German forum member needed!! for location help

[jmark]

Mike,

I found on ly o n e entry in the recent German phonebook Egbert Elstermann.
His address : Juraweg 16, 89407 Dillingen
His phone no 09071 - 7944321

Gerdan

Mike,

This is definitely the best chance for finding Frau Erna Elstermann... finding daughters is extremely difficult but sons are much easier because their surname does not change. You are fortunate that Egbert is a relatively uncommon name, and with there only being one person with the name "Egbert Elstermann", I think you have hit the jackpot. Because of Herr Elstermann's age, however, it's most likely that he will not speak English.

Good luck and keep us updated on this interesting search.
Jason

[Mike Pinkus]

flash flash....Gerdan is the man! ......the Egbert is the son....here is note i received from him...i will be contacting my vet directly...i will keep you posted,,,,
mike






Hallo Mike,

today I had contact with Egbert Elstermann (by phone). He is the man you are looking for. And he was glad when I told him the circumstances and the reason why I contacted him. His age is 69 and he could not exactly remember Eddie Githen. But his sister Mara who is now living in Czechoslovakia should remember him better.
Egbert regreds that he cannot speak English at all.
So you should find a way to contact him via an interpreter.
He even gave me the phone number of his sister Mara: 00420388323178.

Hope I could help you with these informations.
Gerdan

[Mike Pinkus]

well my vet talked to the son of the gal he stayed with in 45 yesterday ..via a translator from the local university here....
his sister mara is still alive.....
the aunt...ie. Erna's sister died in winter of 45-46 from pneumonia....Erna passed in 1978...
but the big news is.....
the father...(whose rucksack i have) who was captured in stalingrad returned home in 1949 and is still alive today at the age of 94!
my vet is planning on going to europe in the spring for a reunion of sorts!...thanks to Gerdan...well done..i will post more on this as information is obtained....

[jmark]

Hi Mike,

This is all extremely interesting. And what a stroke of luck that the father is still alive! Incredible! As you can see from my signature, I am interested in anything to do with Stalingrad, so please keep us informed. I know (knew) quite a few Stalingrad veterans, and I can tell you that not many have made it to 90 years of age, let alone 94. I've got no record of an officer named Elstermann being captured at Stalingrad, so he must have been an NCO or an enlisted man... and their survival rate in Soviet POW camps was miniscule. The fact that he was released in 1949 probably means he was very ill. He was lucky to have spent only 6 years in captivity.

Did you find out to which division he belonged? I can probably provide you with some additional information, particularly if I know his regiment.

All the best,
Jason

[Mike Pinkus]

i am waiting to find out unit info as well....i was told by the vet that he was told by the wife that he stayed with , Erna, that her husband was lost at stalingrad.....does that mean captured in the city?...i dont know...but i will find out all i can and report back .......
i have some newspapers from the vet with front page news about stalingrad fallen jan 31 and feb 2 1943 german papers...i guess that gives a little credence to the captured in city as these papers were saved and my vet brought them back with him in 45.....but i will keep you posted...

[Gerdan]

Mike,

I am really glad that the vet came in contact with "his German family" and that he even found the old father alive.

Gerdan

[Eric JB]

Gerdan,

That is a job really good done !!!

Thank you for your work and time !!!

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[Mike Pinkus]

heres an up date guys....
the vet has made contact with the family as mentioned...the 2 sisters he stayed with after the war are both deceased...the children are still alive and the father...vet of stalingrad is alive but not talking...even his kids do not know much of what happened during the war to him...
the kids remember my vet and are planning on a reunion next year.....
i will keep you posted as to what developes....
in the meantime some more information and documents have surfaced...
when the vet and comrades were liberated they stayed behind the lines and were befriended by several Russian soldiers attached to a medical unit...i have found names and hopefully addresses for these Russians...below are pictures and more information...if any of our Russian members can translate i owuld be most grateful....also...if ..possibly you could look up this person in the moscow area i think quite a big reunion could be possible next spring...please pm with any information
most gratful for any help
best
mike






below is a receipt for the vets paybook from stalg 4b....never seen one of these

[Mike Pinkus]

here is the personal information on "Anna"...she was the one my vet knew the best...she brought them food and was very social with my vet...
this is the most iimportant data...if anyone can track down Anna or her family i would be most grateful....

[Mike Pinkus]

this is a pic of Anna and Ed...my vet...

help with translation please

[Mike Pinkus]

back

[Mike Pinkus]

casual pic of Anna

[Mike Pinkus]

back of pic

[Mike Pinkus]

friend of Anna...in the medical unit

[Mike Pinkus]

back of friends pic