The German Language

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Can anyone translate this handwritten inscription in an old book? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/german

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Google image translate was able to get me as far as "For our..." and "on behalf of", but that's it.

It's a 1924 edition of Hegel's Lectures on Philosophy of History, in German, published by Philipp Reclam Jun. of Leipzig as part of the Reclam Universal Library. I picked it up years ago at a second hand book sale along with a ton of other books, just got around to noticing the stamp and inscription. As far as I can tell from a bit of googling, the stamp indicates this book was sent or received by a German prisoner of war in a British labour camp in Egypt, probably the suez canal zone. I couldn't find an exact location for German Independent Working Company 2719.

Anyway, would love a translation of the handwriting if anyone can figure it out. The combination of messy writing, possibly abbreviations, and a language I don't speak has stumped me.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (2 children)

That's what i can gather from it:

For our comrade Mar. L. (unsure)

On behalf of Wilh. Prinz. 
Mainz-Mombach
Hauptstrasse 46 II

Wilh. is surely "Wilhelm"

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Thanks! I guess Google actually translated almost all of it except proper nouns (and comrade). Haupstrasse 46 does seem to be a valid address in Mainz-Mombach. I guess I had hoped there was some mention of rank or something, to make clear that it was a German soldier, although tbh my research about the stamp has resolved that to my satisfaction anyway.

Thanks for your help! 😀

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