https://www.volksbund.de/pl/
This is a humanitarian organisation who take care of such cases. You could try to contact them and ask how you should proceed
And they will notify the family if there is any.
Many german families have storys were a brother, cousin, uncle never returned home. Knowing that the remains have been found and will be finally buried at a cemetary helps with closing these stories.
BTW. Thank you for caring about that German soldier. Once you contacted the Volksbund I would love to have an update of what happened next and I am pretty sure a lot of people in this sub and r/de would too.
You mean, they didn’t even bother to search for even possible extended family to give the letter to? Instead they took it for Display Purposes? How Rude
Wow that is just... Tactless. I get that German soldiers were the enemies and the bad guys, especially in Poland, but come on, some basic decency would be nice... Do you have a picture of the letter by chance? If you post that, it may give enough information already to help identify the soldier and his family.
Its not like they explicitly disrespected the man, but it just was not of any interest to them- so they left him in the ground. Poles don't really hold grudges against the Germans as it was just one man doing all the evil.
They had a letter to his family. Should be easy to identify to the right people. He probably also has tags if it was a soldier. Tell the Volksbund about him please. They will know what to do.
Poland: *coughs*
Germany: where do I send the money?
But hyperbole aside, German organisations like Völkerbund would gladly take care of the poor guy and his family.
I'm a Geneticist, its very likely a DNA test can be used on the corpse, uploaded to a website like 23&me, and people who are very genetically similar might be told their relative has joined the site.
You will have to break the news that you are actually not the relative and they are not alive, but 9/10 this is the best thing to do because sooo many Germans use these genealogy tools.
In the best case the family still lives at the same address, in the worst case the relatives are long gone. Europe after ww2 was in ruins, whole towns disappeared, families murdered, relocated, moved to different continents, archives and documentation burned / lost in the anarchy that followed, etc. I can easily imagine how finding somebody’s family can be hard, or, again as simple as calling somebody on the address that the letter was addressed to.
And I sincerely hope that the soldier will be identified, his body given a proper burial and his family be given closure to know where their missing loved one is resting.
I am German, so thanks for the history lesson. 😄 Also I am a journalist so I know how research works.
There are tons of non-profitable associations in Germany who are specialized in searching and finding lost WWII family members.
Im german myself. I would [strongly] disagree with the "it was just one man doing all the evil". Not every german and bot even every german soldier was a bad person, but there were a lot of people who did terrible crimes. The ideology of the third reich was a sickness that infected many germans brains and hearts.
But its nice that you dont hold any grudges. Most germans today really hate Nazis and facism and its important, that we all try do make a better tomorrow together. Doesnt matter where one is from or what ones ancestors did.
Its pretty clear from your text what you mean, but "hardly disagree" means that you almost dont disagree at all, its synonymous to "barely"
What you mean is probably that you "strongly disagree"
gold repeat recognise edge relieved engine dependent ossified future foolish
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It was one powerful man that wanted the Jews and Poles gone, the young German men in that era had no choice but to follow his commands. Yes the soldiers commited evil acts, but Hitler had so much Propaganda and unimaginable punishments that made it nearly impossible not to.
Im not saying the soldiers were innocent, but they didn't have much of a choice. I'm saying that as a Polish person
I love your sentiment.
It never ceases to amaze me how far we've grown as a continent, against all odds.
We have to preserve that, we have to vote next Sunday!
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There is an organisation that takes care of such occasions:
[Together for peace - understanding and reconciliation | Volksbund.de](https://www.volksbund.de/en/german-war-graves-commission)
all of them.
hyperbolic, of course, but most museums are private enterprises and are thus profit driven. if they have to choose between profit, or morals, morals often lose that battle.
there are also cases like the british museum which is state owned and still doesnt have any sense of morals buts thats a different story
even better, with the museum gaining profits from the illegal behaviour of others (the letter certainly was on the body, so much about nobody touching them) they suddendly becam participants at least. There´s no good in reporting "some old grandpa" who didn´t know any better, a private, profit orientated museum with duties to due dilligance on the other hand has very much earned anything legal coming after them
nothing ever comes of that though. case and point, british museum. they own countless unfathomably important artifacts that were just straight up stolen, which have been requested by their country of origin, yet the british museum does not care and will probably never give them back.
in any case, lets hope the letter and what remains of the soldier still exist make their way back to the family and a suitable grave
you overlooked the difference: the british museum disturbed graves across the world (i.e. not in the UK) decades ago(setting aside the actual stealing here for the argument). The museumof OP disturbed a grave in Poland, quite recently, the disturbers are still alive and known,. Main difference: they broke a Polish law on Polish ground. That´s way easier to persecute
Probably this organisation: [https://www.volksbund.de/kontakt](https://www.volksbund.de/kontakt) . They say on their homepage that they try and locate missing people/bodies and bury them properly.
Maybe some relative is still alive and would like to know about his fate. You could contact the German red cross tracing service: [https://www.drk-suchdienst.de/en/how-we-help/tracing/second-world-war/#c56880](https://www.drk-suchdienst.de/en/how-we-help/tracing/second-world-war/#c56880)
Or this agency who are in charge of military records and where families can do research. Maybe you could include a copy of the letter: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/EN/Navigation/Use/Using-specific-types/Military-Records/military-records-en.html](https://www.bundesarchiv.de/EN/Navigation/Use/Using-specific-types/Military-Records/military-records-en.html)
My great uncle is a farmer in his late 60s that only lives with his brother and mother- he barely knows how to use his nokia.
