For purposes of factual information, a report on the conditions and scales of pay in the
German Army personnel in Africa is furnished in the following statement, received from
German sources.
The pay is made up of four elements:
(1) Wehrsold Army pay
(2) Frontzulage Active service allowance
(3) Afrikazulage Africa allowance
(4) Kriegsbesoldung (or) War emoluments
Friedensgebuehrnisse Peace emoluments
a. Army Pay
Army pay is disbursed on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of every month, officers and other ranks
getting their pay from the same pay clerk, and through the same channels. The following
table gives the scales:
Pay group--rank |
|
Pay in lire every 10 days |
16 Pvt | | 96 |
15 Pfc | | 115 |
14 Cpl | | 134 |
13 Lance Sgt | | 153 |
12 Sgt | | 172 |
11 1st Sgt | | 191 |
10 2d Lt | | 230 |
9 Lt | | 258 |
8 Capt | | 306 |
b. Active Service Allowances
Active service allowance amounts to 1 RM (1 Reichsmark = 7.7 lire) per day
for each soldier irrespective of rank and is paid out with the Army pay. It
must be noted that, although the last period of every month varies
from 8 to 11 days, the pay is constant, but the active-service allowance
does vary between 61 and 85 lire.
c. Africa Allowances
Africa allowances are reckoned from the date of arrival in Africa, but the money is built
up as a credit. When the soldier goes back to Germany on leave or on posting, he takes
with him a sort of check which can be cashed at any Pay Office and must be drawn in on
payment. The scale is as follows: privates, 2 RM per day; noncommissioned
officers, 3 RM; officers, 4 RM.
d. War Emoluments and Peace Emoluments
The difference between these is slight. The former is drawn by noncommissioned officers
and officers who in peacetime are civilians; the latter by regular noncommissioned officers
and officers of the standing army. In both cases a certain fixed pay is paid in to the
banking account of the individual. A lance corporal received between 70 and 90 RM per
month, the amount depending on where he lives. He gets more if his home is in a
town, because rents are higher than the country.
The soldier in Africa, therefore, amasses quite a large amount of Italian lire. There is
not much he can do with them, and little value is attached to them. It is a common
thing for high-stake gambling to cause 8,000 lire to change hands without arousing any
feeling on either side. For the thriftier, opportunity is given once a month to send
money home. It is handed to the Pay Clerk, who gives a stamped receipt to the soldier
and remits to the desired banking account in the Fatherland.
Comment: By converting these pay and allowance rates into United States money of
current exchange values, we find the total monthly sums received by German Army personnel
in Africa, in the grades of private to captain inclusive, are approximately equivalent to:
Pay group--rank | | |
16 Pvt | | $ 51.45 |
15 Pfc | | 94.78 |
14 Cpl | | 97.78 |
13 Lance Sgt | | 100.77 |
12 Sgt | | 103.76 |
11 1st Sgt | | 106.77 |
10 2d Lt | | 125.02 |
9 Lt | | 129.44 |
8 Capt | | 136.92 |
The above computation is based on 1 Lire = 5.26 cents and
1 Reichsmark = 40.33 cents, rates of exchange published in
U.S. Treasury Dept. Circular No. 1, July 1, 1942.
Attention is called to the fact that the pay of German Army personnel in
Africa, as shown in this report, is lower than that of American troops in this
theater.