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German Death Card of Theodor Habichdobinger. Killed on April 29th or 30th 1945

Discussion in 'Death Cards' started by Heartfeltzero, Mar 3, 2022.

  1. Heartfeltzero

    Heartfeltzero Active Member

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    Theodor Habichdobinger was a Gefreiter in a Grenadier Regiment. The card states that he was killed in “Close Combat Fighting” on either April 29th or 30th 1945 fighting in Bad Muskau, Germany during the final week of the War in Europe. He was 18. If on the 30th, he would have been killed on the same day that Hitler committed suicide just 2 hours North-East in Berlin. B894B793-C113-4D6D-8EFA-81C0B1DC4817.jpeg
     
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  2. ltdan

    ltdan Active Member

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    He was born 09.January 1926 in Attenkirchen a. d. Amper/Bavaria
    This can be interpolated from information provided by the War Graves Commission and this page:
    Attenkirchen, Landkreis Freising, Oberbayern, Bayern
    The war graves commission gives his date of death even 01. April, hence the "official" date 29/30 April seems rather a "guesstimate".

    He probably belonged to the 545th Volksgrenadier Division, in terms of composition and quality rather a poorly armed militia.
    Muskau was a bridgehead east of the Oder and already overrun at the beginning of the final Soviet attack operation on 16 April 1945, the "Division" completely disintegrated and its remnants were incorporated wherever it suited.

    No one can say for sure what happened after that, because smallest remnants of this unit can be found everywhere between Berlin and Dresden during the final weeks
    He is most probably buried somewhere there as one of the uncounted unknown soldiers,
     
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  3. Heartfeltzero

    Heartfeltzero Active Member

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    Thank you for all the additional information!
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2022
  4. Heartfeltzero

    Heartfeltzero Active Member

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    I found the entry in the war graves commission you’re talking about. I’m not sure that is the same person as it states that person died in Russia. And as far as the birth date of January 9th 1926. On the death card the family states he was only 18 and a half years old at time of death. If he was born on January 9th 1926, that would put his age at about 19 years and 3 months.
     
  5. ltdan

    ltdan Active Member

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    Given the name and the proximity in time, I think a double is almost impossible. I rather assume that the sparse information in the Volksbund entry is not correct.
    This is nothing unusual, because the personal data of soldiers who fell in the last weeks of the war (especially in the territory of the former GDR) is extremely incomplete.
    Due to the chaos of the time, thousands were buried anonymously and original documents usually no longer exist.
    (I speak from experience because I am one of those who help update such records).
     
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