DP Camps in Germany Hi - Hz

Hofgeismar (near Kassel)

UNNRA Team 511:
CWS Fox
H. Pessoa
L. Taylor
E. Harrison
K. Welhaven
S. Franks - Dr.

Hohenfels; Poles

I read the article on the camp at Wildflecken. My parents and I were there in 1950 before we migrated to Australia. My mother, a forced labourer in Germany. My father spent the war years in concentration camps, in Poland, Germany and France. I was born in DP camp Hohenfels. We were also in Bad Reichenhall, Hanau, Incikofen.

Mum told me once that she had no money to buy a dress for her wedding, no ring, no shoes etc., so they borrowed everything and a kind women on the camp fixed her hair and put a little net on her head and that was it; nothing fancy. They married in a Polish monk's monastery somewhere nearby by a Polish Monk or Brother, the closest thing to a priest. To celebrate their wedding they were given a barrel of alcohol by the monks. Whilst my father was away with the Compania Wartownicie under the American Occupation, my mother stayed at DP Camp Hohenfels with me till 1949.

I used my naturalization papers which had my name, D.O.B., & born in Germany. I backtracked with the Australia Archives and immigration. I learned where I was born; what camps; names of grandparents; from where in Poland my parents came.

I found mum's and dad's families in Poland. In 2000 we had them visit Australia and meet their parents whom they hadn't seem since babies. Very emotional, especially for mum's son. He and his wife were with us for 4 days and mum died of a massive stroke. I sometimes think to myself if it might have been better to leave the past behind, but you can't change things, and mum sent me on this journey to find her son. I started digging for this needle in a haystack and opened up a big pot of family secrets. My father and I have always had a strange relationship and now we do not talk. All very sad. I wrote a small article, if you are interested.
Warm regards, Maria Nolan / Australia

The personal documents of the former residents of the Bergen-Belsen DP-Camp (also named Hohne Camp).
These documents are still in the register office of the cityhall of Bergen. If you have any questions about birth- or death certificates or about civil mariage certificates you can write to:

Postal address (P.O. Box):
Standesamt Bergen
Postfach 1199
D-29296 Bergen

Street Address for visitors:
Standesamt Bergen
Deichend 3
D-29303 Bergen

Phone: +49 (0) 50 51 / 479 0
Fax: +49 (0) 50 51 / 479 39

Marlene Habermann marlene.habermann@bergen-online.de Tel 05 05 1 / 47 91 9

To find the marriage certificates at least the month and year of marriage should be known. The lady responsible for this kind of requests speaks English quite well, so there should be no difficulties in communication.

About the locaton of documents concerning the religious marriages nothing is known, I'm sorry. Schulz, Elfriede Elfriede.Schulz@stiftung-ng.de

Stadtarchivar: Kurt-Werner Seebo Email: Kurt-Werner.Seebo@bergen-online.de Tel.: 05051/911 107
The city link : http://www.bergen-online.de/index1024.htm

Holthausen (British zone)

Holzminden, #289, Land Niedersachsen (British zone)

Horneburg, Lower Saxony (British zone)

Höxter / Hoexter (British zone), Poles

Hückeswagen / Hueckeswagen, Poles

Hulchrath, Poles

Hullern, 2 camps (British zone)

Huntlosen, #262 (formerly 227) Land Niedersachsen (British zone)

Hüsten / Huesten

Archives of Europe: http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/euro1.html