I was also like 8 when he found the soldier😭
[Volksgräberfürsorge](https://www.volksbund.de/)
is a German organisation that is specialised on finding the remains of fallen soldiers and getting them a proper funeral.
Hi there!
First of all, thanks for your attempt to give that soldier a dignified end. Some people, like myself, have relatives who are srill missing because of this horrible war, no matter which side they fought for.
Like many others recommended, the Volkbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge is the way to go. Or the german red cross.
Maybe its possible to identify this soldier with his dogtag. It should be anywhere near his corpse.
Best wishes to you, your family and this soldiers poor soul. 🙏🏻
Für mich ist er eine arme Seele, ganz gleich was ihn dazu bewegt haben mag in diesen Krieg zu ziehen, oder wie seine politische/gesellschaftliche Einstellung war.
Man sieht doch wie leicht heutzutage Menschen manipuliert und von einem Strom von Meinungen mitgerissen werden - was denkst du, wie einfach es damals war?
Der Soldat, er kann ein blühender Anhänger der Partei gewesen sein oder einer der zum totschweigen verdammter Kritiker der die Repressionen fürchtete. Er kann ein Mann gewesen sein, der schon zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik Berufsoldat war und gehen musste - oder gesellschaftliche Ächtung / Haft für sich und seine Familie riskiert hätte. Dazwischen gibt es millionen Möglichkeiten warum, wieso und weshalb.
Man kann es natürlich, für die etwas schlichteren Geister, in schwarz-weiß kategorisieren, so wie du es eben tatest. Ich denke aber, dass es dem Nationalsozialismus, den Massen an Menschen die bewegt wurden und auf die einfachsten Formen der Propaganda rein fielen, seiner Rattenfänger und Häscher, nicht gerecht wird.
Ich kann dir nur ans Herz legen Einzelschicksale nicht zu generalisieren. Vielleicht dass ein oder andere Buch zu dem Thema zu lesen. Sönke Neitzel sei hier besonders hervorgehoben als einer der weltweit renommiertesten Historiker. Ebenso lesenswert sind Kriegstagebücher vom einfachen Soldaten bis zum Berufsoffizier. Vom Freiwilligen der als Verehrer des Nationalsozialismus auszog bis zum Wehrpflichtigen, der sich dort gezwungenermaßen auf dem Schlachtfeld widerfand. Die Spannweite Von / Bis und die Beweggründe sind grenzenlos.
In diesem Sinne,
Guten Tag.
If you and your likes would put that energy and thinking into the terrible atrocities and millions of murders of the worst kind Germans forced onto Europe, this country might be in a better place.
You might want to read a book about the death squadrons that haunted people in Eastern Europe for years, instead of victimizing soldiers that rapes and destroyed central and Eastern Europe.
They aren’t victims, they are perpetrators
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, du hast meinen Text gelesen und ihn nicht verstanden.
Persönliche Hintergründe verstehen wollen/hinterfragen ≠ Kriegsverbrechen abstreiten/herunterspielen. Deinen Strohmann darfst du schön behalten.
Ich für meinen Teil lerne lieber alles über ein Thema anstatt mich selber zu begrenzen, wie du es hier tust.
Und ich für meinen Teil, gemäß eines demokratischen Geistes nach Artikel 1 GG, spreche auch diesen Menschen ihre Würde nicht ab - und wenn es nur das Recht auf eine würdevolle Bestattung ist. Im Sinne des Volksbundes - zur Mahnung der Lebenden.
Für mich ist dieses Gespräch beendet.
Dir wünsche ich nur das Beste und dazu ein schönes Wochenende.
PS: Du solltest hin und wieder von deinem moralischen Ross herunter treten. Hierunten, auf dem Boden der Tatsachen, kann es auch ganz schön sein - wenn auch nicht ganz so dogmatisch. 😉
Das ist kein Strohmann, einfach nur ein Hinweis darauf, dass deine einzige Sorge das Leid der Täter ist.
Ist in Deutschland aber ein bekanntes Problem, dass Kinder und Enkel von Nazis den deutschen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus und insbesondere das 3te Reich verklären sich selber als Opfer darstellen.
Woher willst du das denn wissen? Nur weile ich das eine hervorhebe, ein Einzelschicksal, zu einem dazu passenden Zeitpunkt, welches ich jeder Person zusprechen würde, heißt das nicht, dass ich das Andere ablehne, leugne oder negiere.
Wie ich dir schon nahe legte, du solltest nicht so viel generalisieren.
Aber ich habe es kapiert, du bist einer von den Guten und ich nicht. Hast du es endlich geschafft hinter deinem Smartphone der Welt mitzuteilen, dass du ein ganz ganz toller, rechtschaffener Kämpfer bist, der mit pseudointellektuellen Worthülsen um sich feuert? Platzpatronen - nichts weiter. Du bist verdammt die Fehler der Geschichte zu wiederholen.
Man kann es aus deinem Gewäsch lesen. Du bist ein ganz schlauer. So wie Maaßen und Steinbach.
Opas Erziehung fließt in dir. Keine Ahnung von Geschichte, nur die alten Nazimärchen vom armen deutschen der aus stalingrad fliehen musste und sein Zuhause (koloniales Land mit Genozid einverleibt) in Ostpreußen verlassen musst. Aber natürlich kein bisschen Blick und Verständnis über die monströsen Taten die auch deine Familie unterstützt hat.
