SS KIA RARE! WW2 German 1946 SS Untersturmführer Heinrich Marpe Death Letter – April 1945 Gunshot Wound

Original and historically significant German postwar wartime death notification concerning SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Marpe, who died from wounds received during the final weeks of WWII.

The document is headed:

“Beglaubigte Abschrift des Bürgermeisters Wespen”
“Certified Copy by the Mayor of Wespen”

It is dated Wespen, February 18, 1946 and is a notification written by Stabsarzt Dr. Brautlecht of Sanitäts-Kompanie 276 to Marpe’s wife.

The letter identifies the deceased specifically as:

“SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Marpe”

English Translation

Dear Mrs. Marpe,

“I have the sad duty of informing you of the death of your husband, SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Marpe.

He died several days ago as a result of a gunshot wound to the neck, which he received on 20 April 1945.

May it be a consolation to you that during the days following his wounding he lay in a German military hospital and suffered no further.

I deposited his personal effects with the mayor in Mehringen near Aschersleben; his grave is also located in the cemetery there.

To my greatest regret, it was not possible for me to fulfill his wish to bring you here or to notify you in time.

Once again, please accept the expression of my deepest sympathy.”

Signed: D. Brautlecht

The document is particularly interesting because it records an SS junior officer being wounded on 20 April 1945, only weeks before Germany’s surrender, and subsequently dying in a German Lazarett. It also provides specific information concerning the disposition of his personal effects and the location of his grave at Mehringen near Aschersleben.

The lower portion bears an official blue municipal certification stamp and handwritten certification associated with the Bürgermeister of Wespen, confirming this as an officially certified copy.

A compelling piece of late-war SS personnel and casualty history with a named officer, rank, precise wound date, cause of death, attending military doctor, medical unit, burial location and surviving family connection.

Condition: Heavily used original period document with multiple old folds, considerable edge wear, several edge tears and losses, separation beginning along portions of the folds, toning and general handling wear. Despite the condition, the important typed text, names, dates and official certification remain clearly legible. Please examine photographs carefully for exact condition.

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