1939.
The portrait
The photograph shows a shoulder strap bearing the number “20,” for the 20th infantry regiment part of the 20th Infantry Division (Motorized).
Campaign Service in Poland and France
Attached to the 20th Infantry formation, Fruth may have participated in the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Battle of France in May–June 1940. The 20th Infantry Division (Motorized) was part of Germany’s fast-moving mobile forces during the early “Blitzkrieg” campaigns.
Death and Funeral
The memorial cards state that Fruth died “infolge Unglücksfall” (“as the result of an accident”) on 10 July 1940, only weeks after the end of the French campaign. Unlike cards for combat deaths, the wording avoids the term “gefallen” (“fallen in battle”). The larger funeral sermon explains that his superiors considered him suitable for training younger soldiers and therefore kept him in the homeland rather than assigning him to front-line combat at the time of his death.
Possible causes of such wartime “accidental” deaths included vehicle crashes, weapons mishaps, training accidents, or ammunition explosions. His exact cause of death remains unknown.
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