German DP camps T-V

Map, References / Sources found on intro.

Tager-Kaserne; some Ukrainian documentation at Shevchenko Scientific Society Library

Telebinden

Telgte, 4 camps (British zone) Telgte today

Thürigen (US zone)

Tirscheneuth

My brother's birth document shows Tirschenreuth and has Flossenburg. I know we were at Altenstadt, Schongau (US Zone) Germany. I have a report card with dates of 11 July 1950 to 1 May 1951. On my medical record it has Munich, Germany, Funk Caserne dated Sept 1951. We were on the move all the time. We immigrated to the US in Oct 1951 E. Hutchins

I, with my family, lived at Traunstein June 1949 - May 1951. I was young and remember as having a "good time" playing with other kids. I am sure it was not that way for my family, but children are fortunately not plagued by worries like adults. Thank you for your site. Please contact: Silvia Wolff

Stadtarchiv Traunstein
08 61 - 6 52 50
08 61 - 6 52 01
http://www.traunstein.de/stadtarchiv.htm

Uchte, #2712, Land Niedersachsen (British zone)

Uhte

7/2/07 My father lived in the Kempten DP camp from 1945 to May, 1949. I would like to ask any readers who knew or knew of Jonas Girdziunas during those years to send a brief story, recollection, memory to me. My mother, Sofija Druskis nee Ivaskeviciute, lived in the Uhte, Germany displaced persons camp during the same time period. Thanks for any information on either parent. Victoria Girdziunas email : svictoria@earthlink.net

Ulm, many nationalities: Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and even Arabs,

City archive - Stadtarchiv
http://www.stadtarchiv.ulm.de/
89070 Ulm
Weinhof 12
Tel: 07 31 - 1 61 42 00
Fax: 07 31 - 1 61 16 33

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Archives Record Group: PAG 4 Box 3: District 1: Assembly Centers and Area Teams, Heidenheim, Ulm, Stuttgart

My name is Christof Maihoefer. For the DZOK Ulm and the city of Ulm, I work on the subject of displaced persons in Ulm and around (Neu-Ulm, Dornstadt, Leipheim) I can offer any assistance in questions on the subject, and I am also deeply interested to come in contact with people, who know about this time and have documents eg. In Ulm, there were different camps: Hindenburg, Sedan, and Boelke barracks.

Christof Maihoefer

Unna

Stadtarchiv Unna
Klosterstr. 12
59423 Unna
Tel: 0 23 03 - 10 34 76
Fax: 0 23 03 - 10 34 76
http://www.unna.de/stadt/41archiv.htm

Unterlüss / Unterluess, #254, Land Niedersachsen (British zone), Poles,

The following is paraphrased from Less than Slaves. The Mayor of Unterluess confirmed that there were four labor camps in the town which provided Russian and Polish women to a number of German firms. Many came via Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen and from there to work at Unterluess. The camp consisted of two large wooden barracks capable of housing about 400 persons each. Rheinmetall had the only factory in
Unterluess and Rheinmetall's work camps, with constant replacements coming in from Auschwitz, housed an estimated 900 women.

Upstadt (British zone)

Valka, Estonians, See also Baltic page: http://www.dpcamps.org/balts.html

Valka Lager Thank you for your information on Valka Lager. I was born there 50 yrs ago. My parents have photos but my mother can't seem to bring herself to tell us much without much crying, so we never really pushed the subject. Now she is elderly and some what confused, I still don't have the heart to ask about her war experiences and the camps. I'm doing my own web research so that I can leave my children some information of their history. I've searched the web for days before finding this site. Thank you for verifying my history. Marge

Reply from Olga: Question your mother again soon before she dies. Once she dies, finding answers will be harder. And you really want to know her experiences personally. Tell her how important it is for you to share her life story. When I questioned my mother, she left out a lot too and took important secrets to her grave. She kept saying 'why do you want to know'. It was a impossibly difficult time for them. They had to summon up courage on a daily basis just to make it through the day. They were truly deprived of happiness, of their childhood and of all their possessions. They witness their family members die by bombs, torture or starvation. Squashed into too small living quarters with too little sanitation, they were infected with lice and TB.

