Origins of the name 'Zastrow'

[helen]

Apologies if ive posted this enquiry in the wrong place!
Im trying to locate the origins of the name 'Zastrow' and the place 'Swinnemund'.
I have grown up knowing my great grandfather came from Swinnemund in the Black Forest - but the only references i can find to Swinnemund are in Poland. I am also curious to know if the name is familiar to anyone researching. I have tried the geneology sites but not getting anywhere - just want to know if i really did have family in that area. I am also interested to know if the name was Jewish in origin.
Thanks

Helen

[AJK]

Hi Helen,

German military history is full of Generals bearing the name "von Zastrow". The following list comes from Das Lexikon der Deutschen Generale:

ZASTROW, Adolf Alexander Friedrich Heinrich von GdI 1801- 1875
ZASTROW, August Friedrich Wilhelm Franz von GM 1749- 1833
ZASTROW, Bernhard Asmus von GM 1696- 1757
ZASTROW, Ernst Erdmann Karl August Theodor von GdI 1858- 1926
ZASTROW, Friedrich Wilhelm Christian von GdI 1752- 1830
ZASTROW, Georg von GM 1846- 1907
ZASTROW, Jakob Rüdiger von GM 1707- 1782
ZASTROW, Johann Wenzel von GM 1717- 1773
ZASTROW, Julius Gottlieb Wilhelm Adolf von GM 1802- 1884
ZASTROW, Karl Anton Leopold von GL 1702- 1779
ZASTROW, Karl Ludwig von GM 1784- 1835
ZASTROW, Wilhelm Alexander Franz von GL 1833- 1906
ZASTROW, Wilhelm Ernst von GM 1769- 1854
ZASTROW, Wilhelm Otto Karl Ewald von GL 1779- 1842

GM is short for Generalmajor
GL is short for Generalleutnant
GdI is short for General der Infanterie

I hope this helps a little.

AJK

[HT]

Swinnemunde is a harbor in Pomerania (now in Poland) definitely not in the
Black-Forest

[xcalibur]

Apologies if ive posted this enquiry in the wrong place!
Im trying to locate the origins of the name 'Zastrow' and the place 'Swinnemund'.
I have grown up knowing my great grandfather came from Swinnemund in the Black Forest - but the only references i can find to Swinnemund are in Poland. I am also curious to know if the name is familiar to anyone researching. I have tried the geneology sites but not getting anywhere - just want to know if i really did have family in that area. I am also interested to know if the name was Jewish in origin.
Thanks

Helen

The only thing I can think of is that "Swinnemund" is actually Schwabisch- Gmund a small city in Baden-Wurttemburg near the Black Forest.

[valkyrie]

Napoleon had a few Saxon troops with him in Russia in 1812 - among the best were the Zastrow Cuirassiers - they took the Russian Great Redoubt at Borodino - quite the feat as they were mounted troops charging an earthwork bristligin with cannon.

So "Zastrow" is probably connected with Saxony in some manner.

Colin

[Elisa]

Zastrow is definately not jewish by origin - even though one might think so - (zaster = money in german slang...)

we have a Ritterkreuzträger Max Zastrow in Vienna - you can find him in the net, too. He's still in full strenght and a great person!

the place is in Pommern, not Schwarzwald. best Elisa

[stcamp]

Apologies if ive posted this enquiry in the wrong place!
Im trying to locate the origins of the name 'Zastrow' and the place 'Swinnemund'.
I have grown up knowing my great grandfather came from Swinnemund in the Black Forest - but the only references i can find to Swinnemund are in Poland. I am also curious to know if the name is familiar to anyone researching. I have tried the geneology sites but not getting anywhere - just want to know if i really did have family in that area. I am also interested to know if the name was Jewish in origin.
Thanks

Helen

The examples of German generals is not really relevant for you as they were nobility. The name von Zastow means they were of the family that ruled or owned significant portions of that town an area. Which is why they were generals and not Sargents.

Do you have any paper documentation with his name and place of birth? Names change in spelling esp. if they are being translated or spelled in another language.

Last name usage is fairly recent depending on what part of Europe you are researching. Yes, it could well be Jewish. Jews from Eastern Europe often used for a last name the city they emigrated from. His family may have converted at some point.

Good Luck,
Steve

[Elisa]

soory Steve, but that's not true...many jews were allowed to take over the name of their chief or boss - so there were many jews with old german names.

here I quote a website about pommerian (pommersche) nobelfamlilies - and you will find the name Zastrow there.

http://home.foni.net/~adelsforschung/elzow.htm

so it is more likely that the Grandfather of Helen is either a pommerian noble - or just a "normal person - or a jew who took over the name of his boss.

btw pommern is where swenemünde is, too - so that would fit.

[stcamp]

Elisa, thank you for the correction. How hard is it to do research in that area? I thought the records had tremendous gaps because of WK2? I ask because the answer is probably of importance to the original poster.

Regards,
Steve

[Elisa]

hi again

I think it depends on your psychological and scientistic skill - t.i. language, research techniques and the way you treat people there. I can imagine (and I fully hope so, to be honest), that those people in that area are of natural scepticism towards non-german speaking foreigners asking questions about WW II.

In general genealogic records are mostly found in parishes or noble houses - the ordinary man from the street will be hard to find, especially after the "great allied fire" over Germany.