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City archives:
Schönborner Hof, Wermbachstrasse 15 63739 Aschaffenburg There are research fees involved for this information gathering, so ask your questions carefully. As of 2006, Matthias Kloz is the Archivamtsinspektor, and he speaks English. His e-mail is: matthias.klotz@aschaffenburg.de 9/24/2012 Yes,
there were five DP Camps in Aschaffenburg. The Jaeger Kaserne was
known as POLISH
CAMP...though Lithuanians and Ukrainians were housed too. The
USA law indicates nationality by the place (state) of birth....therefore
your parents were placed in the Polish camp...although really they
are Ukrainians. When we came to USA (the same family) but I came under
Czech quota ...my mother under
Polish quota ...and my dad under Russian quota. Figure this ....the
same family? European states go by parent's nationality.... here is
the difference. Our saying: If a German Shepherd is born in France,
he doesn't become at once a French poodle because he is born in France
and visa versa. Isn't this a good comparison?
Here are three pictures from activities of PLAST in DP Camp Lagarde in Aschaffenburg....celebrating 35th anniversary of PLAST with big show.
Sample letter:
_____________________
Street map of Kasernen (plural)
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Photos from NARA show scenes from a 6-day fight to clean the town of stubborn German resistence. Company 3, 2nd Bn. 157th Regt., 45 Div., XV Corp, Aschaffenburg Germany: |
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Civilians run from the burning house set fire by 645 tank destroyer bn. | Firing is aimed at enemy snipers. 28 March 1945. |
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Pionier (Pioneer) Kasern, aerial view, 11 May 1950. | Street barrier under a battered arch, 3 April 1945. |
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German civilians clear ruble from the blasted streets. 3 April 1945. | German civilians gather near the office of the Military Gov., trying to find order in the chaos.
3 April 1945. |
"...On 25 Mar, Co C moved to positions in the vicinity of Ibersheim and Rheindurkheim in support of the 157th Inf which was initially in reserve. The company crossed the Rhine by pontoon bridge on the 27th and did no firing until Aschaffenburg was reached. Here fanatical resistance was encountered by the 157th, and the entire company fired many missions into the city starting numerous fires and destroying several buildings. For four days, the city held out against our constant mortar and artillery fire and continued daylight bombing. The company remained in position on the outskirts of town until the end of the month. ..." "...On Mar 28-31, the company fired in support of the 179th advance, which moved rather slowly south of Aschaffenburg because of fanatical resistance in that city." "...At the beginning of the month, the Main river had just been crossed by both divisions south of Aschaffenburg, and they had advanced northeast toward Bruckenau and Gersfeld. Aschaffenburg held out for two days after it had been isolated and bypassed, but surrendered on 2 Apr. " More memories of Co A atchd 179th Inf; Co B atchd 180th Inf ; Co C atchd / 157th Inf 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. More photos of the destroyed city of Aschaffenburg 1945
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Displaced Persons Camps
There were 7-10 million (figures vary depends on who's report) citizens in Nazi Germany, working as slave laborers in factories all over Germany with OST (east) identification cards. Those without identification cards had numbers branded on the inside of their right arm. They were rounded up and hauled into DP camps, 1,000 at a time in cattle cars, their paperwork processed and then assigned a bed. United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) Director Katherine Hulme recalls: "When this vast population of slaves was uncovered by the Allied armies in 1945, they had been OST [eastern] people for nearly six years." They came from Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, White Russians, Lithuania, Hungarians, Czechs and Russian /Ukrainian captive soldier forced to fight for Germany. "The Jews numbered less than one fifth of our Zone's total DP population but they were an articulate minority that if you only read the newspapers. . ., you gained the impression that they were the whole of the DP problem. They made the headlines regularly. . .They would stage hunger strikes. . .and frighten the wits out of Army and IRO by their wailing. . ." Katherine Hulme![]()
Box 43 folder 655 Wurzburg & Wildflecken camp 1945-46 Box 44 folder 656 Kleinheubach and Aschaffenburg camps 1945-47 Box 44 folder 657 Aschaffenburg camp 1947 Public Law 774 The Displaced Persons Act
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Aschaffenburg Today
Aschaffenburg is located near Frankfurt am Main in the region of Bavaria (equivalent to a state in the USA). Frankfurt is an economic and banking center where people from the region will often travel for financial services such as military loans and mortgages. Besides being a hub for services such as military loans, Frankfurt has important German history. In Frankfurt's cathedral, German emperors had been elected since 1152 and crowned since 1562. In Grosser Hirschgraben you can visit the fully furnished house of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was born here and spent his childhood within its walls. South of Frankfurt are the wooded hills of the Odenwald, alongside is the Bergstrasse, a scenic road originally built by the Romans. North of Frankfurt are found the once volcanic Vogelsberg mountain and the Nordhessische Bergland, the hilly tract of northern Hesse. The famous miniature water-castle 'Mespelbrunn' and the Castle Johannisburg (17th Century), in Aschaffenburg are definitely worth a visit. For nature enthusiasts, both forests offer excellent hiking on beautiful nature trails.
