Info on Sigmund Bachman

German SS and Waffen-SS 1923-1945.
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GBenz
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Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by GBenz »

I've been reading this site for a while and registered not too long ago. I was born and raised in USA, but most of my German relatives immigrated here. My grandparents Emil and Anna Benz came here with my father Kurt in 1928. My specific question deals with my Grandmother and her brother. Her maiden name was Bachman and she had a brother Sigmund, who from what I have gathered over the years from my father and cousins, was in the SS. In fact, one of Sigmund's grandsons told me he was an officer who died at Stalingrad and at one time was a body guard for Mussolini. My Oma showed me pictures of him in uniform, but talked little about him, and was very bitter until the day she died that his body was never brought back to Germany. All the Bachmman's I know personally or have seen pictures of are 6'4" or taller. The cousin I mentioned and his brother are 6'10" and 6'11" respectively. My cousin Lisa Lotta, who was 2 when her father Sigmund died, is 6'4". I wish my Oma would have been more forthcoming with info. As probably most here know or have come across, the older generation were very tight lipped, while the younger ones like myself get most info third and fourth hand. If it will help, my uncle Sigmund had a brother Karl who I believe was also in the SS and survived the war. My cousin says he lost a leg in Italy and died in the 80's. My understanding of the German language is limited, hence my searches of the German War Graves site and others related sites do me no good. I hope someone here can help me out with any info, specifically his rank, honors and date of death. Thanks in advance.
alan newark
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by alan newark »

Hi, GBenz

You have probably seen the following but, just in case, I append a detailed Wikipedia list of Waffen-SS Knights Cross recipients which includes two individuals with the surname Bachmann.

Neither is named Sigmund. I womdered if either of these men could have been related to Sigmund or if Sigmund might have been your relative's middle name or an adopted name?

The info might not be of any use but In our business of wartime research it pays to allow for any eventuality.

Best

Al:->

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kn ... _Waffen-SS
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GBenz
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by GBenz »

Thanks for the reply and help. My info on my great uncle is limited. Two of the people who knew him and could have gave me info have passed on. My father and my Oma. Unfortunately, my cousin Lisa, his daughter, doesn't speak much about her times during the war or her father. Of course, she was only two. Is there a KIA list from Stalingrad? That might have his rank listed.
alan newark
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by alan newark »

Hi, GBenz

You might try e-mailing the below authors and asking if they or their researchers can help?

Also, can you be more specific than just 'SS'...?

SS, Allgemeine - SS, Waffen-SS?

Junior rank, NCO, Officer?

Theatres served in? Medals or clasps awarded? Wounded?

Do you have access to his Soldbuch or a Wehrpass or any other service document? Any photographs or letters?

If not, please refer to relatives, see what other memories may survive?

Besten

Al:->
******************************************************************************************************************************
SSMurderous elite : the Waffen-SS and its record... by James Pontolillo
Murderous elite : the Waffen-SS and its record of atrocities
by James Pontolillo
Book : Biography
Language: English
Publisher: Stockholm : Leandoer & Ekholm, 2009.
View all editions and formats

2. SS Officers list : (as of 30 January 1942) : SS-Standartenfuhrer...
SS Officers list : (as of 30 January 1942) : SS-Standartenfuhrer to SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer : assignments and decorations of the senior SS Officer Corps.
Book
Language: English
Publisher: Atglen, PA : Schiffer, ©2000.

3. The last levy : Waffen-SS officer roster, March... by Antonio J Munoz
The last levy : Waffen-SS officer roster, March 1st, 1945 = Die letzte Aushebung : SS Dienstalterliste, 1. März 1945
by Antonio J Munoz; Waffen-SS.
Book
Language: English
Publisher: Bayside, NY : Axis Europa Books, ©2001.

4. Dienstaltersliste der Waffen-SS : SS-Obergruppenführer... by Brün Meyer
Dienstaltersliste der Waffen-SS : SS-Obergruppenführer bis SS-Hauptsturmführer
by Brün Meyer; Waffen-SS.;
Book
Language: German
Publisher: Osnabrück : Biblio Verlag, 1987.
View all editions and formats

5. Die Träger Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und der... by Horst Scheibert
Die Träger Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und der Waffen-SS ; Die Träger der Ehrentafelspange der Kriegsmarine ; Die Inhaber des Ehrenpokals für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg
by Horst Scheibert
Book
Language: German
Publisher: Friedberg : Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, ©1986.


