looking for my grandfather

berge6y · Post by **berge6y** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:19 pm

Hi!

is there anyone who knows where i can search for names or find out if my grandfather is still alive, he was a german soldier in Norway during the war

charlie don't surf · Post by **charlie don't surf** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:47 am

The German phonebook perhaps?

Best regards/ Daniel

RoterBaron · Post by **RoterBaron** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:08 am

Well, first of all it would be important to gather as much information as you can such as name, date of birth, place of birth, etc. Then you can follow two approaches:

1) Assuming he is still alive and his name is not something like "Schmitt", you might in fact try German phone directories (the "official" one can be found at http://www.telefonbuch.de. Other than that, you may try to contact the local authorities at his place of birth.

2) Assuming he is not alive (which I hope is not the case), you might also try the local community authorities or church offices or archives there. I guess you know whether he survived the war. If he may not have, you could also check the grave directory of the German War Cemetary Fund at http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/content_suche.asp (only in German).

Gathering as much information as possible (such as service records) will be the most important step. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to assist.

Good luck!
RoterBaron

M.H. · Post by **M.H.** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:39 am

berge6y wrote:Hi!

is there anyone who knows where i can search for names or find out if my grandfather is still alive, he was a german soldier in Norway during the war

Just gather whatever you have and ask german archives. I did it myself
and they could really help since (being german...haha) everybody were catalogued.
My first choice for you would be the Bundesarchiv. Not only do they have an english section, I can tell they work quick and cheap! (And they are friendly!)

http://www.bundesarchiv.de/kontakt/index.html?lang=en

Tell them all what you know about him like name, birthday, last rank etc. AND why they should give you that information. Not everybody is allowed to!

Good luck!!!

PS: It will help if you have someone nearby who understands german since this whole business is mostly in german....but I'm sure this forum here is glad to help you anytime!!!

Alex Dekker · Post by **Alex Dekker** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 5:07 am

As soon as you got info about his date and place of birth, full name, etc, write to the Dienstelle Berlin (WASt). They helped me out greatly. Somewhere on this forum you can find the webpage of it.

Good luck,

Alex D.

RoterBaron · Post by **RoterBaron** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:18 pm

lexiebabe wrote:Somewhere on this forum you can find the webpage of it.

It's at http://com-de.com/wast/frame_e.htm. It will cost you some Euros (around 15-20 normally), but they are really helpful when you supply enough information (Name and Date of Birth will usually do).

RoterBaron

Alex Dekker · Post by **Alex Dekker** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:29 pm

That's the one indeed!

Thanks M.H. for your contribution, I mailed them, within the hour I got an answer. Unfortunately I mailed to Koblenz instead of Freiburg. Very polite indeed!

Any idea how much a fotocopy costs at the Bundesarchiv?

Alex D.

hoggy · Post by **hoggy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:36 am

Hello, I'm also searching for information about my grandfather although I know he is dead. He joined the army before the war and survived until the early seventies. I filled in an application for military record information at WAST and submitted it but have heard nothing. Does anyone who has tried this know if it is normal to get no email confirmation of your submission? Do I just wait the 6-8 months?

Christian · Post by **Christian** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:21 am

Hello, I'm also searching for information about my grandfather although I know he is dead. He joined the army before the war and survived until the early seventies. I filled in an application for military record information at WAST and submitted it but have heard nothing. Does anyone who has tried this know if it is normal to get no email confirmation of your submission? Do I just wait the 6-8 months?

I do not recall receiving an e-mail confirmation for receipt of the request. I am afraid that all you can do is to wait for the reply. Hopefully you will be as lucky as I was given that I heard back within about 3 months.

Christian

Almeria · Post by **Almeria** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:18 pm

Hey Hoggy,
I waited 11 months and 20 days..but that's good as I got reply. No confirmation by mail or email is given. Just wait, she's in it.

Good luck
Remy

northman01 · Post by **northman01** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:23 pm

I'm interested in military information for my grandfather as well....what kind of answers does WAST give?? Is it just confirmation that he was in the military, or do they go into specifics......if so how specific? could somebody give me an example based on their experience with it? thanks

m.

Christian · Post by **Christian** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:42 am

WASt will provide a copy of an individual's military record: Units, location, dates, date and location for WIA, date and location for MIA/KIA, etc.

Christian

Alex Dekker · Post by **Alex Dekker** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:14 am

I got info about his divisions, place of livinfg during the war and the date he passed away. I did get all I needed, bassicly.

Feldgrau.net

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