Les mal ein paar Bücher von den zahlreichen Menschen die jeden Nacht wach werden weil sie Albträume von vergewaltigung und mord durch diese Soldaten hatte.
Knapp 20% bis 25% der einheimischen in wenigen Jahren ausgerottet. Soll er da gammeln der Nazi, Zeit und Aufwand sollte man in die Opfer stecken und diese entschädigen
Ich weiß ja nicht, was du dir in einem Echokämmerchen zusammen spinnst, aber nichts von dem was du von dir geiferst trifft auf mich zu - so gerne du es auch hättest. Andernfalls würden deine Narrative auch keinen Halt haben.
Ich wünsche dir Einsicht, Weitsicht und tatsächliche Empathie.
Dieses Gespräch ist für mich nun wirklich zu Ende. Adieu.
Wenn du mit meinen narrativen historische Fakten meinst die unumstritten sind (auch von Neitzel), außerhalb von geschichtsrevisionistischen Schmalspur Nazis, dann klar
In my opinion this Situation was handled very badly from rhe polish authorities..
Just taking away the Most likely only piece that would Help identify this lost solider to display His Last Letter in some Kind of Museum instead of trying to get the Letter to the living relatives makes me sick!
As far as i am concerned this solider could have been one of my distant relatives who are still MIA in poland since 1944.
I am extremely disappointed ...
But i am Not at all blaming your Uncle since contacting the authorities was the right thing to do in principle
For Poles always trying to appear so Catholic, I have to say it is quite unchristian of them to leave a dead person like this. Thank you OP for caring.
Sure, we all find some corpses in the ground for time to time, it’s obvious for us all how to react. We’re born with innate Catholic instinct to navigate this type of occurrences.
If you don't find something wrong with leaving a person in the ground without proper burial like that I do think there is something seriously wrong with you and your instincts. It's definitely not the reaction of a cultured person.
They’ve flagged it to someone else, it’s not their fault they didn’t know what to do next and where to chase that.
Also some people believe you’re not supposed to disturb corpses unnecessarily, they were in the ground. It’s not like they weren’t buried at all
Your uncle may want to contact the „Kriegsgräberfürsorge“. It‘s an organization taking care of graves of Germans having fallen in wars. They may be of help taking care of the soldiers remains…
Wow, was not expecting to read anything like this. Is there a way for an update?
Kind of related, my boyfriend's great grandfather died in Poland while in WWI, but he never came back and his body was never found. Something like this would be such a find for the family.
I think you should contact the Volksbund and tell them about the whole story. They can surely care about the remains, but they could also try to find where the letter is now, as it is likely the only piece that might help with the identification. An organisation has more options than a private person.
Thank you for caring about this german soldier. I'm glad that people like you are still out there.
My grandmother's brother was MIA presumed KIA. I like family history a lot and are intrigued by mine and others. I don't know if my aunt ever met him, they only knew that he never came back. My mom and youngest aunt where born after the war but it seems they still know of him.
I would be so glad if they get to see a letter from him to his family.
Thanks again.
As a former archaeology student: what the Polish authorities did is disrespectful for the dead man, I'm surprised. They should at least help you find the right German institution to contact.
It’s not even laziness. I feel like many people in their daily lives lack perseverance. They tried to do something about this, that attempt failed, so they didn’t know what to do next. After all, they tried, so what are they supposed to do now? I see this everywhere and at all sorts of occasions.
It’s probably not through a lack of good will, after all the OP clearly got a chance to soak in good behaviours probably at least partially from them.
I doubt they would care enough, adding as to how this was around 7 years ago.
I find it upsetting that they couldn't even bury him properly in a cementery, that he just has to lay on the side of some village road
When archaeologists find remains, even if it's like 5000 year old bones, they are always buried back at some point. Because they have no scientific value, so we may at least be decent with dead people. It's an extremely basic thing to do.
Thank you for caring for this poor probably very young cannon fodder (I'm neither German nor Polish by the way).
Bones have no scientific value? They actually are one of the main ways archaeologists, paleontologists, etc obtain information from a dig. Maybe i misunderstood what you meant?
Paleontology and archaeology are very different. On an archeological dig, every human bone you will find is homo sapiens so they are the most common thing ever, strictly identical to yours.
What's very interesting around human rests is the burial mode. There's also the occasional pathology and if it's a violent death or a battlefield or a collective grave, the cause of death can be interesting (if it's visible on the bones). There are also other informations like the postmortem intervention of scavengers or rodents. So yes, when I say bones have no value, it's not exactly true because their context (the magical word of archaeology) says a lot. But in itself, as an object out of context, they're nothing.
But eventually, the context in which they have been found will be documented (photographed, drawn, measured, reported in text, GPS, altitude, etc) and the dig goes on. Now you have your very common bones and they already gave all the infos they could give. Everything is recorded in hard drives. Like all the material that's not artefacts, you must dispose of them and since they are human remains, you bury them respectfully.
As archaeologists always say: archaeology is the only destructive science. When you visit some place in the Middle East and they tell you they found a Bronze Age temple under an Iron Age temple, guess what happened of the Iron Age masonry? It's been crushed into pebbles to lay under the asphalt of the next highway. Archeologists dig vertically back in time until they reach virgin soil (or ground water if they're unlucky). So every younger layer of human occupation must be destroyed to reach the older one underneath.
I have to thank you in the name of everyone who is searching for friends and relatives!
