Landhelfer Brief - Land service ID card with condolence letter

Landhelfer Brief ID card, used by individuals completing their "land service" (agricultural work) during the Third Reich period. This example was issued to Fritz Hessenauer, born in 1912 in Ansbach, Bavaria. It appears that his profession is listed as shoemaker / cobbler. He completed his land service duty from mid to late 1935 at a farm or estate around the town of Burgbernheim. In excellent condition, nicely filled-in and stamped.

It comes with an interesting letter, written and signed by a German nobleman, the Duke of Beaufort / Herzog von Beaufort (a well-known ennobled Austro-Hungarian family that resided in a castle, Schloss Petschau, in German speaking Czechia). The letter is dated August 1942 and mentions that the Hessenauer family will receive the amount of 3000 Reichsmark, transferred from the Duke’s account, due to the death on the battlefield of Ms. Hessenauer’s husband (presumably Fritz, the same person this ID card was issued to). Intriguing document, unsure of what the connection between Hessenauer and the Duke is, but the amount is fairly generous and he states that he’s interested in the family’s future. He signs off the typical, though hardly mandatory “Heil Hitler!”.