ID gebirgsjäger unit

[Zeller]

Normally I do not collect sterbilde.
But recently i found one of a gebirgsjäger who fought near my hometown and was killed by partisans on May 25,1945.
Considering that the last fights in that area ceased on 2/3 May , I guess it was murdered by partisans once he fell in their captivity.
Now the question: any chance to find out the Division/Regiment, knowing his name ? 99% he was in the 188° Div, but i would like to know more of this poor guy who fell trying to defend this slice of land.
I tried to search his data in this website but no result.

http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/content_suche.asp

[Alanmccoubrey]

The problem is that there was no 188 Geb Div, there was a 188 Grenadier Regt in 68 Infanterie Division and that was in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. Alan

[bhholst]

The problem is that there was no 188 Geb Div, there was a 188 Grenadier Regt in 68 Infanterie Division and that was in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. Alan

hello Allan:
I beg to differ: the 188. Reserve Gebirgs Division was reorganized as the 188. Gebirgs Division during the winter 1944/45.
The longtime division commander Gen.Lt. Hans von Hoesslin was executed 23.Jun.1947 in Belgrade.
It is quite concervable that members of this division and belonging to other formations at the time of the German capitulation lost their lives subsequent to that date from various causes without their fate ever properly recorded . Therefore the Volksbund is unable to shed light on many individuals final resting place or DoD,
Bernhard H. Holst

[Larry deZeng]

The 188. Gebirgs-Div. was comprised of activated Reserve-, Ersatz- and Ausbildungs- units in Wehrkreis XVIII (K******228;rnten, Oberkrain, Steiermark) in the last 4 or 5 months of the war. In was engaged against Slovene Partisans in the Adriatic Littoral area and in central Slovenia. The troops were from the 35+ age groups with a median age of 44 or 45. Definitely too old to be huffing and puffing up and down mountains. Any of these fellows caught in Yugoslav (e.g., Slovenia) territory after 9 May 1945 were "disposed of." Tito's intention was to cleanse the area of any and all ethnic Germans by whatever means necessary. Since these fellows were mostly ethnic German natives of that area, they were on the "hit list." Fortunately, most of them knew this and were able to flee over the border into Austria and save themselves. There is an ocean of historical material on this Division in the Slovene language.

--BHS1956

[Zeller]

Actually there was a 188° Gebirgsjäger Division and also a 1088° gebirgs Artillerie regiment and they fought in the surroundings of Trieste (north east of Italy).
Tito partisans made many prisoners in this area and those who weren't executed immediately in the Opicina area and their bodies threw in a natural cave, were deported in Slovenia (believe Ilirska Bistrica area) and most of them did not return.

[Alanmccoubrey]

Sorry guys, I meant " no 188 Geb Div in Czechoslovakia " which is what the original question was about isn't it ? Alan

[Zeller]

Hello Alan,

nope, my original question was : how to find out the Div/Reg of a fallen soldier starting from the name? I do have a death card of a fallen gebirgsj******228;ger , killed in Italy, non Czechoslovakia. My guess is that he belonged to 188******176; Div, because they fought here, and i want to find confirmation on that.

[Simon O.]

What's actually on the death card? does it say he was in a GJ unit? The reason i ask is because i have a WP to a feldwebel who was with Res.GJR.136 of the 188 division until January '44 then transferred to the 367 ID before being KIA in Apr.44