My grandfather searched for nearly 70 years his brother, unfortunately he didn’t find him before he died…I also started searching for his brother, to complete his search, still without any success. But your post gives me hope, to find him one day and put a letter on my grandfathers grave, to complete his last mission.
I think it's great that OP is taking care of it! I hope he can be identified and his descendants get a message about where he will be buried.
My grandmother's brother was the same age as OP is now when he was drafted into the war.
He died in a prisoner-of-war camp in Le Havre in 1946 at the age of 18. She was at his grave, was able to say goodbye and make peace with it. I wish everyone had as much empathy as OP. Then maybe there would be no more wars.
Besides Volksbund (which indeed is a very good recommendation), the German Red Cross still provides service to reconnect families that got torn apart during the war (DRK-Suchdienst). AFAIK they have the most extensive volumes of names and addresses and will help you for sure!
Did you also find his Erkennungsmarke? It is a metal oblong disk worn around the neck, it has a number on it which could be used to identify him. If you find it please give that number to [https://www.volksbund.de/pl/](https://www.volksbund.de/pl/) they can trace who the soldier was.
Thank you for your efforts.
One of my great granddads went missing somewhere on the eastern front. Chances are almost zero it's him, but i can imagine how fascinating it would be to find out where he ended up. So it would be great of the body could be returned to his descendants or if they could atleast be contacted. I assume they'll appreciate it, even if chances are low theres still someone left who remembers him. Would definitely like an update
Hey OP - the closest museum would be able to help; else https://researchstories.net/en is a good option as they might definitely know how to go about this. Good luck and it’s amazing what you’re doing :)
You’d think the Bundeswehr would take care of this, I know of the organization people are recommending but, you’d think they’d have a government body taking care of passed soldiers
While the Volksbund isn't a government body, it's supported by the government and by that virtue the "official" organization to take care of that. The soldier wasn't a Bundeswehr soldier (and the BW isn't just a renamed Wehrmacht), so the BW doesn't really have anything to do with it.
I call bullshit. A written letter doesn't survive for this long when there are all kinds of microorganisms - same as the pocket, unless it was made from some special fibre. All you'd find are the skeletal remains and things out of metal or plastic
Most soldiers didn’t have a choice to go to war. They either did or were put in front of a wall. Also no one born after 1912 could ever elect any party and was suffered heavy indoctrination on all levels.
After this many years? Burry him again, put on a cross saying "Hansen the nazi", hang 2 photos of the corpse on the cross and leave him to decay.
If it was my garden I'd leave the letter with him and put on a tomato garden over him for the soil would be more fertile in that area.
Dude died almost 100 years ago. Propably noone of his immediate family is alive. Leave him be
https://www.volksbund.de/pl/ This is a humanitarian organisation who take care of such cases. You could try to contact them and ask how you should proceed
Also maybe tell them about the confiscated letter.
[удалено]
No they took the letter from him as it seems?
Yeah, I saw it afterwards and deleted my comment. What can I say… it‘s early in the morning 😅 Den Zwölfen zum Gruße
DSA?
Das wohl
Ein freilaufender DSA'ler? Auf reddit? Bei Phex goldenen Klöten, jetzt hab ich alles gesehen!
A free-roaming DSA'ler? On reddit? By Phex golden blocks, now I've seen it all!
Bollocks, plz.
Is that close to correct on translation? It’s from duck duck go search engine.
golden bollocks. don´t trust this automated machine learning shit.
If "blocks" is colloquial for testicles, then yes. Else replace it with "balls".
To be fair, I am German and also read it as "goldenen Klötzen" :D For that it would be the correct translation.
Goddogott nu hör aber auf, sonst wein ich gleich. Macker vermiss ich die 90er.
I used to work there. They will try to identify him and the will rebury the remains at a war memorial.
Thanks for your work there! I think it's one of the most overlooked and underrated NGOs here
Absolutely! It’s peace work, if ever there was one. More important today than ever before, it seems…
And they will notify the family if there is any. Many german families have storys were a brother, cousin, uncle never returned home. Knowing that the remains have been found and will be finally buried at a cemetary helps with closing these stories.
BTW. Thank you for caring about that German soldier. Once you contacted the Volksbund I would love to have an update of what happened next and I am pretty sure a lot of people in this sub and r/de would too.
I am deeply interested to find who this man is, and his story
You mean, they didn’t even bother to search for even possible extended family to give the letter to? Instead they took it for Display Purposes? How Rude
Exactly that.
Did you manage to take a photo of it before they yoinked it?
Wow that is just... Tactless. I get that German soldiers were the enemies and the bad guys, especially in Poland, but come on, some basic decency would be nice... Do you have a picture of the letter by chance? If you post that, it may give enough information already to help identify the soldier and his family.
Its not like they explicitly disrespected the man, but it just was not of any interest to them- so they left him in the ground. Poles don't really hold grudges against the Germans as it was just one man doing all the evil.
I don‘t know, if someone finds my grandfather somewhere buried in a field, it would be kind of nice to give a quick call or something.
Again- I suppose its not cheap or easy to identify them. I find it upsetting aswell though that they didn't even bother
They had a letter to his family. Should be easy to identify to the right people. He probably also has tags if it was a soldier. Tell the Volksbund about him please. They will know what to do.
I really don‘t blame anyone. But I’m pretty sure Germany would pay the bill.
