Researching Ops

[Larry deZeng]

Hi Amber,

Genealogical/racial purity investigative report (17 Jul 41) with the letter of certification (20 Jul 41) that was attached to it. They traced back to 1800 and there were no "unfavorable" findings. This appears to be for his fiancée as part of his marriage application. I can't say more because I can't see it very well. Besides, it's in Gothic script which makes things difficult. It appears to identify his SS unit as "1/III" and I have no idea what that is supposed to mean as it doesn't correspond to any unit I can think of. Hmmm....

--Larry

[ancestry]

Dear Larry,

Thanks - man, what a title! Very Un-PC!

I'm having trouble posting additional pages since they all show up too small to read and blurry, defeating to purpose of posting them in the first place.

I'll work on the technical stuff and hopefully have a solution in the next few days.

As always, thank you for your help!
a

[ancestry]

Oma's Lebenslauf

Hi everyone!

I've attached both an image of my Oma's handwritten lebenslauf and the translated version. Here are some questions if anyone is interested or knows the answers:

(1) During 1939, Oma volunteered for Auxillary Service. What did the Auxillary do? If she was 18-19 years old, is this Hitler Youth or a women's Auxillary?

(2) What was the imperial work service camp? Oma had said that she had be forced to work on a farm and was treated badly because she had come from a rich family, and the others assumed that she wouldn't do any work. Is this what she was referring to?

(3) Is it likely that her father was a Nazi party member, considering the move to Poland and them being given a farm?

[ancestry]

translated copy.

Thanks!!
Amber

[Larry deZeng]

Hi Amber -

Here are some brief replies to your questions:

1) The Hilfedienst was a women's auxiliary (not Hitler Youth) and the volunteers worked on community projects. It was pretty similar to the ladies' auxiliaries that flourished here during the 1930s and 1940s.

2) The Reicharbeitsdienst (Google this and you will find lots of information) was the state labor service. Although it had its origins in 1925, the Nazis took it over in 1933. She would have belonged to the RAD/wJ (RAD/der weibliche Jugend - RAD/for female youth). Six months service in the RAD was mandatory for men between 18 and 20, but it was not mandatory for young ladies. Its mission was to educate German youth both physically and politically by having them work together on the land. They were assigned to farms, reclaimed marshland, developed waterways, etc.

3) No, they were resettled Volksdeutsch from Latvia. It would not have been necessary for her father to have been a Party member (although it wouldn't have hurt - ). That's the good news. Here's the bad news. Volhynia in the Lodz area had quite a lot of Jewish-owned property until the occupation. The Jewish property owners didn't do the farming themselves, but used Polish tenant farmers. The property was seized beginning in 1939-40 and turned over to Volksdeutsch from then through about 1943. Many Poles were also "relieved" of their property too on one pretext or another, so the farm could have originally belong to either.

Hope that helps, Amber, and TNX for posting!

--Larry

[ancestry]

Dear Larry,

As always, thank you for your prompt and thorough reply! I did google the Reichsarbeitsdienst and found quite a bit about it.

As for the source of the farm, Oma was always reticent to discuss this point, so we suspected it was ill gained. Regardless, it was "gifted" to someone else after the war.

I also googled ""Schiller high school" + Posen" out of interest, which brought up the site http://www.cci.net.au/tiemanda/rainbow/page01.html

This has the auto biography of Dieter Tieman, "The Rainbow never Sets"
this line if from his memoirs:

"In September 1941 I had started third year at the Schiller High School in Posen. "

I haven't had time to read through it yet, but thought it might give some context to that era.

Thanks again. When I get some additional interesting tidbits, I'll post again soon.

Amber

[History]

WOW!!! Thats a simple statement that I have made many times on this forum. I feel silly to reply with such a single word as WOW, but I think it describes how exciting this stuff is to me and others. Good luck on the research.

[Berner]

Hello,
I tried to translate the letter in Post #45. I think it's a quite interesting letter. I owe your apology about my school english. For sure i used some wrong terms in the translation, but i hope my translation is comprehensible enough.

Engagement- and Marriage authorization

The engagement and marriage with Miss Gerda Sinteler (?), Gut Ulenflucht, will be provisionally released on your own responsibility. A definite assessment for your future wife's descent is not possible, because the missing documents from Russia are not obtainable at the moment.
The missing birth certificate for ancestor Nr.16 from Switzerland has to hand in later.
The other documents from Germany to proof the descent up to 1.1.1800 has to hand in until 20.7. 1943 at the latest.
Miss Sinteler has still to earn the Reichs-Sports-Badge or the BDM-Achievement Badge (Bund Deutscher Mädel Leistungsabzeichen) and has to take part in the stipulated courses of the Mother's Service (Mütterdienst) of the German Woman's enterprise (Deutsches Frauenwerk).
The achievement booklet and the written confirmation has to send in the same date as mentioned above.

I hope i could help with this translation

Markus

[Larry deZeng]

Hi Markus,

You did a great job with a difficult translation. I have inserted a few suggestions behind certain words or phrases that may improve things a bit by way of making them a little clearer. I hope you don't mind. Thank you for excellent work on the letter.

--Larry

Hello,
I tried to translate the letter in Post #45. I think it's a quite interesting letter. I owe your apology about my school english. For sure i used some wrong terms in the translation, but i hope my translation is comprehensible enough.

Engagement- and Marriage authorization

The engagement and marriage with Miss Gerda Sinteler (?), Gut [large farm or estate] Ulenflucht, will be provisionally released on your own responsibility. A definite [definitive] assessment for [of] your future wife's descent [ancestry] is not possible, because the missing documents from Russia are not obtainable at the moment.
The missing birth certificate for ancestor Nr.16 from Switzerland has to hand [has to be handed] in later.
The other documents from Germany to proof the descent [prove the ancestry] up to 1.1.1800 has to hand in until [has to be handed in by] 20.7. 1943 at the latest.
Miss Sinteler has still to earn the Reichs-Sports-Badge or the BDM-Achievement Badge (Bund Deutscher Mädel Leistungsabzeichen) and has to take part in the stipulated courses of the Mother's Service (Mütterdienst) of the German Woman's enterprise (Deutsches Frauenwerk).
The achievement booklet and the written confirmation has to send in the same date as mentioned above.

I hope i could help with this translation

Markus

[Berner]

Hi Larry,
no problem. Thanks for the proof correction.

Markus

[Catherine]

Hope someone can help

Hello my name is Catherine, I am new here and fascinated with what I've been reading in this forum.
I am trying to help a dear family friend discover some (anything) information about his uncle Rudi who was in the Wehrmacht, this is what I've discovered so far and now I don't know where to turn.
I wrote to the WASt and actually got a letter back, in German, so I've been trying to translate it.

Rudolf Bohm was born in Vienna August 11, 1910 and either joined (volunteered) or was conscripted to the Wehrmacht.

WASt confirms this: Rudolf Bohm was registered with the Grenadier Regiment 732 and died in Lublinec/UdSSR on April 27, 1944. His death is registered in Floridsdorf (part of Vienna?) in 1947 under the number 99.

I will need to have the letter properly translated as there are two more pages but I'm sure it's just regarding how much I want to pay for what information.

Am I going about this the right way? I read in one of Ambers threads that she hired a researcher who provided lots of information in what I gather was a short period of time. My friend, Michael is willing to pay, but neither of us know what to do.

I would sincerely appreciate any assistance you may offer.
Thank you so much for providing the help you do in these forums.

Catherine
Alberta, Canada

[Larry deZeng]

Catherine -

See a PM from me in your Private Message in-box.

--Larry