Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

German SS and Waffen-SS 1923-1945.
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jfwiegman
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Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

Dear Forum Members,

I am new on the Forum, which I find pretty impressive.

I am looking for more military details on a cousin of my father who served in the Waffen-SS in 1943-1944: Leendert Hoop,
Unterscharführer, Missing in Action in Alsace-Lorraine in November-December 1944. Leendert was born on 24 January 1922 in
Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Leedert joined the Waffen-SS as a volunteer early 1943, he was in the Sennheim SS Training Camp, was promoted to Sturmmann,
then Rottenführer (August 1943) and to Unterscharführer in - I think - August 1944.

According to the Red Cross, a last personal message was received on 9 November 1944. After that, no more news. He was not reported
as a PoW. Obviously, this was a pretty hectic period and included the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes).

The last picture I have is from 23 August 1944 in Stuttgart. I have a Sip. number (meaning?) of 330 389 and a Dutch SS number of 18305.

What I am eager to know is in what unit he was serving in: the only FPNs I have are from Sennheim (48524 A and also G).
I have an idea he served in a German Waffen-SS unit, not in one of the Dutch Volunteer SS Units , which were mostly active on the Eastern Front.

The idea is to zoom on in the whereabouts of the unit and possibly find out where and when cousin Leendert actually went missing.

There are a couple of pictures. I list the most recent one, which was him in a field jacket with Uscha rank.

Can you tell from the uniform what unit of army branch he was attached to?

Also, would there be any information (company lists) from the place where he was trained as an NCO, possibly Braunschweig? I know there is a list of SS officers,
but not for NCO's I believe?

I have found some info at the Volksbund, no info from Deutsche Dienstelle and I received a large file from the Rasse und Siedlungs Hauptamt from the Bundesarchiv
in Berlin. Apparently, Leendert put in a request to be engaged to his Dutch girlfriend. Which produced a 70 page file on the girl in the RUSHA...

In the Netherlands I have made an appointment with the Red Cross to look into his files, looking for more clues on his unit and whereabouts in 1944.

Thanks for any help.

Johan Wiegman
The Netherlands
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Foto Leen Hoop 23-8-1944 Stuttgart.jpg
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Richard Schoutissen
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by Richard Schoutissen »

Dear Johann,

A nice black/white photo but it's very difficult to make out the color of the shoulder boards.

I don't think there are any list of NCO's.

I'm very curious to know what the 70 page file of the Main Department of Race and Settlement saying.

Sorry I can't you further Johan.

veel succes verder!

Richard
spot
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by spot »

Johann, you have more information than most. Sennheim(Cernay in Elsass) is about 10 km northwest of Mulhouse. Try getting a copy of the following book where you may find further details and contacts. The Feldpost numbers may help zero in on his unit, also if you have it, check his Führerkarte where it may mention his Dienststellung and dates at that location.

Cernay, 40-45: Le SS-Ausbildungslager de Sennheim (Unknown Binding)
by Henri Mounine (Author), Amazon.com.

Best of luck!
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

Hi,

Thanks. Yes, I do have some information.

Last week I visited the Netherlands Red Cross in The Hague who has a file on him:

there were searches in the 40-50 to find out if he possibly was made a PoW by the Americans,
the French or the British, which was apparently not the case.

His last posting was the SS Ergänzungsstelle V in Stuttgart, FPN 05434 D, where he was from August 1944 or so until
he was sent to the frontline in December 1944. There was a postcard or something from him in December '44 that he
was sent to the front.

Obviously, that was a very hectic period of time, with the Ardennes Offensive and the fighting in
the Western part of Germany and many SS units were sent all over the place to fill gaps.

According to the Red Cross, it is most likely he was killed in December 1944 in that period of hectic fighting in that
general area. They cannot be more specific than that. I assume he is buried on some of the big German cemeteries in
France or Germany as an 'Unknown Soldier'.

Of course, I would like to find out to which unit he was attached at the time of the fighting (a unit of the 6th SS Panzer Army?), but that will be hard
to find out. Still,I will continue my efforts to find out more information on the location and time.

best regards,

Johan
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John W. Howard
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by John W. Howard »

Hello Johan:
There is a possibility that Hoop was a member of the Reichsführer SS-Begleit- Battalion. They saw action in Alsace in December 1944, attacking out of the Colmar Pocket area, and many of the German units participating in the attacks were from the Stuttgart area and the local Wekrkreis. The 6th and 10th SS Divisions fought in Alsace, but mostly after January 1945. The RFSSBB is the only SS unit I can think of operating in the Alsace area in December of 1944, unless Hoop was in a Polizei unit. There is a small German cemetery near Bergheim in Alsace; that is the only one I know of, but there must be several more. Checking their burial records might be useful. Best wishes.
John W. Howard
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

hi John,

Thanks for your reply. That RFBSSis an interesting notion.

From the series of FPNs I have seen, it looks as if Leen Hoop was attached to the Sennheim Training Camp for a longer
period or time, most likely as a member of the training staff, since the FPN is 48524 all the time, but the subunit letter
changes every 3 months or so: E, I, G, B. Since April 1944 it is the SS Ergänzungsstelle in Stuttgart: 05434D.