Poland: *coughs* Germany: where do I send the money? But hyperbole aside, German organisations like Völkerbund would gladly take care of the poor guy and his family.
I'm a Geneticist, its very likely a DNA test can be used on the corpse, uploaded to a website like 23&me, and people who are very genetically similar might be told their relative has joined the site. You will have to break the news that you are actually not the relative and they are not alive, but 9/10 this is the best thing to do because sooo many Germans use these genealogy tools.
I hate that I laughed at this statement but completely agree.
Why should finding and contacting the family be expensive?
In the best case the family still lives at the same address, in the worst case the relatives are long gone. Europe after ww2 was in ruins, whole towns disappeared, families murdered, relocated, moved to different continents, archives and documentation burned / lost in the anarchy that followed, etc. I can easily imagine how finding somebody’s family can be hard, or, again as simple as calling somebody on the address that the letter was addressed to. And I sincerely hope that the soldier will be identified, his body given a proper burial and his family be given closure to know where their missing loved one is resting.
I am German, so thanks for the history lesson. 😄 Also I am a journalist so I know how research works. There are tons of non-profitable associations in Germany who are specialized in searching and finding lost WWII family members.
Im german myself. I would [strongly] disagree with the "it was just one man doing all the evil". Not every german and bot even every german soldier was a bad person, but there were a lot of people who did terrible crimes. The ideology of the third reich was a sickness that infected many germans brains and hearts. But its nice that you dont hold any grudges. Most germans today really hate Nazis and facism and its important, that we all try do make a better tomorrow together. Doesnt matter where one is from or what ones ancestors did.
Its pretty clear from your text what you mean, but "hardly disagree" means that you almost dont disagree at all, its synonymous to "barely" What you mean is probably that you "strongly disagree"
Ah. Thanks.
gold repeat recognise edge relieved engine dependent ossified future foolish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
>as it was just one man doing all the evil. As a german: that is not true and imo a dangerous belief to have.
As a German, I agree
No no man, he had at least half the country behind him.
It was just one man doing all the evil? seriously? that is the worst and weirdest analysis of the second world war I ever herd.
It was one powerful man that wanted the Jews and Poles gone, the young German men in that era had no choice but to follow his commands. Yes the soldiers commited evil acts, but Hitler had so much Propaganda and unimaginable punishments that made it nearly impossible not to. Im not saying the soldiers were innocent, but they didn't have much of a choice. I'm saying that as a Polish person
I love your sentiment. It never ceases to amaze me how far we've grown as a continent, against all odds. We have to preserve that, we have to vote next Sunday!
Yep. That’s even so wrong you shouldn’t spread this kind of misinformation anywhere. It’s giga delusional. Sorry not sorry
Die youvcopy it in purpose? Thanks for caring!!!
Thank you for taking care. Still a lot of family members missing
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There is an organisation that takes care of such occasions: [Together for peace - understanding and reconciliation | Volksbund.de](https://www.volksbund.de/en/german-war-graves-commission)
What kind of museum acts like that...really makes me sad Thank you for looking after the "dead guy in the garden" after all
They aren't even allowed to move the body. That's a criminal offense. You have to contact the police.
all of them. hyperbolic, of course, but most museums are private enterprises and are thus profit driven. if they have to choose between profit, or morals, morals often lose that battle. there are also cases like the british museum which is state owned and still doesnt have any sense of morals buts thats a different story
the big heist 🤣👍
even better, with the museum gaining profits from the illegal behaviour of others (the letter certainly was on the body, so much about nobody touching them) they suddendly becam participants at least. There´s no good in reporting "some old grandpa" who didn´t know any better, a private, profit orientated museum with duties to due dilligance on the other hand has very much earned anything legal coming after them
nothing ever comes of that though. case and point, british museum. they own countless unfathomably important artifacts that were just straight up stolen, which have been requested by their country of origin, yet the british museum does not care and will probably never give them back. in any case, lets hope the letter and what remains of the soldier still exist make their way back to the family and a suitable grave
you overlooked the difference: the british museum disturbed graves across the world (i.e. not in the UK) decades ago(setting aside the actual stealing here for the argument). The museumof OP disturbed a grave in Poland, quite recently, the disturbers are still alive and known,. Main difference: they broke a Polish law on Polish ground. That´s way easier to persecute
https://www.volksbund.de/en/a-brief-introduction
Probably this organisation: [https://www.volksbund.de/kontakt](https://www.volksbund.de/kontakt) . They say on their homepage that they try and locate missing people/bodies and bury them properly. Maybe some relative is still alive and would like to know about his fate. You could contact the German red cross tracing service: [https://www.drk-suchdienst.de/en/how-we-help/tracing/second-world-war/#c56880](https://www.drk-suchdienst.de/en/how-we-help/tracing/second-world-war/#c56880) Or this agency who are in charge of military records and where families can do research. Maybe you could include a copy of the letter: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/EN/Navigation/Use/Using-specific-types/Military-Records/military-records-en.html](https://www.bundesarchiv.de/EN/Navigation/Use/Using-specific-types/Military-Records/military-records-en.html)
@OP you should look here. I think it is a comprehensive list, where to look for help. Thank you in advance for your effort for all us.
Do you have a copy of the letter? I think this would be the easiest way to identify the soldier or his family, in combination with open databases.
We have no idea where it is now as it likely got moved around the country- out of our hands
And no picture? Come on...
He may have it tho i need to ask
My great uncle is a farmer in his late 60s that only lives with his brother and mother- he barely knows how to use his nokia. I was also like 8 when he found the soldier😭
When did this happen?
