How can I find information on an individual ?

[Formula_P]

My grandfather was an Oberwachtmeister in Berlin in 1936 and I believe he moved up to Revierwachtmeister later on. I was wondering if anyone knew how I could find information on his service and maybe photographs of him. The only reason I'm not privy to this information is that my mother passed away when I was 12 years old and never heard her speak of my grandfather. She never had a lot of contact with people in Germany when she married and moved to the states with my father. I have no documents except my mother's birth certificate which had his title:Oberwachtmeister derSchultzpolizei. I also believe that the Revier was Alexanderplatz. My grandfather's name was Kurt Ziegler.
Just looking to be pushed in the right direction and any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[Gerdan]

If you have the German birth certificate if your mother (born in Berlin) there must be the exact names of her father and her mother and her home address and the exact date of their wedding in Berlin.
The Berlin Standesamt should have among their files more documents dealing with your grandfathers career.

Do you know the date and place of birth of Kurt Ziegler?
You should also contact the WASt (Wehrmachtsauskunftsstelle) in Berlin to know more about the military status of your grandfather in WW2.
This would be a good start.

Gerdan

[Formula_P]

If you have the German birth certificate if your mother (born in Berlin) there must be the exact names of her father and her mother and her home address and the exact date of their wedding in Berlin.
The Berlin Standesamt should have among their files more documents dealing with your grandfathers career.

Do you know the date and place of birth of Kurt Ziegler?
You should also contact the WASt (Wehrmachtsauskunftsstelle) in Berlin to know more about the military status of your grandfather in WW2.
This would be a good start.

Gerdan

well, I only took a medium resolution picture of my mother's birth certificate. I should go back to my safety deposit box and get a better look. To tell you the truth, besides the stamp, it looks kind of ... messy? Also, the calligraphy is a little hard to read.
Anyway, my mother was Gerda Frieda Martha Ziegler, her mother was Frieda geborene Fergens, and father was Kurt Ziegler. Also, it reads: zweiter Juli tausendhundertsechaunddreissig zu Berlin-Zehlendorf ( think this is her birth place and year?) I'll grab the actual certificate tomorrow.
My German is very bad. I want to visit, but won't until I learn (via RosettaStone language learning software) how to communicate better.
I also have no idea how to contact the WASt in Berlin. What exactly is the WASt?

Thanks for your reply!! I am very interested in my mother's side of the family and have virtually no information. I know she had a half-sister (Charlotta(?)) whom I met when I was very young and a brother (Werner) that died right before I was born.

[Gerdan]

Here you find some useful informations dealing with WASt. If your grandfather has been under German military command in WW2 they should have informations on his person and even on his family.

You can contact them also by e-mail. You need time and they want a fee.

http://www.dd-wast.de/frame_e.htm

Gerdan