I have recently come across Gerda Misch's name (Rochus' wife, née Lachmund) and I read that her family had some "Jewish background". Unfortunately, I could not find out more about this - does anyone have more information on the family background of Gerda Misch? The only thing I found was a brief reference to her parents in Rochus Misch's autobiographical "Der letzte Zeuge" (p. 56). Misch writes: "Ich war Waise, und Herr und Frau Lachmund waren weniger die Eltern meiner Braut als vielmehr meine Ersatzeltern." (I was an orphan, and Mr and Mrs Lachmund were less my fiancée's parents but more my own surrogate parents.)
So: Does anyone have information on Gerda Misch, neé Lachmund (born around 1920, died in 1998)?
Gerda Misch
Re: Gerda Misch
I emphasize that I have no information regarding this very case, but on a more general level I find it very unlikely that a full-time SS member, let alone one assigned to Begleitkommando could be married to a woman of Jewish descent. According to Isabel Heinemann, also those who had "Old Guard" status had to submit proofs of their Aryan ancestry dating back to 1800 in case of EM and NCOs and the same was required of their spouses, also retroactively. It was not entirely impossible though, that Himmler intervened on behalf of certain SS members who had "problems" with their lineage. The best known case is that of Emil Maurice which came to light in 1935 when he applied for marriage permission.
Re: Gerda Misch
Of course your are right, though I would not be entirely satisfied with basing my opinion on this issue on pure likelihood without having gone into it a little bit deeper. There is more than one example of (what I would call) the "inner circle" having some kind of relation to people considered (or possibly considered) "Jewish" by racist standards.
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Re: Gerda Misch
Againt, sorry for bumping an old post, if that's not allowed. But here's an interview with Misch's daughter:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8237708.stm
It's several years old, too, and claims that Misch's mother-in-law told her that Gerda was Jewish. There's no documentation as to how that would be, if it meant that there was Jewish blood in the family or if Herr or Frau Lachmund was in fact Jewish. I do find that odd as I certainly do agree that Gerda would have had to have proven her bloodline in order to marry Rochus.
Were there different standards for the SS-Leibstandarte? I wouldn't think so.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8237708.stm
It's several years old, too, and claims that Misch's mother-in-law told her that Gerda was Jewish. There's no documentation as to how that would be, if it meant that there was Jewish blood in the family or if Herr or Frau Lachmund was in fact Jewish. I do find that odd as I certainly do agree that Gerda would have had to have proven her bloodline in order to marry Rochus.
Were there different standards for the SS-Leibstandarte? I wouldn't think so.
Re: Gerda Misch
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8237708.stm
Jewish roots
The initial joy of getting her father back soon passed.
Brigitta Jacob-Engelken
I don't blame my father for the work he did because it was harmless work
'I was in Hitler's suicide bunker'
Father and daughter seemed to have little in common. They argued. Then Brigitta's maternal grandmother let her into an amazing secret: Brigitta's mother was Jewish.
"My grandmother said to me, 'I think it's good to keep in touch with your roots. But don't tell your mother. She doesn't want that."
Mr Misch refused to accept that his wife was Jewish.
"He is still saying, 'No, I won't believe that!'. But I know it from my Grandma."
Brigitta learnt Hebrew, she spent time on a kibbutz in Israel. Back in Germany, she made a career as an architect. Among the projects she worked on were the restoration of local synagogues.
Re: Gerda Misch
As far as I understood a Protestant Clergyman(Pfarrer) changed the name of the family of Gerda Misch in the Baptist and Member registration books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. I think its a must to re-discover the Family tree of Gerda's Family. Although de Germans were very accurate in discovering family backgrounds in the third Reich, I dont believe that they were re-searching family trees of every member which surrounded Adolf Hitler, maybe in the higher ranks of Germans society. Still its an interesting focus to discover the statements of the Mother of Gerda Misch that they were Jewish.Its also possible that Brigitta Jakob Engelken(architect and think still alive), the daughter of Rochus Misch and Gerda may more.