Uncle served with German Army- MIA

My uncle was recruited by the German Army during WW2 (he was a German Romanian). I have tried to track down where his unit was at the fall of Berlin since my mother thinks his unit was on it's way to defend Berlin. I am hoping that someone knows how to go about finding where his unit may have ended up. His remains were never found..... would like to put some closure on this for my mother- 78.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

5Golf
USMCR
Desert Storm
usmc1811@netzero.com

 

My uncle apparently died in Germany near the end of the war. My mother believes that his unit was sent to defend Berlin. I am hoping someone knows how to go about tracking down German soldiers. I would like to give my motehr some closure.

Thanks.

5Golf
USMCR
Desert Storm
usmc1811@netzero.com

 

Hello Black5golf and welcome.

Do you have any idea what kind of unit he was with? Arty, Infantry, SS? There were Rumanians with the Dutch SS units. Remnants of these fought their last battles north of Berlin in the last days...

 

What was his name and where was he recruited

 

Thank you for the message and sorry to respond so late. His name was Kurt Both- he was recruited while in Romania. I will be able to provide more information after the holidays. thanks.

 

Thanks for the message... here is what i know based on some feedback from my Uncle. (My mother and uncle disagree on several things regarding is last months)
32 SS-Duivision "30. Januar"
Fought from Jan to may 1945 on Eastern Front- west of Fuerstengerg- Frankfurt/Oder
Were hit hard in the battle around halbe
He was sent to Breslau where he was inducted in to the SS- August 1944
Last known address: ss-panzer grenadier Ausbildungs Battalion 18
ss- kaswerne hamburg-langenhorn. II. Wachkompanie, maschien
engewehr schuetze

Thank you for any help you can provide. Phillip- 5Golf

 

My apologies- here is more information-
Kurt Hermann Karl Both
Left Schaessburg August 26, 1944 to Vienna and then Breslau to be inducted in to the SS. From there sent to Hamburg to train as a machine gunner.
Last known address:
3. SS Panzer Grenadier Ausbildungs Battalion 18
SS-Kaserne Hamburg- Langenhorn. II. Wachkompanie, Maschienengewehr Schuetze (32. SS-Duivision "30. Januar")
My uncle believes he may have been captured by the Russians.

Thank you for any help.

Phillip- 5Golf
usmc1811@netzero.com

 

If he fought in Halbe it is unfortunately very possible he died in the battles fought there. Got any date for last contact?

World War II | Deutsche Welle

 

Last letter received by him as 28 March 1945. Said he was to be sent to Hungary to fight the Russians. Apparently his division was sent to to fight the Russians to the east of Berlin. I know his roommates names- not sure what happened to them- Otto Glatt from Timisoara/Romania and Klaus Abraham from Schaessburg.

Uncle thinks 3 scenarios:
Sent to Brinkum and may be one of 9 casualties that were not identified after they were buried.
Captured by Russians- most like killed being an SS soldier
Died fighting in Berlin.

The confusion is where did he go after his 28 March letter- he never talked about his officers for obvious reasons.

Thanks.

 

Can't find him on the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge site:

Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. - Arbeit für den Frieden

... which probably means he has no known grave. Unfortunately the VDK do not hold details of missing soldiers.

 

I think that Erich are the person indicated for this matters. See at this post from Izi: http://www.ww2f.com/north-africa-me...osenobergefreiter-corssen-trieste-1943-a.html. I PM Erich in this moment.


Jan.

 

One possibilty is that your uncle got trapped in the Festung Breslau which ended up being surrounded by the Russians. However Breslau was still fighting when all the surounding places had surrendered (I don't have the data here but if I remember correctly that was March 1945). It is east of the Oder in Silesia. If he managed to stay near the Oder, then it is possible that his unit withdrew to defend Berlin, but since you said he had orders to defend Hungary I would rather think that he was on his way when he was reasigned to defend Breslau, probably because the way to Hungary was cut from Silezia anyway and defending Breslau was a priority for Hitler.

 

Thank you all for your help. Is there a website or place to go to see about German POWs- Either Russian or English? I know this a big leap but can never hurt.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks.

Phillip

 

some useful links about German pows in the Soviet Union and in Poland. One link is in English, the other ones are German. Hope this helps.


Kriegsgefangene des 2. Weltkrieges

Hausarbeiten.de: Deutsche Kriegsgefangene in der Sowjetunion - Hauptseminararbeit. Seminararbeiten, Diplomarbeiten, Magisterarbeiten, Referate - Hausarbeit, Referat, Diplomarbeit oder Magisterarbeit veröffentlichen!

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-6779(200522)64%3A2%3C420%3AIPGDKI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2

http://www.osteuropa-zentrum.de/oe-archiv/downloads/rezensionen/hilger.pdf

 

Skipper has some good leads, but for US custody am not sure but it should be possible in the US national archiv micorfilms. It might be a huge long shot but your researching so that is important that you take your time and do not be frustrated........

good luck to you

E ~

 

Thank you for your support. Phillip

 

Maybe they can help you?

ITS-AROLSEN.ORG | Welcome!

In German it's called 'Suchdienst' which means 'searching service' you can ask them for help by filling out an application to search a person. They say they have more than 50.000.000 records.

Take care!

 

Thank you. The site seemd more for prisoners of war or those that suffered under the Nazis but I will still try. Thank you for your help. Phillip

 

very interesting! Black5, welcome! and good luck on your search, keep us posted!!

 

If you want to post a request for information, this forum is focused on German POWs:

Forum

The site also has quite a bit of information in German and English on POW camps.