Dear all, I am conducting research on an American soldier who is still missing in action. He died in a POW camp hospital in Memmingen, Germany, in February 1945. It is strange that the U.S. Army never tried to locate his grave in Germany; they only searched the area where he was last seen. Can anyone tell me if the German kept any records on U.S. POWs and their burial locations? Best regards, Max
Yes. The Germans kept meticulous records and still do. See the post that lists all the names of the Dachau Prison Inmates.
Thank you. Are these records available at the Bundesarchiv? A name is actually not necessary here. I just would like to know if the Germans kept any records, and if so where I can find them.
At the end of WW2 all local German authorities such as the major of a town or village knowing of any non-German Military graves in their places were obliged to notify the Allies about these facts. I now of a US airman which in 1944 was buried locally at first, but in summer 1945 was transferred to Belgium at first and later back home. The original burial place was only some 50 km from Memmingen. Stefan.
I assumed you were looking for a certain person since you wrote "I am conducting research on an American soldier who is still missing in action.".
Have not read this thread (Busy) so Apple Ologies if this is duplicated above. http://powvets.com/pow-search/ Online database of Soviet WWII prisoners - http://www.dokst.de/main/node/1126 British Commonwealth: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/search/ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-prisoners-second-world-war-korean-war/ Axis POW Camps: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-prisoners-second-world-war-korean-war/ Axis + POWs: https://www.dd-wast.de/de/startseite.html http://www.genealoger.com/german/ger_military.htm List: https://www.dd-wast.de/de/unterlagen/akten-und-karteimaterial.html http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/ukmilitary/collections.aspx?o_xid=39647&o_lid=39647 http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1601 From: http://genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/3915/how-to-find-information-on-german-soldiers-from-world-war-i-and-world-war-ii If your ancestor was an officer or official in the Wehrmacht, the Bundesarchiv in Freiburg (Bundesarchiv, Abteilung Militärarchiv) holds personnel documents. They also have documents on military trials and awards for all ranks. The Bundesarchiv in Berlin has records on members of SA, SS and Waffen-SS. For access and costs please contact the Bundesarchiv. General note on using German archive resources: Contact them and tell them what you are looking for. Ask if it is necessary/possible to come by or if the research can be done by the archive. (The latter is often possible for simple tasks like information on the membership in the Nazi party (NSDAP) and other “standardizes” research tasks. German Archives usually do not conduct extensive research, you have to do this on your own or use a professional research service.) Their reply will contain information on available records, archive use and prices. They will also send you a Benutzungsantrag (application). You have to fill your details, what you are working on and what is the purpose of your research (academic, private (e.g. genealogy), official …) and sign their conditions. To give you an idea about the price tag: In summer 2013 I paid the Bundesarchiv for 30 minutes of research 15,34 EUR and 0,43 EUR for each copy. Visiting a archive and doing research there is usually free of charge. Information on war captivity might be contained in your dossier from the Deutsche Dienststelle. The German Red Cross, Suchdienst München has access to records on prisoners in Soviet captivity and missing soldiers. A soviet record on a German prisoner of war usually consist of five pages. It contains information that might also be helpful for genealogical questions other than those concerning the POW himself: notes on camps and relocations biographical information about the POW (birth date and place, last known address, language knowledge, membership in political parties, confession, education, profession, family status, possessions, private connections to the Soviet Union, trials, practical skills) military information (drafting date, branch of service, unit, dog tag number, rank, function, awards, if surrendered of captured, date and place) visual nature and special characteristics of the POW biographical information about his parents, wife and siblings (name, surname, age, profession, place of residence) and even more details on the father (possessions) They send you the records within several weeks. The records are in Russian. They usually add a letter with a translation of notes on camps and relocations. They do not translate biographical and military details. You’ll get a summary where you can see which column contains which information and have to look for translation elsewhere. As far as I know, this service is free of charge. They ask for donations. Please keep in mind, that the Suchdienst also helps to find missing individuals in modern conflicts. The German Red Cross Suchdienst provides also access to Vermisstenbildlisten. These lists of casualties missed in action were created in the 1950s. The database was created from inquiries from family members and other parties, it is no collection of all missing soldiers. 125.000 pages in 225 volumes contain 1.400.000 soldiers (and civilians), 900.000 entries with photographs. The lists are online since April 2015, however using them remains complicated as they can’t be searched by name or birth date. You need a Feldpostnummer, a camp number, a field address or a last known place.
That is correct, but the AGRS never conducted a search for his remains near the camp... So no statements about non-German military graves in his file.
You mean the American Graves Registration Command in Bad Toelz, Germany? They probably did not do any search, but were depending on the local authorities to tell them. And I guess there was no way to refuse. I have a copy of a Bekanntmachung in German language asking for any grave of American soldiers, no matter were it was. Stefan.
Yeah, I am aware of that. But he might be buried as an unknown, or in a mass grave. The mayor of the town couldn't have known this. I checked the Red Cross, and they have no records. No unknowns were exhumed in the vicinity of the town. And the city archives do not have any records related to U.S. burials. Also checked the local cemetery. No non-German military graves. But they do have 17 unknown graves. No documentation on those though.
OK Max, I have another idea. I assume you have the name of the soldier. Do you also know the name of the camp hospital in Memmingen and possibly the date he died (at least approx.)? Stefan.
