Relatives in War

[BHuber]

No, not really...

The history of my father's family in second world war is horrible and though not unusual. My grandfather Anton and my grandmother Bertha were so called "Rumäniendeutsche", i.e. they were germans that lived for more than two hundred years in the Dobrudscha area, Romania. In April 1941 my grandfather became a volunteer in the 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf", the skull-division. At that time the "Totenkopf"-Regiment was reorganized in Austria and became a full division with my grandfather serving as a "Rottenführer" (which equals a seargant) in the military police unit of the division. Everybody that is familiar with the history of this particular division and the role, the SS-divions played in the holocaust on the eastern front might have a clue, what this means...

He never talked about what he did or what happened to him in WW 2, we only know that he was severly wounded by a tank shell - probably in the battle for Charkow early in 1943 - and that he was sentenced to death at the end of the war, because he protected some soldiers who stole food from a supply train. So at the end of the war he was freed by american troops in the KZ of Dachau (official documents about that still exist).

In my opinion, the whole story is quite confusing and full of contradictions. Most of the information was given by my grandmother and i am not sure how far you can trust in her memories. For example, my father believed that his father was wounded in the battle for stalingrad, although the division of my grandfather never fought at this part of the eastern front. The second confusing detail is my grandfathers' imprisonment in Dachau at the end of the war - i saw the us-documents that proof this fact. But especially at the end of the war death sentences were mostly executed immediately - it is very unusual that a former SS-soldier was sentenced to be imprisoned in a KZ, especially as there were also special units for sentenced soldiers that had to do the very dangerous and almost suicidal missions. But as a social scientist i am also familiar with the strategies of families to cope with the history of the lost war and the guilt of family members - often these facts were concealed and swapped by stories that should proof the innocence or the grim fate of family members as victims of the war and not as committers...

[42below]

Both my Grandfathers avoided being drafted into WW2 - the paternal one due to childhood polio, the other due to his 'essential employment' for a local newspaper. My maternal great-uncles all fought in WW2, most with the NZ 2nd Expeditionary Force through Nth Africa and Italy. One flew with 145 Sqn RAF - 'Pat' Newman. He is buried in Padua, Italy at the Commonwealth Cemetary. His Spitfire VIII sustained damage after a building he strafed exploded and he crashed attempting to get his smoking plane back to base.
His brother Herbert was a navigator on a Blenheim bomber and went down on his first sortie. He was captured but made several escape attempts, once being caught in a hayloft by a German soldier who was probably looking for somewhere to hide and sleep himself! He ended up in Stalag Luft III and took part in the Great Escape - he got stuck in the tunnel because he was wearing so much clothing so escaped the fate of the '50'. He acknowledged the Camp Commandant for his leniency; for not doing more than strictly ordered to.

[Vuk]

I'm late as usual...
Badly damaged photo from my family legacy shows the group of Royal Yugoslav Army prisoners of war in Stalag XX B Danzig Marienburg. Man with a tambourine is my late grandfather, artillery sergeant Radenko Grković (1902 - 1984). During imprisonment, his most valuable property, I guess, was the second photo showing his first wife Leposava with their two-year old daughter, who both died in Belgrade bombardment on April 6th, 1941, at the very beginning of WW2 in Yugoslavia. The back of this second photo contains Stalag XX B stamp with some of my grandfather's handwriting.
Some time later, Radenko escape from the camp and, after couple of months, manage to reach Serbia where he joined the Resistance. He was seriously wounded, but managed to survive until the liberation. During his escape, he was helped by some family in Slovakia. Never knew who they were...

[inkworm]

A few photos taken by my other half's grandfather, all taken in Egypt around 1919/1920 but don't have much more info on the subject. We don't know much about his service career but mother in law seems to think he joined up when it was still the RFC. He was also in the Observer Corps during WWII

I rather like the Snipe.

[Mangas]

Since you asked...
During a Great Patriotic War my grandmother was a nurse who worked in the hospital (near Stalingrad) and treated hundreds of heavily wounded soldiers in the devastating battles... I'll never forget her stories about the hell that happened there.
Retired as a major of Medical Service (chest full of medals) and a honorary citizen of her city. She's a true gem of our family... Passed away last year at the age of 89.
My grandfather during the GPW was an officer, the company commander.
He was very brave leader. His multiple awards include Order of the Red Star, Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War (Ist degree).
After he was seriously wounded and suffered heavy shell-shock, he was taken away to the hospital. That's where he met my grandmother, and they fell in love (just like in the old movies)... They got married after the war was over.
He passed away in 1991...
Actually, it was them who raised me (not my parents)... Perhaps that's why I feel I'm absolutely addicted to the ww2 stuff till the rest of my days...

Their picture dated late 1943:

[Mcmahon87]

Thank you Kakukk for stating this amazing thread! Seriously, it's plain to see that our generation is loosing its identity and roots. Remebering our ancestors is crucial to keep the track of the history. The photos are out of this world, I love old pics, they look so natural as compared to modern Photoshop "masterpieces"
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[Supah]

My grandfather on my mothers side was put to work rebuilding the local airbase, Leeuwarden which was a nightfighter base. Once the germans found out they were sabotaging the runways by making caveties under the concrete so it would collapse under the weight of a heavy aircraft he had to hide and lived in a local bog for a few years. After the war he salvaged wrecks from engineering vehicles to start his own ground moving company.

My other grandfather was put to work on a german farm, the german farmer treated him very kindly. Probably because they had lost a son to an accident who would have been about the same age my grandfather was then. After the war was over he walked back on foot to the Netherlands and later on became a civil servant.

My dad served in the dutch army signals corps during the cold war for his conscription period ... does that count?