If your ancestors were in the "Wehrmacht"...

... and you are interested in their military career I have a few interesting shelters for you.

The first you can do is contact the "Deutsche Dienststelle" (maybe better known as WASt - Wehrmachts Auskunfts Stelle) and ask for the military career of your person. You can do it online, or do it per letter. I would always do it per letter because only a minority of the inquirer do it and so it's quicker. I'm sure that there won't be any problems when you write the letter in English. But please keep in minde, that the reply will be in German! The costs are about 20€ and unfortuanatly it will take about nine month until they reply, but if you are really interested, I would do it (I already have twice :D). If older people are the inquirer they can be very hurry and might reply you in a few month. The result are various... but the less it is, the less you have to pay (sometimes when it's the result is very sparse, you even get it for free). Here is one example: lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Wiese.jpg

Another good shelter that I can strongly advise is the "Volksbund deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge". The "VdK" takes care of the graves from the soldiers. If your ancestor maybe was killed in action or missed in action, you can check this link out, where many soldiers that were KIA or MIA are listed (volksbund.de/graebersuche/content_suche.asp). There will appear a formular and you have to fill it out (it doesn't has to be your real name) to see the results. If you fill it out with your real name, you'll have a few weeks later post from them. They ask if don't want to send them a bit money and support them; but the service of the website is free and everbody can use it. If you find your ancestor there, you can phone them and ask for more information. To get the maximum result you have to be stubborn. I talk from my own experience, because I got everthing they had about my ancestor after the thrid or fourth call. It also depends on the person you'll have on the other line there I guess. When you call, ask for things like the last unit, the inscription of the dog tag (in this unit he got trained), the reason of the death etc. I've never talked to them on English, but I'm here also sure, that 'll know English.

If you maybe want to inform yourself a bit about Kashubs, Poles or Silesians that were forced to serve in the Wehrmacht, please check out this site: wehrmacht-polacy.pl/

If there are any questions please ask.

Mòrsczi Púrtk

My grandpa was Silesian and he wasn't "forced"!

I always knew you had Polish roots, BB. :)

I'm a pure Germole! ;)

Hmm, if your Granpa was Silesian then he probably spoke Silesian too,
which is a dialect of Polish language and Silesians are a Polish tribe :)

Oh well - I guess you are who you feel you are. If you feel German
that's OK with me, Bratwurst(owski) Boy. Just don't forget there's
good old Polish blood flowing in your veins ;)

Bratstwo Boy!

My grandfather beat some Italian soldiers who tried to eat watermelons from his field.The Italians came crying to their commander.
But German soldiers were serious and scary.

Then go contact your local WKU.

why do you assume that people who lived i Silesia automatically were Polish or had something to do with Poland?
Before WWII there were way more Germans than Poles on this territory.
My mom is from what you call today Gdansk and she doesn't speak even a word of Polish.

Not 'who lived in Silesia' but 'who were Silesians'.

BB didn't say that his grandfather 'lived in Silesia'. He said that his granpa 'was Silesian'.
See the difference? If he was a Silesian, then he must have spoken Silesian (which is
a dialect of Polish language) and must have been ethnic Silesian (basically - a Pole).


Yes, but again - Bratwurst Boy didn't say that his father was 'a German living in Silesia'.
He said he was a S-I-L-E-S-I-A-N.

Erm...I don't think so Torq.
My family were Silesians for generations...I remember their german-silesian dialect and traditions and dishes.
Sadly...it died out with them.
They felt German and lived in Germany till the lands changed hands...that goes for the majority in big chunks of Silesia and most bigger towns like Breslau.

Silesians were a precious mix of german, polish and bohemian traditions and culture...now it is "basically polish" but it wasn't that way for centuries!


I fear I don't get you... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia#Demographics


They were all Silesians...but for sure not "basically polish" by default!

Their hometown: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wroc%C5%82aw#History


More than a Millennia mixed history - Lower Silesia became "basically polish" after WWII only...

The way you put it is like Silesians (people who lived there for generations) were automatically Polish. Do you know for how many years Germans lived on this territory? You see this is the point. You see it as Polish and he sees it as German and the funny thing about it is that both of you are kind of right. Silesia was changing hands many times but in the recent few hundred years it was mainly German. Someone who was born over there while it was Germany would never call himself a Pole and he's right about it. Nowadays it's Polish and people who live there are mostly Polish.

Is there even such thing? I know the Silesian Slavic language...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_language

...but I didn't know there was a German-Silesian dialect. Interesting!
Could you give me some examples of it? How is it different from standard
German? Just curious.


I think I get your point now - living in Silesia, so they were Silesians. Like living in Dublin
makes you a Dubliner (I was a Dubliner for about 3 years :-)). I thought you were talking
about ethnicity, that's why the misunderstanding.


