I have a few documents pertaining to my Grandfather's (Lothar E. Brenner) involvement in WWII that I need help with. I'm trying to discern fact from fiction, truth from stories.
The Documents:
-A letter from the Deutsche Dienststelle in Berlin, stating that while his personal papers were lost to "wartime events", they have record of him being at Fliegerschule Friedrichshafen, and being a POW of the British.
-An NSFK letter stating that more training is recommended.
-POW release form?
The Stories:
Stories that are told of him, involve the Messerschmitt 163, that he was either in a unit flying these out of Friedrichshafen, or that he was training to fly one.
I believe that the runways were damaged by bombing and rendered unusable in March '45, so the flying unit disbanded. From what I was told, his unit was absorbed into another fighting unit, possibly with the 38th SS Nibelungen, which was partially formed in Sonthofen with over 8000 HJ boys. Ordensburg Sonthofen is a days march directly East of Friedrichshafen.
The information I was told about his involvement in the War was that he was taken POW by the US in May. He then was marched back to Dusseldorf and held as a POW. My family were either notified that he was MIA or KIA, as they feared him dead for months. He finally made it back home to Vennhausen 3, Dusseldorf supposedly on foot, tattered, weather beaten, and flea ridden, some months after the War.
Finding Answers
I cannot find any information on a "Fliegerschule" located in Friedrichshafen, though there was a "Flieger-Rgt. 94" flying out of there. If anyone has information on this airbase / fliegerschule that would be greatly appreciated!
Also, if anyone has more information as to the forming of the 38th SS Niebelungen at Ordensburg Sonthofen and the HJ that were enlisted, that would also be greatly appreciated!
The Documents:
-A letter from the Deutsche Dienststelle in Berlin, stating that while his personal papers were lost to "wartime events", they have record of him being at Fliegerschule Friedrichshafen, and being a POW of the British.
-An NSFK letter stating that more training is recommended.
-POW release form?
The Stories:
Stories that are told of him, involve the Messerschmitt 163, that he was either in a unit flying these out of Friedrichshafen, or that he was training to fly one.
I believe that the runways were damaged by bombing and rendered unusable in March '45, so the flying unit disbanded. From what I was told, his unit was absorbed into another fighting unit, possibly with the 38th SS Nibelungen, which was partially formed in Sonthofen with over 8000 HJ boys. Ordensburg Sonthofen is a days march directly East of Friedrichshafen.
The information I was told about his involvement in the War was that he was taken POW by the US in May. He then was marched back to Dusseldorf and held as a POW. My family were either notified that he was MIA or KIA, as they feared him dead for months. He finally made it back home to Vennhausen 3, Dusseldorf supposedly on foot, tattered, weather beaten, and flea ridden, some months after the War.
Finding Answers
I cannot find any information on a "Fliegerschule" located in Friedrichshafen, though there was a "Flieger-Rgt. 94" flying out of there. If anyone has information on this airbase / fliegerschule that would be greatly appreciated!
Also, if anyone has more information as to the forming of the 38th SS Niebelungen at Ordensburg Sonthofen and the HJ that were enlisted, that would also be greatly appreciated!
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