The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

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Michael Miller
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The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#1

Post by Michael Miller » 15 Jun 2007, 18:13

Just saw the following in a biographical sketch of Hilgenfeldt at http://www.thgweb.de/lexikon/Erich_Hilgenfeldt :
Am 25. April 1945 beging Hilgenfeldt zusammen mit seiner Frau und seinen Kindern Suizid in Berlin.
This is the first I've seen that he committed suicide "with his wife and his children". I was aware he had two sons by his first wife, however there is no reference in his SS file- that I could find, anyway- to any children by his second. His eldest son was KIA in 1944. I suppose it's possible the article refers to his younger son, born in 1927, and possibly another child (or children), but can anyone provide a definitive answer? Here's what I have on Hilgenfeldt and family:
Married on 24.04.1922 to Marie-Charlotte Köhler; separated ca.1935 and finally divorced 30.11.1940. Remarried 06.12.1940 to Leopoldine Statischek of Wien (born 23.09.1907 in Novi Sad, Serbia / committed suicide by poison in the Hilgenfeldt mansion, Berlin, 25 (?).04.1945). Two sons resulted from his first marriage (Reinhard, born 02.03.1923 / killed in action 02.11.1943 as a Fähnrich in I.Bataillon / Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 3 during a heavy British air attack on the Trigno River area 1 km south of Tufillo, Italy and _____, born 1.10.1927). Both sons attended the NAPOLA institution in Naumburg.
And here's the inconclusive information I have on Hilgenfeldt's death:
25.04.1945 near the Görlitzer Station, Berlin while serving in defense of the city ; officially declared dead at the register’s office in Berlin-Charlottenburg by his sister, Hedwig Hilgenfeldt, in 1957. The circumstance of his death are unclear; differing accounts report that he either died during house to house street fighting in Berlin with a weapon in his hand, or as the result of a personal attack on the street, or through suicide. On 06.05.1945 the Berlin Caritas director F. Füssel stated "There was heavy fighting within the main Social Welfare office. Hilgenfeldt is dead. He had a sign around his neck which read ‘Hier liegt der Verbrecher Hilgenfeldt’ (Here lies the criminal Hilgenfeldt).
Thanks in advance for any further details.

~ Mike

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#2

Post by Max Williams » 15 Jun 2007, 18:24

Mike,
I've just checked my copy of Hermann Weiss "Biographisches Lexikon zum Dritten Reich" and he states that suicide was suspected, but not proved. No mention of his family.
Max.


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#3

Post by Michael Miller » 15 Jun 2007, 18:29

Thank you for checking that, Max.

~ Mike

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#4

Post by Max Williams » 16 Jun 2007, 12:06

Although I have a copy of this photo, it is also readily available on the internet.
Max.
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m827
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#5

Post by m827 » 15 Oct 2008, 01:43

Hello,

I'm looking for information about Hilgenfeldt's wife, Leopoldine, because we have a common ancestor.
... Remarried 06.12.1940 to Leopoldine Statischek of Wien (born 23.09.1907 in Novi Sad, Serbia ...
Her birth date 23.09.1907 is correct, but according to my sources she was born in Vienna. But this could be wrong, so may I ask how did you find out about Novi Sad?

Also, her last name was Slatinschek, a germanized form of Slatinšek, which comes from Slovenia.

Thanks in advance for any info,

Michal78
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#6

Post by Michal78 » 10 Apr 2009, 10:52

Here is very nice photo of Erich Hilgenfeldt.
Michal
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#7

Post by Michal78 » 10 Apr 2009, 10:55

Another with Richard Schalke in Krakow.
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#8

Post by Michal78 » 10 Apr 2009, 10:57

...same event
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Phil Nix
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#9

Post by Phil Nix » 10 Apr 2009, 12:19

Here is another one of him in Party uniform
Phil Nix
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J. Duncan
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#10

Post by J. Duncan » 10 Apr 2009, 14:23

Great photos of Hilgenfeldt! Wasn't he the director of the Winterhilfswerk ("Winter Relief Program")? I think the original article that was posted concerning Hilgenfeldt's death was confusing H. with Dr. Ernst Grawitz who blew himself and his family to smithereens with a grenade.

