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Paulus Hugo Weisskopf

I only have a few photos of my Great Grandfather, and very limited information on his life and military service. So what is written here is almost entirely what I have managed to interpret and piece together from the information available to me.

I – Early Life

My Grandfather was born into a Jewish family within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was raised within what is today Czechia / The Czech Republic. I know very little about his early life besides the fact that his family was very strict about their faith.

Sometime in the late 1900s or early 1910s, he apparently purchased a ticket to travel to the United States from Hamburg, but was swindled. Not wanting to fall back on his family for help, he wandered about in Hamburg until running into a Pastor that took him in. It is through this pastor and his congregation that my Great Grandfather decided to convert to Christianity, which would lead to him being disowned by his family.

He would stay with this Pastor in Hamburg for a time before travelling back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire sometime prior to 1912. In his time at the congregation he also met the woman who would late become his wife, Marie.

**A young photo of Paulus (center). The sign hanging from the small table has Yiddish writing on it. Possibly some form of Barmitzfa ceremony?**

II – Initial Military Service & Ministry School

I have no concrete dates, but after converting to Christianity and staying with Pastor Dalman in Hamburg for a brief period, my Great Grandfather decided he would like to become a minister. He sent an application to a Mission in Switzerland called St.Chrischona, and it is from the rough translation of this application I have been able to interpret much of his life prior to 1912. Before heading to St.Chrischona, he had some form of military service within the Austro-Hungarian army for a period no longer than a few months. Whether it was some form of mandatory conscription or voluntary enlistment, I do not know.

He would graduate from St.Chrischona sometime in 1913, returning home to the Empire just before the war. The interim between St.Chrischona and his military service beginning in 1914 is a complete mystery. I do not know where he was living or what he was doing. I know he was keeping in touch with his Marie, but that’s about it. He did do a fair bit of travelling both before and after becoming a minister due to his profession and we have hundreds of postcards from all around Europe from these travels, but none have any dates.

**Paulus in his graduating class photo at St.Chrischona. He is sitting in the bottom left seat.**

III – The War Begins

A photo of Paulus and some men of his unit. The sign reads “KK Inft. Regt. No. 4 5 M.C. Cp2Z” almost everyone I’ve spoken to says this suggests he was a part of the famous Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment, but a contact from the recreated H.u.D regiment who had access to their wartime roles did not find his name. I thought that the photo may have been from his prior to 1912 military service due to the old Mannlicher rifles, but the back of the postcard read something along the lines of “To my loved in Hamburg… 3 weeks before marching to the front”.

By all the evidence I have, Paulus rejoined the army rather quickly when the war began. I would assume he was likely called up as reserves since he had a brief service in the army a few years prior, but I’m not certain. When it comes to what actually happened during the war, the details are almost nonexistent. I do not know where he saw fighting, but I do know he was stationed in Warsaw with German occupying forces for some time. This is suggested both by our possession of his German Ausweiss for the Warsaw region, and also a sort of “discharge letter” which will be displayed and explained later.

Notes on the Uniform & Equipment – It is very clear to me from the shade of the uniform that it is Hechtgrau. In addition, his Feldkappe is clearly a Landwehr style cap from the tall profile and non-functioning neck curtain. Both him and the other men in the photo are almost all equipped with Mannlicher M88 Rifles which was the rifle before the Mannlicher M95 and they are using the accompanying ammo pouches for the most part (I can see a few men wearing M95 ammo pouches). They all are using the early-war leather tornister and they are all not wearing Puttees.

**Paulus in complete Uniform. The backdrop looks similar to the photo above and the Uniform is the same, so it can be assumed they were taken at similar times.**

IV – Late War / Unknown Wartime

Random photo of Paulus pictured along with several Officers, NCOs, and other enlisted men. This photo is clearly later in the war due to my Great Grandfather wearing a Feldgrau fall-collar style Tunic. He also has a single rank star on both collars indicating he has become a Corporal.

Two interesting photos. Both are taken in the same place. The cap he is wearing appears to be slightly different in the left photo, it appears to have a smaller profile and possibly an officers cockade? The cap on the right looks much more like a standard Landwehr cap with FJI or K cockade. Shade of his uniform would suggest that the tunic, trousers, and greatcoat are all in Feldgrau. However, the interesting thing is that the tunic appears to be a stand collar like his early war photos. Perhaps the lighting in these photos is odd and is simply darkening the Hechtgrau? Other important detail to point out is how old my Great Grandfather looks. War does change men in strange ways however…

As stated previously I know very little about his wartime service other than he was stationed in Warsaw at some point. However, his stationing in Warsaw was after he had been injured multiple times in battle. He sustained three gunshot wounds, one of which was to the head. The head shot put him into a short coma which he surprisingly recovered. These injuries are corroborated by the “discharge letter”. Below is the “discharge letter” and an extremely interesting photo which I believe may be connected.

**My Great Grandfather can be seen seated two to the right of what appears to be a high ranking Prussian Officer. All the men seated at the long tables appear to be wearing German tunics.**

discharge

With the help of members of the Facebook Group K.u.K Austro-Hungarian Reenactors I had the letter roughly translated. It appears to have been written by a Prussian Cavalry General stationed in Warsaw. So my guess is, that Prussian Cavalry General may be the same man as pictured at the head of the table in the photo. I have no idea when or what this was, but it is interesting nonetheless.

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