German Army relative

[Ryan]

Evening all,
I have a close friend who is trying to find some history on their grandfather. They have no idea where to start. I would point them straight to the AWM but their relative served in the German army in WW2.
I have told them to start at the AWM as they may have a link to the German equivalent but where else could they start?
All they have to go on is his name, the family believes he served in the cavalry, he didn't join until 1943 and he was a POW of the British.
That makes me think either NW Europe or Italy is where he served. And there would not have been many cavalry units by then, if indeed the family story is true.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Good question!

In her situation, she better have more than a family story "that my uncle was in the German cavalry in WW2" to work from. Names, birthday (or year), rank or officer/NCO, home state, place of capture, place of imprisonment, date or year of release, etc. Otherwise, she will have to research through several million soldiers' records! Being a POW will greatly narrow the search, but without specifics, she might not find much.

The Germans in WW2 were a notoriously thorough military. I have been told there are Bundesarchiv personnel records down to a man's platoon strength and rifle serial number up to the end of the war. I suggest your friend should contact the archives through the German Embassy. Granted, their diplomatic and military attaché system is focussed on current events, but they are the national representatives and ought to be able to forward communications.

As far as language goes, I suggest she write in English and they reply in German. If the communications are electronic, good administrators will be able to work in either language. There are on-line translators which will get the gist of the message across. Some (all?) records may exist in German script which will be more challenging to translate, but the internet is a big place with lots of helpful websites and forums.

Good luck!

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi Ryan

Everything said above is true and solid advice.

I can but recommend the Axis History Forum if you want to seek info that way. Marcus runs a tight ship and there is a research and archive section. There are some very helpful and adept members there.

https://forum.axishistory.com/

regards
Darrell

[Ryan]

Thank you Terry and Darrell.
I hadn't thought of the German embassy.
I'll also give her the heads up about the axis history forum.

[David Dunlop]

Ryan.

Your friend can try the German Archives on line as well at:

Bundesarchiv.de

This is their English language site and is quite comprehensive. A bit of a mix of on line data and traditional archives, but constantly expanding and you can email them in English with no problem.

The more information available about the relative the better. To find more information about birth, they might want to consider Ancestory.Com for a while. Maybe a friend subscribes and can help them out.

If the person was married trace those records as well. They often show parents names and where they lived, all of which can help when tracing Service Records. Did he emigrate from Germany after the war? If so, a search of travel, immigration and citizenship and census records from the country of arrival can also help flesh out the family history.

David

[David Dunlop]

Another possibility would be a search of POW records.

These used to be held by each nation, but have now been consolidated by the Red Cross. Your friend should be able to request a search if proof of relationship can be established to the satisfaction of the Red Cross.

Information can be found on the web site of the International Committee of the Red Cross under their Archives Division and Research Services.

If he was a prisoner of the British Army, might also be worth checking the National Archives in London. Copies of the POW files might have been retained there as well as being forwarded to the Red Cross.

David

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Ryan.

...

The more information available about the relative the better. To find more information about birth, they might want to consider Ancestory.Com for a while. Maybe a friend subscribes and can help them out.

...

There is a surprising amount of personal detail on those sites. People keep finding new data to fill in the fields. That might be a good first stop, before trying to ask the Archives for a particular file and finding out there are 37 Johann Schmidt's born in 1925 and enrolled in 1943.

[Ryan]

Cheers guys, excellent ideas.