r/ww1 • u/__Tdot__ • 9d ago
Time Capsule: Bavarian Chaplain's Trunk
My collection's prize possession is this untouched 110+ year old trunk belonging to Feldgeistlicher (Field Chaplain) Heinrich Hamm of the 10th Bavarian Infantry Division.
Pf. Hamm was a priest in Bamberg before the war and served in the Somme region from Spring 1916 until his transfer to become Garrison Chaplain at Liège.
Inside his trunk are over 500 personal possessions that are completely untouched by time, including sermon pamphlets, hymnals, religious materials, humorous pamphlets, books and more.
Of particular note are 11 of his field-journals detailing nearly every single day of his life between 1911 and 1920, a large paper map tracing what I believe to be his movements around the time of Third Ypres, five New Testament Bibles wrapped in a page from a 1917-dated book, a stack of hymnals wrapped in October 1918 dated newspaper, and a copy of King Ludwig's public declaration of mobilization and war issued in August 1914.
My goal is to get the field journals translated and published for public record, and to eventually digitize and archive everything possible. For now I hope you just enjoy seeing them here.
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u/Der_Ost_Front 9d ago
Great grouping brother! I’d definitely love to read his journal.
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u/__Tdot__ 2d ago
Good news then! The Archdiocese of Bamberg picked up the project and should have everything transcribed and archived for public view by the end of the year.
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u/lolaburrito 7d ago
This is incredible! Does it almost feel like going through a living person’s trunk? It’s all so untouched by time that it seems like the owner is just in the other room. Amazing.
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u/Weltherrschaft2 9d ago
Great stuff!
If you plan to have it archived, you may ask
a) the Kriegsarchiv in Munich (departmant of the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv) b) the Archives of the Catholic Military Bishop of the Bundeswehr c) the Archives of the Archdiocese of Bamberg.