Something about WASt and research for fates in Germany

[Alexander W. Hohl]

Jaap,

I will adds th. to Wast. You can't find any details about crashes there. I WAST you can get informations about ranks, units to which this person belonged and sometimes sthing about the last place of the unit.

But I got problems to find out sth. about my grandfather, cause I needed a permission of my father that I could get these informations from WASt.

So the best way to find out sth. about a crash is:

1. Have a look or require to BA-MA.

2. Set a request in the 'Jägerblatt'in Germany, if you need infos of f.e. a crash of a FW 190.(But I havn't the address).

2a. Set a request in the 'Luftwaffen Revue'for bomber or recce units. The address:
Luftwaffen Revue, Rheinalle 55, D-53173 Bonn, Germany.
3. That what Jaap says, ask the local 'Einwohnermeldeamt' or archive in this town
for details.

Regards,

Alex

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Clyde Wilson
Locate Former Luftwaffe Member
Thu Oct 23 02:16:06 2003
24.125.125.35

My college German professor was in the Luftwaffe during WW II. His name is Heinz Jurgen Griebsch. Can anyone tell me how to get info about his service record and locate his present whereabouts?

Sincerely,
Clyde Wilson

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Grzegorz Plonski
Wehrmacht Archives
Thu Oct 23 11:37:30 2003
217.99.2.134

You should contact the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt), as it collect personal files. There's a special form at their web site, sadly you may not obtain the information due to privacy protection, but you can always try!

Deutsche Dienstelle (WASt)
Postfach 51 06 57
D-13400 Berlin
Deutschland

Phone: +49 (030) 41904-100
Fax: +49 (030) 41904-100

http://www.com-de.pair.com/wast

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Steve Coates
Search Request
Fri Oct 24 00:40:41 2003
81.131.71.207

You could additionally try the German telephone directory - www.telefonbuch.de . It's worked for me on a few occasions.

If he was a commissioned officer, you might also get somewhere by trying the Bundesarchiv-Zentralnachweisstelle as they hold the personnel files. they will charge for a search. The address is - Abteigarten 6, 52076 Aachen.

Steve Coates

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Jackie Felber
Information on Grandfather
Mon Apr 19, 2004 21:38
80.44.127.100

Hi. I am looking for any information at all that might be out there on my Grandfather Karl Felber. He was in the Luftwaffe in WWII, and was captured in Europe then brought to Britain. I don't know much more than this I'm afraid, but I don't know where to start. I can find out his age (approximately 17), birthday, birthplace if it helps).
Thanks. Yours sincerely, Jackie.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

John Vasco
Re: Information on Grandfather
Mon Apr 19, 2004 23:35
195.92.67.76

Jackie,

Write to:
WASt
Eichborndamm 167
Berlin
State your relationship to the person you are seeking information about. Provide a full name, and also a date of birth and place of birth. Also, if you know which section of the Luftwaffe he was in (flying or field division/regiment0 that would also help.

Hope the above is of some help to you.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Jackie Felber
Thanks
Tue Apr 20, 2004 18:30
80.44.91.6

Thanks to John Vasco for that info. Much appreciated. It's a place for me to start!

[Richard T Eger]

The following information was supplied to me today by Larry deZeng. It was a response to an inquiry by a fellow seeking information about the fate of his father's crew after their plane went down at or near Magdeburg.

"WASt = Deutsche Dienststelle für die Benachrichtigung der nächsten Angehörigen von Gefallenen der ehemaligen deutschen Wehrmacht (German Office for Notification of Next of Kin of Members of the Former Wehrmacht Killed on Active Service). You must go through WASt to obtain hospital information (incl. medical treatment of P/Ws) from the Krankenbuchlager (Depository for Hospital and Medical Records) located at Wattstraße 11-13, 1000 Berlin 65.

WASt's address is: Eichborndamm 167-209, 1000 Berlin 51. Both of these are 15- year-old addresses, but the website will give you the new ones. WASt also has a bi-lingual website at: www.com-de.com/wast/index.htm . Their rules are as follows: for non-family members they will only provide information if it is 10 years or more after the individual's death or 90 years after the individual's date of birth. The charge in force on 20 June 2003 was $8.00 per page for non-official (un-notarized) photocopies.

BA-MA is the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv in Freiburg. The RL 40/Kart Flak maps are there You will find lots more on BA-MA on the website www.lwag.org in the "Archives in Germany" forums, including the address and how to write to them.

These German government agencies will correspond with you in English (both ways), but it takes a little longer that way. Imagine the clerk of your hometown's courthouse getting a letter of inquiry written in German. You can imagine what would happen. At least most German agencies will process your inquiry and respond in English, albeit reluctantly.

A couple of other points. Expect 3 to 5 months from the time you write to the time you get a reply. Nearly all Luftwaffe records were destroyed at the end of the war, so people will have to do a lot of searching to try and answer your questions. That's why I suggested the Magdeburg city archivist as a possible shortcut. Some city historian may have already done the basic research and they may know right where to put their finger on it."

Thanks, Larry.

Regards,
Richard