Ah, so they were from Lower Silesia! That explains it. In Poland when we say
Silesia, then in 99.99% percent of the cases we mean Upper Silesia which has its
genuine Silesian-slavic population with their specific dialect and culture. That's why
I didn't think for a moment about Lower Silesia. You're right - the situation there was
and is quite different from Upper Silesia.

well, it's quite the same, 3 years and a few hundred years :-)

Oh OK, I just saw it. I also meant Lower Silesia. Upper Silesia was more mixed up.

You don't expect me to live for a few hundred years, do you? ;-)

You might just as well, I wouldn't mind, lol

So...only Poles can be Silesians? :(

Most definitely not! Many here are of mixed parentage and I know this first-hand. My wife's grandma is German and the one who died 3 years ago was also German. So, both her parents are of German descent/origin. It's even more the case in Lower Silesia.

Not at all. If we look at it from a "place of residence" point of view then I guess
anyone can be Silesian - Germans, Poles, Scots, Ethiopians etc. etc.

However, when it comes to ethnicity, I am not aware of the existance of any other
ethnic group that would describe themselves as "Silesian" than Polish Silesians with
their Slavic-Silesian dialect.


That's what I meant - German, not Silesian, unless her ancestors belonged to
the Silesian culture and ethnos, spoke Silesian language etc. etc. Otherwise
they were either Germans or Poles living in Silesia.

If your ancestors were in the "Wehrmacht"...

Traitors, should be dealt with.

It's funny how there were tons of collaborators yet nobody has a relative who was one. Everyone's relatives were HEROES. It's probably like most things the ones who go on the most about patriotism are the ones who's family sold others out. I bet you come from a long line of self preservationists Hitman.

Of course not! Germans and Czechs also lay a claim and influenced the mix. In the sixties most places like Zabrze were so intent on belonging to Germany that they only spoke German (even if very badly)

History was easier when there were Kings, and not nations. With the idea of nations came the idea of national land, and the search for proofs.

Take the excavation in Legnica- there was a 2nd century settlement there, and both Poles and Germans claimed the tribe as proof of earliest settlement, which would in the minds of people in the 20s and 30s be a proof of the right to live there (kind of like 'I WAS HERE FIRST! GET BACK IN THE QUEUE!'). In the book 'Polska Piastów' by the famous Paweł Jasienica (a journalist historian of Poland), there is a story of a German Professor saying that the headdresses of the women there were definitely Slavonic, but I can't post it here because I gave the book to my Dad.

So yes, Silesians can be Germans, Poles, Czechs and have family on all sides. (...And I still think it should lay in Poland. The reason is simple - the food is good there. And the church in Nysa is not just any church - it's a coronation church of the Jagiellon. I must keep it as much as the Wrocław Island, the coronation grounds of Popielidzi and probably at least one Piast.)

My line used to execute Polish traitors.

These were real heroes, they would rather die than side with the enemy.

Those that really did such things don't brag about it. It's clear you and yours had nothing to do with the heroic acts you wish were true.

I think I mentioned mine before.

Hear me, hear me:

on my Paternal side, the daughters of the Austrian officer and a countess became involved with the regime, one worked in a meat factory as a bookkeeper, and never lacked. One married a Stalinist, and never lacked, one was a Sanitariuszka, married a Partisan and lacked all her life. I'm the Granddaughter of this Partisan, and I choose to be proud of Him, rather than be involved with whatever the rest was up to.

How the F*** can one be an officer's daughter and a f****** Commie???

On my Maternal side, there were farmers and poor city folk, and they were mostly hiding and buying food.

Now - if you don't understand what is the Polish feeling of history all about: we had the choice to make, and some have made the wrong one. They will not be counted among the skulls. None will have a kurhan. As a nation, we have not made the wrong choice, but some among us have. They are traitors or criminals. They should have been given a lamp post of their own. But that's our internal affairs.

I am making a clear statement here. Those who let down their own myth, do not belong to it. So I will not accept the vague statements like 'Poland is guilty of xxx'. She has not abandoned the myth. Now, to say, this or that person was a criminal, is a different matter altogether. Crime is NOT encouraged in this society, and the whole society will not be punished for it by other societies.

Can you get rid of the poetic literary stuff? Poles love to try to talk that way and it usually just makes their point get lost. I am not sure exactly what you are saying.

Torq, they are most definitely Silesians and speak it fluently.

Little do you know. I,m afraid it,s true, I know the facts. Facts I would not even contemplate putting on here. Sorry if this peeves you, but thats life.

nope, there were many generations of Germans for hundreds of years in Lower Silesia and they call themselves Silesians and they got the right to do it. It's a same with you guys nowadays. If you're born in Poland you claim to be Polish.