Dear experts, I have found my grand father's Stalag 344 card. Could you please help me understand what do the notes mean. - '16' tick on top? -handwritten 1140 on the left? -'7кл' bottom left thank you! Alexandra
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing. Sorry I can’t help with your queries but could you tell us where you obtained the index card as I have only seen British (including Empire) index cards previously. U.K. forces seized the German central POW Index cards for British POW at the end of the war and U.K. National Archives are currently in the process of releasing the material for U.K. POW to the public domain. I understand the Empire (now Commonwealth) forces index cards were forwarded to the individual’s country of service almost immediately post war. Steve
Dear Steve, I found it in the Soviet archive using search in Russian language, I didn't know that they were digitised and I guess I was just lucky. I have found the documents related to both my grandfathers, only one of them was in a German camp and I have never seen this particular document before. As you probably know former soviet prisoners of war were treated as potential spies and the families didn't keep any documents in fear of repressions, I never knew in which camp exactly he was. Now I should probably continue my search in German to understand this card better. From this card I see that he was 'Bauer' and I wonder if he lied because he wasn't a construction worker but a chemist or was he assigned to 'Bauer' and worked in the camp. Also 'Frau' was his mother and not his wife, and I wonder if he lied again to protect his wife from the news but let his mother know that he was still alive? Astonishingly this card gives a lot of information. Alexandra
Bauer in German = farmer, and as a farmer he could have been a helping hand which could have been a "life insurance" Anything else I could help from a German point of view? Stefan.
Dear Stefan, thank you! do you know any German sources which can help me to understand the numbers I mentioned in the first post? I am sure the German archives could help to read the card and understand it better. I can read in German and if pointed to the right direction I'll be able to find my way around. I wander what '7кл' means - note in Russian, possible '7 class' - class of what? food ration? work assigned? part of the camp? And why only in Russian and not in German too. Thank you!
Dear Alexandra, try these archives, I think there service in in both languages. Stefan. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv – Wikipedia
Hello, you may already have the answers you need but if not and you are on Facebook go to the stalag VIIIb/ 344 lamsdorf page and join. In the files section there is a complete explanation of all cards. Also lots of other useful information.