Wouldn't you think troops were collected from the training camps and depots to reinforce existing Waffen-SS units
in that hectic period?

best regards,

Johan
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John W. Howard
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by John W. Howard »

Hello Johan:
One would think so, Johan, but there was a real desire on the part of the Germans to force the Allies back off the Rhine Plain and back into the Vosges Mountains if possible. Attacks north out of the Colmar Pocket were trying to cut the Allies off from the passes and destroy them. To that end, many training units were used, and one gets the feeling that if Hoop were still in Sennheim during this time, he was probably sent to fight north of Colmar with whatever SS units were there (i.e. RFSSBB). Lorraine adds another interesting possibility because GVB was in the Metz area, until it was moved to Alsace for the Nordwind Offensive on January 1, 1945. Since he went missing in Alsace-Lorraine in November-December 1944, those two units seem most likely to me. Let me do a little digging and see if there were other SS units in the Alsace-Lorraine area during the November-December 1944 time period; I cannot promise anything, but I am very curious thanks to you :wink: Best wishes.
John W. Howard
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

John,

Thanks, that is appreciated.

That Red Cross indication of Alsace-Lorraine / Western Border of Germany is of course pretty vague.
In the Red Cross correspondence the Colmar pocket was also mentioned.If you read German, I can send you that
document.

On 9 November 1944 Leen was still in Stuttgart and from (early) December 1944 there was a postcard/letter to his parents that he
was sent to the Front. I have also thought of GVB. I am sure by early December 1944 the Sennheim camp was already evacuated
(present day Cernay is just 10kilometers from Mulhouse, France) towards the Stuttgart area.

From his uniform and training background I assume Leen was Infantry. Still many more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to be found...

best regards,

Johan
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

hi John,

Did you manage to do any researchh into Waffen-SS units in the Alsace-Lorraine region in December 1944?

best regards,

Johan
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

Dear Forum members,

I had the black-and-white picture of my cousin coloured. A surprising effect!

best regards,

Johan

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John W. Howard
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by John W. Howard »

Hello Johan:
So far I have found BBRFSS, GvB, and the 30th Waffen SS-Grenadier Division. The 30th was a Belorussian unit formed mainly for anti-partisan duties. I am not sure if it contained "German" NCO's or not. The mystery continues!!
John W. Howard
metar
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by metar »

Hello all,
This topic relates to my uncle to whom I am named so I am also very interested in his whereabouts as you can imagine.
According to his feldpost numbers as mentioned above he was from April 1943 till December 1944 at SS-Ausbildungs-Lager Sennheim probably as an employee or an staff member.
Now I know there is a book called Cernay 40-45 le SS-Ausbildungs-Lager Sennheim.
If my information is correct there is a picture of my uncle in that book.
My question is this: is there someone in this community who has this book in his possession and if so would that person be so kind to look for that picture en maybe an article regarding my uncle?
Further I know there is a chapter in the book regarding “Les combats contre la 1re Armee Française”.
On the internet I found a picture of a tombstone with the names of three officers of Sennheim who are killed in action on the same day (24-nov-1944) in a village called Montreux-Schateau.
Is this also mentioned in the book?
I think it is possible that my uncle went missing on that very same day.
I ask a lot I know bud the book is very hard to get so I want to know if my efforts to get the book is worth the trouble.

Anyhow many thanks in advance and with regards,

Leendert Hoop
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

dear Forum members,

According to the latest information I found via a German researcher in Berlin in a SS-Hauptamt Tagesbefehl 239/44 27-11-44:

"SS-Uscha. Leendert Hoop, geb. *24.1.22, SS.-Ausbildungslager Sennheim, Germanischer Werber wird mit Wirkung vom 25.11.44 zur SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier Brigade 'Nederland' versetzt."

That particular Brigade was fighting in the Kurland (Estonia) at the time. Since that area was locked in by the Russians, he must have been sent there by ship.

This is new and exciting information. The search continues for more information about his fate from 25-11-44 onwards.

best regards,

Johan
jfwiegman
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by jfwiegman »

Friends,

A new letter was discovered from about 1948, so well after the end of WW2!

Leendert wrote from a Russen POW camp in the area of Breslau to his mother. Apparently, he survived the war.

After being wounded at the leg, he was in hospital to recover and after a period of leave, deserted from the Waffen SS,
joined a group of Polish workers and was captured by the Red Army. He was locked up in a former Nazi concentration camp
near Breslau (Breslau-Hundsfeld?).

From the camp he worked at a German farm for 2 years. In the letter he mentions he is homesick and wants to come home, but
is afraid to endanger the life of the German family he works for if he escapes from the camp.

A very exciting development, but now of course the question is, what happened after that?

I wrote to the German Red Cross and asked if they could do a specific search for him in the Soviet POW camp information they have.

Best regards,

Johan
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Regiment Norge
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Re: Looking for Unterscharfüher Leendert Hoop

Post by Regiment Norge »

The German red Cross in munich have lists of dutch POW deceased in Russia and I beleive that the russians also have a file on POWs. I got several of these on norwegian volunteers who died in captivity.

Try the Suchdienst München on the german red cross web site.
Regiment Norge
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