The Hunt For Obgf. Töpter

[Stickfigure21]

Hello all,
I’m enlisting anyone who’s willing or has the resources to help me find anything on Herr Töpter. I recently found a M40 Luftwaffe helmet with the name of Obgf. Töpter penned in on the shell’s skirt. I wish I had more to start on but all I have is a name and service branch. I also know he was in the Luftwaffe before 1942 (the chinstrap on the helmet is dated 1941). Anyone know where to start?
Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!


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[naxos]

the name is Töpfer

Obergefreiter Töpfer


There are 454 KIA and MIA soldiers named Töpfer listed in the German war grave registry.
Also, a higher number of soldiers by this name survived the war.
Without a first name or a birth date, i.e. death date it is impossible to identify this man.

.

[Stickfigure21]

the name is Töpfer

Obergefreiter Töpfer


There are 454 KIA and MIA soldiers named Töpfer listed in the German war grave registry.
Also, a higher number of soldiers by this name survived the war.
Without a first name or a birth date, i.e. death date it is impossible to identify this man.

.

Darn, thank you for your help
Could you link me to he German war registry’s website?
Thanks again!


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[naxos]

Darn, thank you for your help
Could you link me to he German war registry’s website?
Thanks again!

http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche.html

Here is a name sample

[Stickfigure21]

http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche.html



Here is a name sample

Thank you!!


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[John A.]

Further identification

While seemingly impossible at this time to positively identify this man (without the
use of DNA, major effort and insane amounts of cash), if you want to, you could narrow it down a bit.

First, is there a RELIABLE source of information as to who brought
back the helmet, and any information from the veteran orsurviving relatives?
If known, what unit was the veteran in? (The veteran could have gotten
it in a trade, never having left the Quartermaster's Corps in England.)

Next, sort out all services besides Luftwaffe.
Next, since the helmet is in the West, it's a fair assumption that
odds are, it was sent/brought home by a Western Front veteran.

Sort out all KIA and MIA on the Eastern front.

Sort out unlikely candidates by rank/date of death/MIA.
For example, it's unlikely that Obgr. Toepfer was KIA 6 months
later, having been promoted to Stabsfeldwebel or Leutnant.

I would be hesitant to assume his Luftwaffe service date
quite so exactly by the date on the chinstrap, as the
helmet could have been re-issued. If the standard German practice
was to mark their helmets when issued in Basic Training (I don't know),
that might be helpful, especially if the helmet was never repainted
while in service and there is no evidence of a second name.

Then there is the hopeful possibility that he was captured, survived
the war and went on to have a long, happy life. Without DNA, that
may be as far as you can get with today's resources. You might be
surprised at how much you can narrow down the pool of most-likely
candidates of Luftwaffe KIA/MIA, given that the Luftwaffe was not the
largest service, and Toepfer (sorry, don't know how to type an umlaut)
is a relatively uncommon name -- as opposed to Bauer, Schneider,
Schmidt, usw.

If a list of all Toepfers who SERVED in the Luftwaffe were available, the
detective work could go further.

I applaud your interest in the man behind the helmet, and hope you will
consider further effort, although it seems unlikely we can pin him down
with today's resources or without a master stroke of luck. (E.g., the veteran
who brought back the helmet walks up to you and says, "I forgot -- I also
have his Soldbuch -- would you like to have it?")

One can dream!
Best,
John

[Stickfigure21]

Thank you for your reply John! Now if only I can figure out how this damn war grave website works, I put in the info I’m looking for and then it asks for MY info? Do I need an account? Why does it never show results?


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[Jean-Loup]

The war graves site only includes the dead. In other words a minority of soldiers. The names of soldiers who survived the war are currently off limits, so any research you do is pretty much a waste of time. Even if you find a seemingly perfect match, you will be missing out on 80% of the potential matches.
If you had a precise history of the helmet or info about the unit you could do more. With the name and rank only, I doubt you could find anything conclusive even if you had full access to the German archives.
I was able to get a pretty solid match based on initials alone, but that is because it was a ground dug helmet I excavated myself and knew the local history extremely well: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ghlight=Sputek

JL

[Gran Sasso]

Thank you for your reply John! Now if only I can figure out how this damn war grave website works, I put in the info I’m looking for and then it asks for MY info? Do I need an account? Why does it never show results?


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No account needed, just type your infos, tick the "i,agree"-box, and you are in.