Czech site holocaust http://holocaust.valka.cz/newdesign/v400/show_html.php?id=364

Dear Olga:
My best friend, a Czech, was a resident of Valka Lager in Bavaria. The Valka camp (Valka-Lager), a post WW2 refugee camp located in the outskirts of Nuremberg, is described by the German government's Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees. In German: http://www.bafl.de/template/geschichte/content_gesch_bundesamt.htm

The above text in English translation: http://www.bafl.de/template/englisch/index_englisch_about_us.htm

A search at Google will turn up a German language page showing a photo of barracks at the camp, at a Web site about Nürnberg (Nuremberg).

The camp was named for the city of Valka that straddles the border between Estonia and Latvia, and the name stuck even after the refugees from those two countries left around 1949 and were replaced by refugees from other nations.

Thanks for your efforts. Sincerely, Dale Chock

2/11/05
I came to the US with my parents and a brother and sister. We were one of the fortunate ones that created another life after spending time in the DP camps in Germany. The two camps I remember the most were Valka and Ulm. We came to the US without any other family and friends so in the grand scheme of things it was a frightening experience to be all alone in a strange land without knowing the language. Now I'm retired and have the time to reminisce and perhaps put my life into words so that it can be shared with my family who knows very little about my life before we came to the US. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for other than perhaps communicate with others who have had similar experiences. Respectfully, John Plumitis

City archive: Stadtarchiv Varel, Stadtverwaltung, Rathaus
Windallee 4
26306 Varel
Tel: (04451) 1260
Fax: (04451) 126-130

The camps we lived in from 1945 to 1952: Varel, Bockhorn, Siegen, Sande, Hahn I was a child then and it's the only names I remember. Thank you though for the embarkation camp name. That one I could not remember at all. This is a neccessary site for all persons searching for their roots.

I thought you might add this picture to your site. I believe it was1946. I am the blonde in center of back row. My sister, Wanda, is to my immediate left. Thank you so much. I am always sending people to your site, it has grown a great deal from my first visit. Thank you very much. Rita Wolf Robinson Windsor, Ontario, Canada

We had a Polish school that I attended. I did my first Communion in Varel. Here is the picture. I am the first one on the left. After communion, our priest took us blackberry picking. One can only imagine what our white dresses must have looked like to our mothers. My dress was made by my grandmother, who was a seamstress and very adept at making clothes over. That dress changed twice as I grew. One of my sisters was born in Varel. At Christmas, one of the men would dress up as St. Nicholas, and visit the children to pass out gifts (supplied by the parents) after asking us questions. My question was, "How much is 7X7?" I did not know the answer, but because I knew all my prayers I received my small gift. So these are my memories of Varel. Thanks for adding them to your site. Best regards, Rita R., Ontario, Canada

 

The photo above and the lady is looking for anyone who knows anything. In this photo, shows a girl that looks similar; it was made in Sande in 1947. I am the small boy in the back row. The camp in Varel was a guarded camp where they kept people who had problems with their ID. Bockhorn and Friedichseld are the same. John S Pruchnik

Follow-up: Thank you Olga. John and I are in communication, sharing pictures and trying to figure out if we were in the same camps at the same time. It has become our own little mystery tour, (smile) I was born in Pultusk, Poland. John and I came over on the same ship too. He in Nov 1951 and I in Feb 1952. I am in contact with one of the crew members of that ship too. Computers are a real doorway.

I am glad to see your site grow. I remember when I first visited. Wow, what a difference. I am always suggesting your site to people that want to know about DP camps. I don't remember Varel as being a guarded camp though. Keep up the wonderful work. Sincerely yours, Rita

Varenesch -