Editing Hermann Zapf (section)

== War service ==
On 1 April 1939, Zapf was [[conscription|conscripted]] and sent to [[Pirmasens]] to help reinforce the [[Siegfried Line]] against France. As a consequence of hard labor, he developed heart trouble in a few weeks and was given a desk job, writing camp records and sports certificates in Fraktur.

[[World War II]] broke out in September, and Zapf's unit was to be taken into the [[Wehrmacht]]. However, because of his heart trouble, Zapf was not transferred to the Wehrmacht but was instead dismissed. On 1 April 1942, he was summoned again for the war effort. Zapf had been chosen for the [[Luftwaffe]], but instead was sent to the [[artillery]] in [[Weimar]]. He did not perform well, confusing left and right during training and being too cautious and clumsy with his gun. His officers soon brought an unusually early end to his career in the artillery.

Zapf was sent back to the office and then to [[Jüterbog]] to train as a [[cartography|cartographer]]. After that, he went to [[Dijon]] and then [[Bordeaux]], joining the staff of the [[1st Army (Wehrmacht)|First Army]]. In the cartography unit at Bordeaux, Zapf drew [[map]]s of Spain, especially the railway system, which could have been used to transport artillery had [[Francisco Franco]] not used [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge tracks]] to repair bridges after the [[Spanish Civil War]]. Zapf was happy in the cartography unit. His eyesight was so good that he could write letters 1 millimeter in height without using a magnifying glass, and this skill probably prevented him from being commissioned back into the army.

After the war had ended, Zapf was held by the French as a [[prisoner of war]] at a [[field hospital]] in [[Tübingen]]. He was treated with respect because of his artwork and, on account of his poor health, was sent home only four weeks after the end of the war. He went back to Nuremberg, which had suffered great damage in [[airstrike|air raids]].