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Posts by Oberschlesien  

Joined: 6 Sep 2012 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 31 Dec 2013
Threads: 1
Posts: Total: 25 / Live: 13 / Archived: 12 		From: USA, Texas
Speaks Polish?: No
Interests: Silesian History

Displayed posts: 14
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Oberschlesien   
7 Sep 2012
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

Does anybody here have information on the Josef Warzecha, who is listed on the German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik. During Prussian times the name of the village was spelled Biestrzinnik, and in 1932 the village was given the new German name of Ringwalde, because the village is ringed or surrounded by forests. I would like to know what Josef Warzecha's rank was and in which branch of the German Wehrmacht he served, and where he was killed.

My ancestor Johann (Jan, John) Warzecha was born in Biestrzynnik in 1826 and was baptized in the parish church in the nearby village of Szczedrzyk, which was spelled Sczedrzik in Prussian times, and given the new German name of Hitlersee (Hitler's lake) during the Third Reich. Johann Warzecha married Margareth (Malgorzata, Margaret) Kuczka and they had two children while living in Biestrzynnik, the first was named Josef Warzecha born in 1850 and the second was Ludwig Warzecha born in 1853.

The whole family came to America in 1855, but little Ludwig Warzecha died on the ship coming to America and he was buried at sea. The Warzecha family first settled in Panna Maria, but later moved to Yorktown, Texas. Johann Warzecha served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War reaching the rank of sergeant. Johann and Margareth Warzecha had four more children here in Texas, Constantina born in 1856, August born in 1859, Maria born in 1862, and Stanislaus born in 1868.

Johann Warzecha died at the age of 43 years, while he was digging a water well on his farm near Yorktown, Texas probably suffocating after hitting a shallow pocket of natural gas.

If anybody here knows about the Josef Warzecha listed on the German war memorial in Biestrzynnik, please let me know. Thanks!
Oberschlesien   
8 Sep 2012
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

Thank you boletus, for the reply. You are correct, I am the person who put that memorial on Find-A-Grave.

This is a picture of the names on the German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik. Josef Warzecha, Paul Mehlan, and August Mehlan were distant relatives of mine.


  • The German war memorial in Biestrzynnik.
Oberschlesien   
14 Sep 2012
Travel / Monuments, statues, memorials of Poland [25]

This is the German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde). Josef Warzecha, Paul Mehlan, and August Mehlan were distant relatives of mine. The names listed under Ermorde 1945 were civilians that were murdered by the Soviet Red Army when they invaded the village near the end of World War II.


  • Biestrzynnik_War_Mem.jpg

  • Biestrzynnik_War_Mem.jpg

  • Biestrzynnik_Biestr.jpg
Oberschlesien   
14 Sep 2012
Travel / Monuments, statues, memorials of Poland [25]

This is the German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Szczedrzyk (Sczedrzik-Hitlersee). It was the center of a controversy when it was being cleaned and the name of the village from the Third Reich era "Hitlersee" became visible. The newspapers were saying that Szczedrzyk was full of Nazis, so they were made to carve out the name "Hitlersee" from the monument forever. It was in this village that my ancestor Johann Warzecha, born in the nearby village of Biestrzynnik was baptized in 1826.


  • Sczedrzik_war_memori.jpg

  • Sczedrzik_memorial_.jpg

  • Sczedrzik_war_memori.jpg

  • Sczedrzik_Churches.j.jpg
Oberschlesien   
14 Sep 2012
Travel / Monuments, statues, memorials of Poland [25]

pawian: Thanks for the pictures of the monument with Stalin's name removed, it makes me feel better. I used to feel that it was some kind of vendetta against the people of Szczedrzyk. Here is a website with other monuments dedicated to the German soldiers from Upper Silesia.

lechnijakowski.com/mniejszoscinarodowe/pomniki_foto.html
Oberschlesien   
13 Oct 2012
History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

This is a website about Poles that served in the German Wehrmacht.
wehrmacht-polacy.pl
Oberschlesien   
17 Apr 2013
Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

These articles explain about the German Silesians.
iz.poznan.pl/news/452_Silesia.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_minority_in_Poland
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Minority_(political_party)
users.ox.ac.uk/~oaces/conference/papers/Michael_Fleming.pdf
brendankarch.com/research/dissertation.pdf
Oberschlesien   
23 Dec 2013
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

Hi Beate Schlesien: It is good hearing from you, yes we might be related. I can't speak German or Polish, only English. I don't have any pictures of my Johann Warzecha (born 1826) but I have a picture of one of his sons, August Warzecha and family. August Warzecha was my great, great Grandfather. I would be happy to see any pictures you have of the Warzecha family from Biestrzynnik.


  • August Warzecha and Family
Oberschlesien   
23 Dec 2013
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

Beate Schlesien: Thank You for the beautiful pictures of the Warzecha family from Biestrzynnik. Do you know what kind of uniform Stefan Warzecha is wearing in the last picture? Those pictures are so good maybe you would like to submit them to this website, that has pictures of Silesia. fototekaslaska.pl

You can find most of my research on the Warzecha family from Biestrzynnik on the website Find A Grave. findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GSmcid=47777319&

There is supposed to be at least one Warzecha that still lives in Biestrzynnik named Werner Warzecha, he has a paint and body shop.


  • Werner Warzecha paint and body shop in Biestrzynnik
Oberschlesien   
24 Dec 2013
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

My great, great, great grandfather Johann Warzecha's (born 1826) father was named Matheus Warzecha (born 1799) and his parents were Johann Warzecha and Marianna Widera. On Johann Warzecha birth record his father's first name was spelled Matheus, but on Matheus Warzecha's birth record it has it spelled as Mathaus on one side and Matusz on the other.

Matheus Warzecha birth record
Johann Warzecha birth record
Oberschlesien   
31 Dec 2013
Genealogy / German war memorial in the Upper Silesian village of Biestrzynnik (Biestrzinnik-Ringwalde) [18]

Beate Schlesien: Last year I was exchanging emails with this lady originally from Zebowice / Zembowitz, who was related to the Warzecha family from Biestrzynnik, she now lives in Germany. She was able to find out from the German Red Cross that Josef Warzecha was killed in Katowice / Kattowitz on January 25, 1945 when he was 17 years old. I guess he was drafted into the Wehrmacht at the last minute before the Russians invaded Upper Silesia. I have been able to find his birth record, his father was Paul Warzecha and his mother was Agnes Lipp and he was born on March 11, 1927. I still don't know what his rank was, but I guess he was probably a private, since he was so young. If you want to see if anybody in Biestrzynnik remembers him or has any other facts or pictures of Josef Warzecha, it would be nice.

Josef Warzecha birth record