Casualty Notification

[Helmut]

Servus,
How were the next of kin of Wehrmacht/SS members notified if they became casualties? Were notifications made only for KIA or were WIA also notified?
Inversely, how were military membrs notified if a family member back home passed away or was killed?
I know that letter traffic to and from the front took a long ime but I would assume that casualty notification would have been expedited.

I appreciate any information on this subject.

Regards,

Helmut

[Hans]

When my father was posted MIA - the local NAZI Ortsgruppenleiter informed my mother personally within three days. He must have been a very busy chappy, given the casualties in 1944. Paperwork took some time to follow. The local Wehrkreis actually wrote to my fathers father a month after he was posted as MIA and asked if he knew my fathers Military Postal Address as mail was being returned. By that time grandfather had died as well.

- Hans

[Hans]

When my father was wounded in 1942 it took approx. a month for my mother to be advised [in writing]. She also received travel documents to visit him in hospital.

- Hans

[Helmut]

Wow!

Sounds like a very informal way. Does anyone know what the extablished "by the book" procedure of notification was?
Can someone tellme theentire process from casualty, the unit through the bureaucracy to the family?

Thank you for your responses and any further responses.

Rgards,

Helmut

[Helmut]

hans,
Do you know who actually wrote the letter your mother received?

Thanks.

Regards,

Helmut

[Hans]

From memory of what my mother told me formal info. came from the Wehrkreis, in this case XIII. I can't verify it as all personal documentations were lost in the subsequent bombing of Nürnberg, when my mother lost everything.

On 23 May 1944, 3 months after my father being listed as MIA, records were still not complete, as the Wehrmelteamt, Nürnberg II. was making enquiries from my grandfather as to my fathers current "Feldpost-Nummer oder Truppenteiles". My grandfather had been dead for 2 months by this time. Why they did not contact my mother is beyond me.

The good news is that after 66 years my father although still MIA is being honoured along with his mates at the Soldatenfriedhof, Kirowograd this month. Pity my mother died four years ago, knowing very little & my sister died last Sunday knowing even less. Shows you though you need to be patient.

- Hans

[Helmut]

Hans,
Thank you for your reply and my deepest sympathy to you and your family.

Regards,

Helmut

[tigre]

Hello to all ; just in case.............................

The notification.

The burial of a fallen soldier included not only the actual burial, but also recovery, proper reporting of the soldier's death and the location of his grave, and notification of next of kin.

Once the bodies were recovered, the loss had to be reported to the responsible authorities and to the family. Ideally, the troops would bury the fallen themselves and fill out a valid loss report with the name and burial place of the dead. The commanding officer would write a letter of condolence to the family and mail (if applicable) his personal items such as photos or items such as a wedding ring to the family. The loss of personnel was reported to other military authorities, such as the replacement troops section and the Wehrmacht information center, along with information on the location of the grave. The Wehrmacht Information Office recorded the grave report and reported war casualties to the appropriate registry office.

There were cases in which the widow first received her late husband's belongings, for example a wedding ring, before the official news of the so-called heroic death (heldentod) arrived. The true circumstances of death were to be enhanced and comforted as much as possible. That is why the death notices contained phrases such as "he did not suffer" or "he died of a shot to the head", which was often not true.

Headstones were to be permanently inscribed with information such as first name, last name, rank, date of birth and death, feldpost or unit number. Guidelines for designing graves for the fallen provided sample crosses and templates for grave inscriptions. Attaching the feldpost number was soon prohibited because there was a fear that if the enemy advanced, the feldpost number or troop unit might reveal the position or movements of it. If a cross over the grave was not possible, a wooden stake with all the information had to be used and the grave had to be marked with the steel helmet of the deceased. The grave was photographed and sent to relatives with all the information.

The NSDAP was also involved in the process. The directives stipulated that the most competent senior member of the NSDAP (often the local group leader in the "Heimat") should personally deliver the news of the death to the families. The National Socialists thus attempted to influence the treatment of those who had died. In addition to the Wehrmacht, the NSDAP organized its own "ceremonies in honor of the dead" that placed the dead in the context of the National Socialist death cult and used them for its propaganda and ideological purposes.

Sources: Von Toten und Helden. Die gefallenen Soldaten der Wehrmacht während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. nina janz
Aus der Arbeit zweier Gräberoffiziere an der Ostfront 1941–1944. nina janz

Cheers. Raúl M .