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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#11

Post by Phil Nix » 10 Apr 2009, 14:49

J. Duncan wrote:Great photos of Hilgenfeldt! Wasn't he the director of the Winterhilfswerk ("Winter Relief Program")? I think the original article that was posted concerning Hilgenfeldt's death was confusing H. with Dr. Ernst Grawitz who blew himself and his family to smithereens with a grenade.
He was head of Winterhilfswerk and he was in overall supervision of the NSDAP Frauneschaft
Phil Nix

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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#12

Post by Halfdan S. » 04 Nov 2010, 11:23

When did Erich Hilgenfeldt die? The most common date given is April 25, 1945 - but sometimes you can see here and there that he died in the beginning of May 1945. Mostly it is stated that he fell during the Battle of Berlin, but sometimes it is stated that he committed suicide ... so what was his fate?

Today I have been given a copy of a paper written by Hilgenfeldts deputy, Hermann Althaus, on September 10, 1946. He writes: "... des am 26. April 1945 in Berlin gefallenen ... Hilgenfeldt ..." Any thought on this statement?

Regards
Halfdan S.

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Heimatschuss
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#13

Post by Heimatschuss » 30 Mar 2013, 01:02

Hello Brian,
* Family.: -
- Father - Bergmeisters Max Hilgenfeldt - (Bergmeisters = Mountain Master - does this mean a mountainclimber or some sort of park ranger?)
- Mother - Maria (nee Fritz) - she had five children. Erich * 02.07.1897 - Hedwig 00.00.00 - and ?? -
A Bergmeister is a high-ranking mining official, literally translated something like 'Mining Master'.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergmeister
* Remarried on 06.12.1940, at Novi Sad in Serbia to Leopoldine Statischek from Wien (* 23.09.1907. - † suicide April / May 1945, poisoned herself in their Villa in Berlin). - There is a query here as to her proper surname from a common ancestor (viewtopic.php?f=45&t=122378) - i.e. Slatinschek, a germanized form of Slatinšek, which comes from Slovenia -
According to N.N. (1941) Hilgenfeldt and Poldi Slatinschek married in Berlin in the guest house of the Reichsfrauenführung. It was a double wedding, the other couple was August Heißmeyer and Gertrud Scholtz-Klink! How romantic :wink:

Previously Slatinschek had worked for the management of the [Danube-]Swabian German Cultural Association (Schwäbisch-Deutscher Kulturbund) in Novi Sad. Can't say anything definitive on her place of birth. The Vienna address books for 1906 and 1907 don't show any Slatinschek. In 1908 there's a Georg Slatinschek, shoemaker. So there's a sound possibility that indeed she was born in Vienna.
Poldi Slatinschek.jpg
Poldi Slatinschek.jpg (64.34 KiB) Viewed 1686 times
Source: N.N. (1941)

References:

N.N. (1941)
Illustre Trauungen im Gästehaus der Reichsfrauenführung in Berlin.
Mariborer Zeitung of Jan 30th, 1941; 81.Jahrgang, Nummer 25; p.4
http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DO ... d22dd9/PDF

Best regards
Torsten

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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#14

Post by HM » 20 Sep 2016, 20:03

HM.
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Re: The death of Erich Hilgenfeldt and Family

#15

Post by Wordsworth » 20 Sep 2016, 20:52

25.04.1945 near the Görlitzer Station, Berlin while serving in defense of the city ; officially declared dead at the register’s office in Berlin-Charlottenburg by his sister, Hedwig Hilgenfeldt, in 1957. The circumstance of his death are unclear; differing accounts report that he either died during house to house street fighting in Berlin with a weapon in his hand, or as the result of a personal attack on the street, or through suicide. On 06.05.1945 the Berlin Caritas director F. Füssel stated "There was heavy fighting within the main Social Welfare office. Hilgenfeldt is dead. He had a sign around his neck which read ‘Hier liegt der Verbrecher Hilgenfeldt’ (Here lies the criminal Hilgenfeldt).
Weren't deserters and others deemed cowards executed by military police? Some of them were marked with signs warning others. Is it possible that Hilgenfeldt might have been killed if he was thought to be avoiding the fighting?

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