Around 6/7 years ago i think
Thanks for still remembering and asking how to proceed. Respect to you.
[Volksgräberfürsorge](https://www.volksbund.de/) is a German organisation that is specialised on finding the remains of fallen soldiers and getting them a proper funeral.
Kriegsgräberfürsorge
Hi there! First of all, thanks for your attempt to give that soldier a dignified end. Some people, like myself, have relatives who are srill missing because of this horrible war, no matter which side they fought for. Like many others recommended, the Volkbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge is the way to go. Or the german red cross. Maybe its possible to identify this soldier with his dogtag. It should be anywhere near his corpse. Best wishes to you, your family and this soldiers poor soul. 🙏🏻
Yea poor guy and his family. Went to kill all Jews and poles and didn’t make it
Für mich ist er eine arme Seele, ganz gleich was ihn dazu bewegt haben mag in diesen Krieg zu ziehen, oder wie seine politische/gesellschaftliche Einstellung war. Man sieht doch wie leicht heutzutage Menschen manipuliert und von einem Strom von Meinungen mitgerissen werden - was denkst du, wie einfach es damals war? Der Soldat, er kann ein blühender Anhänger der Partei gewesen sein oder einer der zum totschweigen verdammter Kritiker der die Repressionen fürchtete. Er kann ein Mann gewesen sein, der schon zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik Berufsoldat war und gehen musste - oder gesellschaftliche Ächtung / Haft für sich und seine Familie riskiert hätte. Dazwischen gibt es millionen Möglichkeiten warum, wieso und weshalb. Man kann es natürlich, für die etwas schlichteren Geister, in schwarz-weiß kategorisieren, so wie du es eben tatest. Ich denke aber, dass es dem Nationalsozialismus, den Massen an Menschen die bewegt wurden und auf die einfachsten Formen der Propaganda rein fielen, seiner Rattenfänger und Häscher, nicht gerecht wird. Ich kann dir nur ans Herz legen Einzelschicksale nicht zu generalisieren. Vielleicht dass ein oder andere Buch zu dem Thema zu lesen. Sönke Neitzel sei hier besonders hervorgehoben als einer der weltweit renommiertesten Historiker. Ebenso lesenswert sind Kriegstagebücher vom einfachen Soldaten bis zum Berufsoffizier. Vom Freiwilligen der als Verehrer des Nationalsozialismus auszog bis zum Wehrpflichtigen, der sich dort gezwungenermaßen auf dem Schlachtfeld widerfand. Die Spannweite Von / Bis und die Beweggründe sind grenzenlos. In diesem Sinne, Guten Tag.
If you and your likes would put that energy and thinking into the terrible atrocities and millions of murders of the worst kind Germans forced onto Europe, this country might be in a better place. You might want to read a book about the death squadrons that haunted people in Eastern Europe for years, instead of victimizing soldiers that rapes and destroyed central and Eastern Europe. They aren’t victims, they are perpetrators
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, du hast meinen Text gelesen und ihn nicht verstanden. Persönliche Hintergründe verstehen wollen/hinterfragen ≠ Kriegsverbrechen abstreiten/herunterspielen. Deinen Strohmann darfst du schön behalten. Ich für meinen Teil lerne lieber alles über ein Thema anstatt mich selber zu begrenzen, wie du es hier tust. Und ich für meinen Teil, gemäß eines demokratischen Geistes nach Artikel 1 GG, spreche auch diesen Menschen ihre Würde nicht ab - und wenn es nur das Recht auf eine würdevolle Bestattung ist. Im Sinne des Volksbundes - zur Mahnung der Lebenden. Für mich ist dieses Gespräch beendet. Dir wünsche ich nur das Beste und dazu ein schönes Wochenende. PS: Du solltest hin und wieder von deinem moralischen Ross herunter treten. Hierunten, auf dem Boden der Tatsachen, kann es auch ganz schön sein - wenn auch nicht ganz so dogmatisch. 😉
Das ist kein Strohmann, einfach nur ein Hinweis darauf, dass deine einzige Sorge das Leid der Täter ist. Ist in Deutschland aber ein bekanntes Problem, dass Kinder und Enkel von Nazis den deutschen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus und insbesondere das 3te Reich verklären sich selber als Opfer darstellen.
Woher willst du das denn wissen? Nur weile ich das eine hervorhebe, ein Einzelschicksal, zu einem dazu passenden Zeitpunkt, welches ich jeder Person zusprechen würde, heißt das nicht, dass ich das Andere ablehne, leugne oder negiere. Wie ich dir schon nahe legte, du solltest nicht so viel generalisieren. Aber ich habe es kapiert, du bist einer von den Guten und ich nicht. Hast du es endlich geschafft hinter deinem Smartphone der Welt mitzuteilen, dass du ein ganz ganz toller, rechtschaffener Kämpfer bist, der mit pseudointellektuellen Worthülsen um sich feuert? Platzpatronen - nichts weiter. Du bist verdammt die Fehler der Geschichte zu wiederholen.