Aschaffenburg rebuilt map & Standortinformation in German
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This map stolen from http://www.goldbacher-fleischhandel.de. |
Einschlägige Archivalien vorhanden: Ja (yes)
Bestandsbeschreibung:
UNRRA -Akten, Arbeitsbücher (worker's ID book), Meldekarteien, keine Angaben, zusammen ca. 1.500.
Abdeckungsgrad der Überlieferung (ca.): 60%
Besondere Benutzungsbedingungen: Ja
Verweisadressen: Staatsarchiv Würzburg, Residenz, 97070 Würzburg (Unterfranken).------------------------------
Aschaffenburg A-Z website in German http://www.info-aschaffenburg.de/html/body_abisz.html
Landkreis (Districts) -Aschaffenburg http://www.landkreis-aschaffenburg.de/home/index.html
12 photos of Aschaffenburg http://www.meinestadt.de/aschaffenburg/bilder/
Aschaffenburg-Schweinheim West Local Training Area, Aschaffenburg Military Community, Germany http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/aschaffenburg.htm
Books on Aschaffenburg in German: http://www.alibri.de/html/region_aschaffenburg.htmlBlickwinkel Aschaffenburg by Albrecht Sylla, Martin Hahn und Roland Ebert: Ein Gang durch die Stadt und ihre Geschichte 208 pages, 39 photos, gebunden, Euro 15. ISBN 3-804386-4-3
Article: Genet. "Letter from Aschaffenburg." see New Yorker 24 (30 October 1948): 86-91.
Aschaffenburgh Orphanage:
8/1/06 Hello Olga,
I stumbled on this web site in hopes of locating the orphanage in Aschaffenburg. I was born in 1959 to an unwed mother. At the time, she was unable to care for me and put me in the orphanage until she was able to take care of me. I have my German birth certificate but no mention of a father is on it. My mother's maiden name was Rita Amelia Kuhner; at my birth I became Monika Kuhner. I want to know what I can do to try and find my birth father. I currently live in the US. My natural mother and her US husband took me back from the orphanage after I believe was 1 year time there. I never knew I was adopted until much later in life and my mother has since passed away. I don't have any information on my birth father. I do know that my mother had a sister in Wiesbaden but do not know her name. Any information you could provide to help me in my search would be most appreciated. thank you Monika (Kuhner) GroveOlga - I was born in Aschaffenburg in 1953. I was placed in an Orphanage and adopted by Americans in 1953. Can you tell me the name of the Orphanage in Aschaffenburg? Was there only one orphanage? Thanks, Pam Long Texas
Aschaffenburgh Orphanage: You probably already have the answer, but just in case you do not, the Aschaffenburg orphanage (Kinderheim) was at Kochstrasse 8 at that time and was moved to the Bessenbacherweg in 1982. The old orphanage now houses a music school. The second picture is from a 1953 article about adoptions by Americans. These pictures are from a booklet to the 150th anniversary of the "Kinderheim" and were pinned to a Pinterest board by a Carmella Hammond.
The following article talks about Americans adopting refugee children. Click to enlarge
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/da/ca/d1/dacad12e1966dfab6b88c1ddcf444dd5.jpg
Address of the new "Kinderheim": http://www.kinderheim-aschaffenburg.de/
Perhaps they know where the old records are kept. Germans are very thorough and don't throw away documents.
Dear Olga, Thanks so much for your web site on Aschaffenburg which is so interesting. I am searching for 2 persons of my family who were in the Ukrainian refugee camp of Aschaffenburg in 1947 or 1948. They were called : Galina PULCHINSKY and her daughter Ariadna MAIKOVSKY. We know that they went to Australia. Do you have an idea where I can find a list of all those refugees in Aschaffenburg camp? Or a list of the persons who went from Aschaffenburg to Australia? I thank you very much in advance, Best regards, Catherine Peyronnet, France
Hi: I was stationed in Aschaffenburg; I was in Company D 9th engineer......I miss it all.. I am only looking for pictures from when I was in the army from 1967 to 1969 mostly of the barricks I stayed in..I believe it was called Jaeger (Yaeger)... Can you help me please....Thanks Bobby Deibert, Allentown, PA
My husband was also born in Aschaffenburg. He and his parents must have been moved to Wildflecken where they lived until late 1950. Susan Wojtowicz New York
Hello,
Camp Wildflecken became installed in the former army barracks near the village of Wildflecken. Camp Aschaffenburg became installed in former army barracks near the city of Aschaffenburg. The distance between these two cities is about 70 miles. There is no direct connection between these two camps. Hope this helps :-) Bye, Heinz Leitsch GermanyDear Olga,
Oh, my God!! Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed of locating someone from my childhood through the internet. I have thought about your family . . . often through the years. . . I did a search for Pysanky and of course got quite a list of related sites. I clicked on the first one that looked promising . . . It caught my eye because of the reference to Aschaffenburg. I read through it and of course the name Kaczmar just hit me like a ton of bricks... She looked them up and picked up the friendship that had been established back in the DP Camp. Wildflecken is north of Frankfurt. It is near Marburg since I was born there while my parents lived in Wildflecken. Aschaffenburg is southeast of Frankfurt. It it about 2 hour driving distance. Aschaffenburg is a city. The reason that they may have been considered as one is that a Polish priest was assigned to that area. Usually, a Polish priest lived in a camp that had the most Poles and then he travelled to the other camps. IreneThe pastor at Camp Aschaffenburg and Wildflecken was Demetrius (Mytro) Szul graeco-cathol. parochus: His last known whereabouts would have been Franciscan monestary, Rhode Island Avenue N.E. Washington DC. If anyone has any information, contact okaczmar@gmail.com Olga
