How does one initiate researching common soldiers?

[monindou]

Hello,

My family came to the US after the war, we're from East Prussia. All members old enough to serve in the German forces during the Reich years did, many lived, most died in the east and were buried there.

I have one living uncle, in his 90s, who served in the Luftwaffe. He's a wealth of information, as were my grandfathers, uncles, and others both family and friends but those men and their wives are dead now.

Disregarding all of the stories and photos we have no one ever bothered to document exactly where our dead are buried, or which divisions/units they served in, nor a making complete list of awards they earned. Granted, some of us were lucky and were given awards & photos which were brought to the USA with our elders, so we do have some bits of good data to start with.

I'd like to work to fill in the gaps. So does one start this journey? By writing (to my nearest) German consulate to open an information request? Are there divisional rosters online which can be leveraged along with contacting DE officials?

All leads are appreciated.

Kind regards,
DM

[415]

Hi DM,

For burial you can check the volksbund http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche.html You need DOB and their name.

For military records you need to contact the DD WASt https://www.dd-wast.de/en/home.html They provide info to immediate family members. As long as you have a DOB and their name you may be able to attain information from them. I personally have had success in getting info from them on family members who did not have any descendants.

Another avenue where I've had some success is contacting the German Red Cross. If the soldier was injured or captured, sometimes they have information about them as well.

I hope this helps,

Chris