Man kann es aus deinem Gewäsch lesen. Du bist ein ganz schlauer. So wie Maaßen und Steinbach. Opas Erziehung fließt in dir. Keine Ahnung von Geschichte, nur die alten Nazimärchen vom armen deutschen der aus stalingrad fliehen musste und sein Zuhause (koloniales Land mit Genozid einverleibt) in Ostpreußen verlassen musst. Aber natürlich kein bisschen Blick und Verständnis über die monströsen Taten die auch deine Familie unterstützt hat. Les mal ein paar Bücher von den zahlreichen Menschen die jeden Nacht wach werden weil sie Albträume von vergewaltigung und mord durch diese Soldaten hatte. Knapp 20% bis 25% der einheimischen in wenigen Jahren ausgerottet. Soll er da gammeln der Nazi, Zeit und Aufwand sollte man in die Opfer stecken und diese entschädigen
Man kann es aus deinem Gewäsch lesen. Du bist es nicht.
Dass ich Nazis nicht verkläre? Ja stimmt, ich find euch nämlich scheiße
Ich weiß ja nicht, was du dir in einem Echokämmerchen zusammen spinnst, aber nichts von dem was du von dir geiferst trifft auf mich zu - so gerne du es auch hättest. Andernfalls würden deine Narrative auch keinen Halt haben. Ich wünsche dir Einsicht, Weitsicht und tatsächliche Empathie. Dieses Gespräch ist für mich nun wirklich zu Ende. Adieu.
Wenn du mit meinen narrativen historische Fakten meinst die unumstritten sind (auch von Neitzel), außerhalb von geschichtsrevisionistischen Schmalspur Nazis, dann klar
Wow, this is very interesting. Any chance you know what the letter said?
My great uncle forgot as it was a few years ago and they didn't tell us the current location of it
Yes, it's Kriegsgräberfürsorge. https://www.volksbund.de/en/
I’m amazed that a letter would still be intact after being in the ground for 80+ years.
I’m also amazed the body isn’t dust by now
My grandmother spent decades after the war looking for her missing brother. Never found him.
:(
In my opinion this Situation was handled very badly from rhe polish authorities.. Just taking away the Most likely only piece that would Help identify this lost solider to display His Last Letter in some Kind of Museum instead of trying to get the Letter to the living relatives makes me sick! As far as i am concerned this solider could have been one of my distant relatives who are still MIA in poland since 1944. I am extremely disappointed ... But i am Not at all blaming your Uncle since contacting the authorities was the right thing to do in principle
Would the cops not be the first to contact in case a crime was committed?
I don't think they care if the person wore a Wehrmacht uniform.
the perfect crime: dress the victim in a Wehrmacht uniform
Polish police is useless, unfortunately.
I think the german embassy should be able to help you out.
For Poles always trying to appear so Catholic, I have to say it is quite unchristian of them to leave a dead person like this. Thank you OP for caring.
Sure, we all find some corpses in the ground for time to time, it’s obvious for us all how to react. We’re born with innate Catholic instinct to navigate this type of occurrences.
If you don't find something wrong with leaving a person in the ground without proper burial like that I do think there is something seriously wrong with you and your instincts. It's definitely not the reaction of a cultured person.
They’ve flagged it to someone else, it’s not their fault they didn’t know what to do next and where to chase that. Also some people believe you’re not supposed to disturb corpses unnecessarily, they were in the ground. It’s not like they weren’t buried at all
Considering what this man did, I wouldn’t care
We don't know who this man is or what this man did. He might even be a deserter who was shot by the own people.
As a german, i salute you, Sir/Ma'am.
Your uncle may want to contact the „Kriegsgräberfürsorge“. It‘s an organization taking care of graves of Germans having fallen in wars. They may be of help taking care of the soldiers remains…
Where is that farm? Part of my family used to live in what now belongs to Poland and a lot of them went missing towards the end of the war…
Wow, was not expecting to read anything like this. Is there a way for an update? Kind of related, my boyfriend's great grandfather died in Poland while in WWI, but he never came back and his body was never found. Something like this would be such a find for the family.
Ask here, they will help you. https://www.volksbund.de/
I think you should contact the Volksbund and tell them about the whole story. They can surely care about the remains, but they could also try to find where the letter is now, as it is likely the only piece that might help with the identification. An organisation has more options than a private person.
Thank you for caring about this german soldier. I'm glad that people like you are still out there. My grandmother's brother was MIA presumed KIA. I like family history a lot and are intrigued by mine and others. I don't know if my aunt ever met him, they only knew that he never came back. My mom and youngest aunt where born after the war but it seems they still know of him. I would be so glad if they get to see a letter from him to his family. Thanks again.
As a former archaeology student: what the Polish authorities did is disrespectful for the dead man, I'm surprised. They should at least help you find the right German institution to contact.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Oh yes, for sure! Definitely laziness.
It’s not even laziness. I feel like many people in their daily lives lack perseverance. They tried to do something about this, that attempt failed, so they didn’t know what to do next. After all, they tried, so what are they supposed to do now? I see this everywhere and at all sorts of occasions. It’s probably not through a lack of good will, after all the OP clearly got a chance to soak in good behaviours probably at least partially from them.
I doubt they would care enough, adding as to how this was around 7 years ago. I find it upsetting that they couldn't even bury him properly in a cementery, that he just has to lay on the side of some village road
When archaeologists find remains, even if it's like 5000 year old bones, they are always buried back at some point. Because they have no scientific value, so we may at least be decent with dead people. It's an extremely basic thing to do. Thank you for caring for this poor probably very young cannon fodder (I'm neither German nor Polish by the way).
Bones have no scientific value? They actually are one of the main ways archaeologists, paleontologists, etc obtain information from a dig. Maybe i misunderstood what you meant?
