07/10/2026
Sterbebild für FRANZ BITTERER
Death Card for FRANZ BITTERER
Sterbebild were obituary listings and memorial prayer cards. They were produced by the military for German Soldiers in World War One and by the Wehrmacht in World War Two.
They usually have the soldier's full name, their rank, their awards, their military unit type, along with his death date and death location. They may also have their birth year and/or how old they were when they died, and the name of their home town.
Sterbebild were delivered to the family by the military when a soldier passed away, so his family could share them with other family members and the soldiers close friends.
GERMAN
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Gebetsandenken an
FRANZ BITTERER
von Kelheim
Unteroffizier in einem Inf.-Regt.
gefallen am 16. Januar 1942 im Osten
im 23. Lebenjahre.
Voll Mut bist in den Krieg gesogen,
Voll Hoffnung auf die Wiederkehr,
Doch Gott haf anders es erwogen
Und nahm dich auf ins Himmelsheer.
Leik, Kelheim
ENGLISH
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Prayer card in memory of
FRANZ BITTERER
from Kelheim
Non-commissioned officer in an infantry regiment
Died on January 16, 1942, in the East
in his 23rd year of life.
Full of courage, you were drawn into the war,
Full of hope for your return,
But God willed it otherwise
And welcomed you into the heavenly host.
Leik, Kelheim
Franz came from the town of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany. It is 23 km (14 miles) southwest of Regensburg, Germany or 98 km (60 miles) northeast of Munich.
He was an Unteroffizier (Under Officer, NCO, non-commisioned officer) in an Infantry Regiment.
He died January 16, 1942 at the age of 23, in Osten (in the East or on the Russia Front). He may have died during the German counterattack against the Red Army along the Ak-Monay Isthmus that took place in the Crimea (part of Ukraine) which took place in January 15-18, 1942.
Death cards use the word "fallen" or "gefallen" for died or death.
From his uniform photo, that was taken possibly a year or two before he died, we can see he was a very decorated and brave soldier who fought in many battles and was wounded in combat.
He earned the following awards:
"Schützenschnur" an award for weapons proficiency in marksmanship for enlisted soldiers. The metal badge with a braided layard is worn attached to his right shoulder. This award started in the early 18th century in Prussia and is still awarded today by the Bundeswehr. It's is equal to being an expert "sharpshooter" in other nations military.
"WK2 Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse" (World War II Iron Cross 2nd Class) for bravery, only the medal's ribbon was worn, the black, white and red, ribbon is threaded through his second tunic button hole on his chest.
Pinned on his left pocket are:
"WK2 Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse" (World War II Iron Cross 1st Class) for bravery.
"Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen" (Infantry Assault Badge) a Ma**er 98K r***e in an oak leaf wreath, awarded for multiple combat missions. The badge came in two metals or colors: Bronze, awarded to members of motorized or mechanized infantry units, and Silver, awarded to members of non-motorized infantry units and mountain troop infantry (Gebirgsjäger). It appears his might have the Silver badge.
"Verwundetenabzeichen" (Wound Badge) a steel German helmet with crossed swords, award for being wounded. There are three award levels based on colors, Black (3rd Class for 1-2 wounds), Silver (2nd class for 3-4 wounds), and Gold (1st class for 5 or more wounds). A wound badge is equivalent to the "Purple Heart" in the U.S. military.
He has another badge pinned on his left pocket, but because of the angle we can not tell what it is. It may be a sports badge, which many soldiers earned and proudly wore.
Above his left pocket are two unidentified medal ribbon bars. If we could see their colors we could know more for sure.
Around the edge of his collar and on the edge of his Schulterklappen (shoulder boards) is a metalic cloth braid or lace tape edging for an Unteroffizier (NCO, non-commissioned officer) which is known as "Tresse".
I used the Mormon "Family Search" genealogy web site < www.familysearch.org > to search for records on FRANZ BITTERER, BIRTH around 1919, DEATH 16 January 1942.
What I found was the grave stone on "FindAGrave" that is marked:
FRANZ BITTERER
Obergefreiter
10.10.1918
3.11.1944
Could this be his grave? The dates don't match exactly, but they are close.
FRANZ BITTERER
BIRTH 10 Oct 1918
DEATH 3 Nov 1944 (aged 26)
BURIAL WWII German Military Cemetery Saldus
formerly Frauenberg, Saldus, Saldus Novads, Kurzeme, Latvia
MEMORIAL ID 144597810
FindAGrave website:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144597810/franz-bittner
Grave stone image:
https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2015/88/UNCEM_1427631659192.JPG
If anyone has a membership to "ancestry.com" can you please do a search with the data I have provided here for FRANZ BITTERER then please message me and let me know what you find, thank you.
The spirit of Franz has been talking to me and he wants me to learn more to help remember him.
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