The Wehrpass was a very comprehensive documentation book issued to all conscripts at the time of registration for the military draft, and kept by the potential draftee until his induction into the military.  When the citizen became a soldier, he turned in his Wehrpass and received a Soldbuch in exchange, with the Wehrpass being turned over and kept at the unit where the owner was serving.  

The Wehrpass was returned to the owner only upon his discharge from the military (after his records were transported to the Wehrstammbuch).  He was required to keep it until age 60. In case of a service related death, or if the individual became MIA, the Wehrpass was sent to the next of kin as a keepsake via the soldiers’ original recruiting office.

All four branches of the Wehrmacht used the Wehrpass with only slight differences.  The branch (Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine or Waffen SS) was stamped in a box on the cover of the book. 

There were basically 3 types of Wehrpasses with different covers – early, middle and late war.  The early war passes have the Wehrmacht style eagle, while the middle and late have a open-wing eagle.