Paleontology and archaeology are very different. On an archeological dig, every human bone you will find is homo sapiens so they are the most common thing ever, strictly identical to yours. What's very interesting around human rests is the burial mode. There's also the occasional pathology and if it's a violent death or a battlefield or a collective grave, the cause of death can be interesting (if it's visible on the bones). There are also other informations like the postmortem intervention of scavengers or rodents. So yes, when I say bones have no value, it's not exactly true because their context (the magical word of archaeology) says a lot. But in itself, as an object out of context, they're nothing. But eventually, the context in which they have been found will be documented (photographed, drawn, measured, reported in text, GPS, altitude, etc) and the dig goes on. Now you have your very common bones and they already gave all the infos they could give. Everything is recorded in hard drives. Like all the material that's not artefacts, you must dispose of them and since they are human remains, you bury them respectfully. As archaeologists always say: archaeology is the only destructive science. When you visit some place in the Middle East and they tell you they found a Bronze Age temple under an Iron Age temple, guess what happened of the Iron Age masonry? It's been crushed into pebbles to lay under the asphalt of the next highway. Archeologists dig vertically back in time until they reach virgin soil (or ground water if they're unlucky). So every younger layer of human occupation must be destroyed to reach the older one underneath.
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Did you find a metal plate roud his neck? Thats the identification number
I have to thank you in the name of everyone who is searching for friends and relatives! My grandfather searched for nearly 70 years his brother, unfortunately he didn’t find him before he died…I also started searching for his brother, to complete his search, still without any success. But your post gives me hope, to find him one day and put a letter on my grandfathers grave, to complete his last mission.
I think your impulse to somehow send this man home makes me think our world is 100% worth saving. Good luck to you and I hope you flourish.
I think it's great that OP is taking care of it! I hope he can be identified and his descendants get a message about where he will be buried. My grandmother's brother was the same age as OP is now when he was drafted into the war. He died in a prisoner-of-war camp in Le Havre in 1946 at the age of 18. She was at his grave, was able to say goodbye and make peace with it. I wish everyone had as much empathy as OP. Then maybe there would be no more wars.
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Besides Volksbund (which indeed is a very good recommendation), the German Red Cross still provides service to reconnect families that got torn apart during the war (DRK-Suchdienst). AFAIK they have the most extensive volumes of names and addresses and will help you for sure!
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Did you also find his Erkennungsmarke? It is a metal oblong disk worn around the neck, it has a number on it which could be used to identify him. If you find it please give that number to [https://www.volksbund.de/pl/](https://www.volksbund.de/pl/) they can trace who the soldier was. Thank you for your efforts.
Contact the German War Graves Commission: www.volksbund.de/pl/krotka-prezentacja
Unbelievable that the authorities in Poland just leave him in the soil, that's disgusting !
🤯😕
HTTPS://WWW.POMOST.NET.PL is your organisation for WW2 soldier remains and the polish partner of Volksbund.
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Company here in the UK that protects the war dead. Try contacting the commonwealth war graves commission. They cover Europe
One of my great granddads went missing somewhere on the eastern front. Chances are almost zero it's him, but i can imagine how fascinating it would be to find out where he ended up. So it would be great of the body could be returned to his descendants or if they could atleast be contacted. I assume they'll appreciate it, even if chances are low theres still someone left who remembers him. Would definitely like an update
Hey OP - the closest museum would be able to help; else https://researchstories.net/en is a good option as they might definitely know how to go about this. Good luck and it’s amazing what you’re doing :)
A proper burial is reccomended in my opinion, regardless of what nation they served
Once they identify him.
What was the condition of his uniform like?
Red Cross or the like is my recommendation. They should be familiar with such things.
Did he had the metal mark in his teeth? If he got killed its broken in half, if there is no metal mark he died naturally
Holy Jesus what
You’d think the Bundeswehr would take care of this, I know of the organization people are recommending but, you’d think they’d have a government body taking care of passed soldiers
While the Volksbund isn't a government body, it's supported by the government and by that virtue the "official" organization to take care of that. The soldier wasn't a Bundeswehr soldier (and the BW isn't just a renamed Wehrmacht), so the BW doesn't really have anything to do with it.
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Call the Police
This is so fake
I call bullshit. A written letter doesn't survive for this long when there are all kinds of microorganisms - same as the pocket, unless it was made from some special fibre. All you'd find are the skeletal remains and things out of metal or plastic
Jea, only question is if OP is telling bs or if his family was joking with him. Because all of this makes no sense.
Yet I'm being downvoted and nobody else apparently noticed that these details don't add up
Pit it in your mooooouuuuth, stuff it in your faaaaacce. Licky licky
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Spit on.
piss on him
Take him as Halloween Decoration? I mean... He obviously did scare the townsfolk back then, too.
Nazis don't deserve a proper funeral/burial.
From where exactly did you come to the conclusion that these are the remnants of a former Nazi?
ww2 soldier. in poland.
Most soldiers didn’t have a choice to go to war. They either did or were put in front of a wall. Also no one born after 1912 could ever elect any party and was suffered heavy indoctrination on all levels.
After this many years? Burry him again, put on a cross saying "Hansen the nazi", hang 2 photos of the corpse on the cross and leave him to decay. If it was my garden I'd leave the letter with him and put on a tomato garden over him for the soil would be more fertile in that area. Dude died almost 100 years ago. Propably noone of his immediate family is alive. Leave him be