Original 1945 Allied Military Government Germany Travel Exemption Document Refugee Cologne

Offered here is an excellent original June 1945 Allied Military Government of Germany exemption/travel document, issued only weeks after the end of the war in Europe.

The bilingual German/English document is headed:

“MILITÄRREGIERUNG-BEFREIUNG OF GERMANY”
“MILITARY GOVERNMENT EXEMPTION”

It was issued 28 June 1945 to Katharina Metternich of Cologne (Köln) and bears serial number 25867-KL. The holder also personally signed the document on the front.

The reverse is especially interesting because it explains exactly why the exemption was issued. The typed authorization reads:

“to travel from Kirchenanrbach [Kirchenahrbach] to Cologne with her mother and 2 children.”

It further notes:

“pass is no good on N37-40-N10”

and gives the reason simply as:

“refugees to return home.”

This makes the document a particularly evocative piece of immediate postwar German refugee and displaced-civilian history, documenting a family’s authorized return to Cologne during the first months of the Allied occupation.

The reverse identifies the issuing organization as:

“108 FA. Bn.” — 108th Field Artillery Battalion

and is signed by an American Lieutenant, Field Artillery, with a large circular military authorization stamp. Contemporary U.S. Army operational records confirm the 108th Field Artillery Battalion was operating in Germany in 1945, providing additional context for the unit marking on this document.

The printed instructions explain that the exemption could cover restrictions concerning curfew, travel, prohibited articles, or prohibited areas, and that it was valid only in conjunction with the holder’s identity card. It was non-transferable and had to be returned upon expiration.

This is much more historically interesting than a routine postwar identification paper because it records a named civilian refugee, her mother and two children being permitted by the Allied Military Government to travel back to Cologne immediately after WWII.

Condition: Original used condition with overall age toning, staining/soiling, a prominent horizontal fold, minor edge and corner wear, and expected handling from actual wartime/postwar use. Printing, typewritten entries, signatures and military stamp remain quite legible. Please see all photographs for exact condition.

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