Olga,
Thank you for the website. Both my parents were at the camp in 1948. Is there an archive of camp pictures or list of displaced persons anywhere? Thank You Art CzabaniukDear Olga,
My parents lived in camp Aschaffenburg after WWII, mom and dad were slave laborers, with dad having also survived a concentration camp. Is there a site where I can get further information? Would also like to hear from any children of holocaust survivors. My parents were originally from Poland, non-jewish, and just celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary this past January 2004. They were married in the DP camp, so I am very interested in obtaining as much information as I can. Thank you for such a wonderful site! KrysiaOlga:
My mother (Maria Bodnar) spent some time in this camp and has a number of pictures relating to the camp. One in particular is a picture of a soccer team for which she was some sort of nurse. She has passed away now, but I am wondering if you would be interested in scanned copies and secondly where there might be some additional information on this camp or records. Michael Reshitnyk / Ottawa, CanadaMARIE-LOUISE HABET, Nurse and former nun, served with the British First Aid Auxiliary, giving aid to soldiers wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, she signed up with the UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), and continued her nursing career at CampWildflecken, and Camp Aschaffenburg. The IRO (International Refugee Organization) promoted her to Area Chief Nurse and transferred her to Wurzburg. During her years with the Relief Agencies, she accompanied several transports of displaced persons to their new homes, including Poland, England and Australia.(Photo: Beinecke Library-Yale University)
Any one with information regarding Ms. Habet and her humanitarian deeds is asked to contact: antony.boast@pandora.be or nicky.langley@skynet.be to help in making a documentary about Marie-Louise Habets.
10/30/04 Dear Olga,
Thank you for your site and it's pics. I too was a child resident with my family in Ascheffenburg. We where originally from Rohatyn. Over the years the memories have faded, and one begins to wonder if any of it was real. It was. It is important to pass on our history to the the next generation. Few are doing it now. Who will do it after we're gone? Oleh DzeraHi Olga:
Thank you for your site on Aschaffenburg. I was born in Aschaffenburg. Would you know how I can obtain the original birth certificate? I enjoyed reading about your family and appreciate the hard work you did in researching your geneology. Samantha Krettler Thank you for the link to a most amazing, wonderful website! I assume you are the one responsible for this beautifully researched and organized compilation on dp camps. I had searched the Internet before, several years ago, and there was so little. Your efforts are truly a work of art.
I was born in Aschaffenburg, the Ukrainian camp because they had a hospital or clinic there, and doctors, but my parents and I lived in the Polish camps.
Thank you again, on behalf of all of us! Best wishes, Maryann Wojciechowski--------
Aug. 6, 2019 Dear Olga
My grandmother and family are from Ascheffenburg. But I don't know how to get information about them. My Grandmother's name is Ericka Bruckner. Her mother's name was Anna Geis her Step father's name was Edward Bruckner. I believe she had 3 brothers. I am just looking for any information about my family. So I will know where I came from. Thank You
Nathan Holmes delilahsucks@gmail.com
Nov. 1, 2019 Hello Olga,
Thanks for your prompt response, Let me send you once again the pictures, I found them on cousin's Instagram, I do not know very much about this story, but here I go...
My great grandfather(Meodij Dondyk) was born in Ukraine and he married my great grandmother (Lidmila Tumova) and she was born in Prague, they both were on that DC Camp 713 in Aschaffenburg, I do know why and when exactly they were like transferred to Venezuela (I think it was maybe 1945, not sure about it), They came first, and later on they brought his two sons, my uncle, and my grandfather, they both were born in Prague, my grandpa got married my german grandmother, and they all were in the same Camp, and also they all were moved to Venezuela, where they became Venezuelan citizens, and they lived happily till dying, well actually, my uncle I guess is still alive, my german grandma died in Boston, and they other 3 lefting, died in Venezuela, a while ago.
I am gonna attach the pictures again, these are their identifications as stateless people.
You please see the pictures, and any information you posses might be helpful, and can you tell me please why you got related to that Camp too?
Regards and hugs.
Jonathan Rodriguez jrodriguez1119@gmail.com
11/1/2019I can recommend a very good book on DP camps, but maybe there are more current studies out there. This book is:
DP - Europe's Displaced Persons 1945-1951 by Mark Wyman. I think it was published in 1989, so there may be more current books or studies or research.
In fact, I was born in the Ukrainian clinic in Aschaffenburg, even though both my parents were from Poland. If I find any more current research, I will let you know. The general index in the book shows much information about the Ukrainians on various topics. Maybe you could find this book in your library?
Maryann in USA poniecka@aol.com