8. Suomalaisten Waffen-SS vapaaehtoisten matrikkeli... by Heikki Olsson
Suomalaisten Waffen-SS vapaaehtoisten matrikkeli 1941-1943
by Heikki Olsson;

Book : Biography
Language: Finnish
Publisher: [Helsinki?] : Wiking, [1999]
View all editions and formats
9. Sepp Dietrich : Dokumentensammlung by Towiah Friedman
Sepp Dietrich : Dokumentensammlung
by Towiah Friedman; Makhon le-doḳumenṭatsyah be-Yiśra'el (Haifa, Israel).;
Book : Biography
Language: German
Publisher: [Haifa : Institute of Documentation in Israel, 1996]
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GBenz
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by GBenz »

Thanks again Alan. I'm going to be visiting my cousin next year and hope to go thru our Oma's pictures and personal affects. Maybe I can glean some more precise info.
alan newark
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by alan newark »

Hi

You might want to pop over to http://www.stalingrad-info.com and check out their various sections and their Guest Book..where you could ask about Germans Gefallen at Stalingrad.

I have posted a fellow user's request, for info about German divisions, in the Guest Book.

You could place an appeal there.

I will have a private word with a founder of that site (with whom I have long corresponded, who runs a small private Volgograd battle museum and who helped set up one of the area's better organised battlefield metal detectorist groups) and see if his local / wider personal contacts can help.

Enjoy your 2012 visit with family. Keep us / me posted about overalll progress.

Besten..Al:->
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alan newark
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by alan newark »

Hi

Found a Paul Bachmann, a Abwehr Brandenburg commando, on the below web page Gefallen list...

...maybe a relative of Sigmund / Siegmund?

Al.

******************************************************************************************************************************Memorial list of 98 Brandenburg commandos

Postby alan newark » Sun Dec 04, 2011 4:02 pm
Memorial list of 98 Brandenburg commandos. Great site for Gefallen info, including POWs cemeteries.

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... pfer.de%2F
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Doktor Krollspell
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by Doktor Krollspell »

GBenz wrote:Sigmund, who from what I have gathered over the years from my father and cousins, was in the SS. In fact, one of Sigmund's grandsons told me he was an officer who died at Stalingrad and at one time was a body guard for Mussolini.
GBenz wrote:Is there a KIA list from Stalingrad? That might have his rank listed.
First, there were no Waffen-SS units in the 6. Armee at Stalingrad. If your relative took part in the battle for Stalingrad, he must have belonged to a Heer unit.

A quick search att the www.volksbund.de (The German war graves commision) got the following result:

Bachmann, Sigismund; Born 11.05.1910 in Zisow-Helm. KIA/MIA 10.11.1944 at/near Ramosk. Rank; Gefreiter (Corporal).
Grave unknown, but probalby buried at the War cemetary at Mlawka in Poland.


Regards,

Krollspell
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GBenz
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by GBenz »

Doktor Krollspell wrote:
GBenz wrote:Sigmund, who from what I have gathered over the years from my father and cousins, was in the SS. In fact, one of Sigmund's grandsons told me he was an officer who died at Stalingrad and at one time was a body guard for Mussolini.
GBenz wrote:Is there a KIA list from Stalingrad? That might have his rank listed.
First, there were no Waffen-SS units in the 6. Armee at Stalingrad. If your relative took part in the battle for Stalingrad, he must have belonged to a Heer unit.

A quick search att the http://www.volksbund.de (The German war graves commision) got the following result:

Bachmann, Sigismund; Born 11.05.1910 in Zisow-Helm. KIA/MIA 10.11.1944 at/near Ramosk. Rank; Gefreiter (Corporal).
Grave unknown, but probalby buried at the War cemetary at Mlawka in Poland.


Regards,

Krollspell
Thanks Krollspell. Like I mentioned in my first post, getting info from the older relatives is proving difficult, and to make things worse, my Uncle Sigmund passed away in December. He at least had pictures of the Bachman family. I'm going to talk to my cousin Ivan, one of the grandsons of Sigmund Bachman and see if he knows anything. Unfortunately, he's only 49, and like me, finds it hard to get info other than names. At the very least, I might be able to get a birth date and see if it matches the one you found. It sounds very close. Again, thanks.
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Alex Dekker
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Re: Info on Sigmund Bachman

Post by Alex Dekker »

I'd say: fill in a searchformular from the WASt Dienststelle Berlin. Wait a few months and you will know a lot about him.
Always in need for info about: Dutchmen in the NSKK, HJ and TeNo.
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