Gaszyn Polen 1945 Jan 19 what happened to these guys?

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tino struckmann
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Joined: 08 May 2005, 07:00
Location: usa/Denmark

Gaszyn Polen 1945 Jan 19 what happened to these guys?

#1

Post by tino struckmann » 27 May 2006, 06:36

need help here guys

My grand father was killed here on this day/pl he had just transferred to Sturmgechütz Ersatz abteilung 400 from the 2 Kompanie Heeressturm-Artillerie Birgade 236 and on the day he was killed by Russian Artillery.
His grave has not yet been found, I am trying to peice together something about what happened to his various units and if he was killed here where would they have taken him to be buried? I am thinking not to far away from where he was hit? what was the common practice?
and who would have specific unit information, I am trying to findout who was in his various units, and maby find pictures of him.

Hauptmann (end war) Klaus Lepenies
Erkenningsmarke: -389-H.Kr.4128
1 erkennungsmarke; -100 – Bau 318 sept 1939
2 erkennungsmarke; - 389 – HL 4128 08,05,1940
Truppenteil; Stab II Artillerie-Regiment 47
3 Kompanie Sturmgechütz abteilung 905 03,09,1943
2 Kompanie Heeressturm-Artillerie Birgade 236 11.11.1944
Sturmgechütz Ersatz abteilung 400 19.01.1945


a tall order I know But it would be nice to know..
Thanks guys
Tino

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Dieter Zinke
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Joined: 02 Dec 2003, 10:12
Location: Koblenz / germany

#2

Post by Dieter Zinke » 27 May 2006, 12:13

Welcome in our forum,

please contact:
Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)
Eichborndamm 179
13403 Berlin
Tel. 030-41904-0
Fax 030-41904-100
http://www.dd-wast.de/
[email protected]
The "Deutsche Dienststelle für die Benachrichtigung der nächsten Angehörigen von Gefallenen der ehemaligen deutschen Wehrmacht" (German office for the notification of next-of-kin of members of the former German Wehrmacht who were killed in action) is the successor of the "Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle für Kriegerverluste und Kriegsgefangene - WASt" (Wehrmacht information office for war losses and POWs). Inquiries about individual POWs can be directed to this office. It must be noted that the files about allied POWs were confiscated by US and Soviet troops in 1945. Nevertheless, the Deutsche Dienststelle still has some 1,500,000 files on foreign POWs in German custody. Inquiries can be submitted online by visiting the homepage of the Deutsche Dienststelle

D. Zinke


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Heimatschuss
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#3

Post by Heimatschuss » 27 May 2006, 14:10

Well,

with all the info that Tino supplied it looks like he (or a relative of him) has already contacted the WAST. I don't know where else you could that kind of data. Of course contacting them again may supply some new information that was disclosed only recently.
Assuming that his grandfather's family name was "Lepenies" I've run that through the data base at http://www.volksbund.de.
[Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge = German war graves commission]
This comes up:

Nachname: Lepenies [Family name]
Vorname: Klaus [Christian name]
Dienstgrad: Leutnant [rank]
Geburtsdatum: 26.08.1920 [date of birth]
Geburtsort: Lötzen [place of birth]
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 19.01.1945 [date of KIA/MIA]
Todesort: Gaschen bei Welun [place of death]

Klaus Lepenies wurde noch nicht auf einen vom Volksbund errichteten Soldatenfriedhof überführt oder konnte im Rahmen unserer Umbettungsarbeiten nicht geborgen werden. Nach den uns vorliegenden Informationen befindet sich sein Grab derzeit noch an folgendem Ort:
Gaszyn - Polen

http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/co ... CBB2408415

Translation:
So far Klaus Lepenies has not been transferred to a war cemetery tended by the Volksbund or it was impossible for us to retrieve the body from another grave. According to our information his grave is currently at the following location:
Gaszyn- Poland [which must be near Wielun, see above]

So at least they say the grave is -according to their knowledge- still in Gaszyn.

Generally speaking on the German practice of dealing with corpses: This of course varies a lot with the situation.
If the terrain was lost soon after the death the body may have been simply left behind, in particular if he was in a vehicle that was hit and burnt out. Burrial then would have been the job of the russian or polish authorities. In a lot of cases they simply dumped collected corpses into the next trenches and then flattened the for further farming.

If the Germans took the body back with them he should have ended up in a "Gefallenensammelstelle" [corpses collecting point] where a group of grave diggers took care of them.
Please keep in mind that his death occured in mid January. By that time the ground in central Poland is deeply frozen. You cannot just take out a spade and dig individual grave holes everywhere. Burrying people at that time of the year is a major operation. If the Germans burried them they will likely have made a big hole for a mass grave (perhaps even using explosives).
Another possibility is that the dead where burried on the site of a recently burnt down wooden building because such fires did melt the frozen ground. This was a regular practice for german forces in wintery Russia for example.

Sorry, no infos on the other subjects.

Best regards
Torsten

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Dieter Zinke
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Posts: 9841
Joined: 02 Dec 2003, 10:12
Location: Koblenz / germany

#4

Post by Dieter Zinke » 27 May 2006, 17:21

Thank you, Heimatschuss, for your kind and helpful assistance.
BTW: Belated welcome in our forum, and - ad multos annos

D. Zinke

tino struckmann
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Posts: 31
Joined: 08 May 2005, 07:00
Location: usa/Denmark

thanks Thorsten

#5

Post by tino struckmann » 28 May 2006, 06:51

hey there again thanks buddy that will give me some thoughts to follow when looking for a possible grave site, I did get some information from the war graves commission however I couldn’t find that on the website, where did you search?

Now I just have to find out what happened at that time and date and place so I will find out who was there and what happened.

It has proved quite hard to find much documentation through the various official channels so I thought I would put it out there for you guys, I am running out of clever venues to pursue..

Thanks Torsten..

Be safe
Tino

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Heimatschuss
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Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
Location: Deutschland

#6

Post by Heimatschuss » 02 Jun 2006, 22:25

Hello Tino,

when you open http://www.volksbund.de you'll find the word "Gräbersuche" (grave search) in the left column. Click on it. Then in the uppermost chapter there is a small field "...zur Onlinesuche" (....to online resaerch). If you click there a form pops up where you can insert data about the person you're interested in (family name, first name, date of birth, date of KIA/MIA)). After that press the "Suche beginnen" (begin search) button and the results pop up.

I'm not sure if you have to enter your name, address and so on earlier to register. I had to do that in the past but nothing like this occurs now. Either they somehow registered me or they dropped that part.

A good idea in your quest may to contact the local church authorities and ask them if they know anything about war graves. In many cases local cemeteries were used for war graves too. In Poland a cemetery will in almost any case be somehow linked to the catholic church. Be it either run by the church itself or by the local parish. The church people in Gaszyn may not have a sufficient amount of English at hand but if you try the church authorities in Wielun they might translate it into Polish and pass it on to Gaszyn. (You could also try the translation section of this very forum. The Polish guys there are quite nice.)

Best regards
Torsten

tino struckmann
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: 08 May 2005, 07:00
Location: usa/Denmark

hey Thorsten

#7

Post by tino struckmann » 07 Jun 2006, 04:58

I did try them they sent me what they had so now Im better of..
he did receive the Iron cross so I would thing there would be some paperwork about why? and what his various units did but that’s broader and should be easier.....but I will go to Poland later and see the Village and look for locals over 82....and Ill bring a shoved too.... 8O

I just went by the Panzer museum in Munster real nice guys..

be safe
Tino

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