Seeking info on forced labour

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13thredarmy
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Joined: 28 Sep 2003, 16:08
Location: Picton, New Zealand

Seeking info on forced labour

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Post by 13thredarmy » 19 Dec 2016, 21:30

Not sure this is the right place but no doubt someone will move it if not.

I am seeking information on my grand mothers forced labour service (hesitate to call it slave labour for reasons to be revealed). Does anyone know if there is a service where we can trace the family she worked for in Austria from 1943 to after the war.

The truth is these people were very kind to her and most likely saved her life on 2 occasions. Before she died she always talked about the kindness they showed her and how they wanted her to stay after the war. Once they caught her stealing food for some Red Army POW's but just gave her more to pass on to the prisoners. When she left they gave her lot's of food, clothing, some shoes and money which really helped her in a very difficult time.

My grand mother felt very bad about accepting compensation money in the 1970's as she thought these people were paying it directly themselves.

We, her descendants would like to try and contact these people who were so important to her.

Details are this;
- she was taken in early 1943 near Kharkiv
- she was 15
- sent to Vienna, then to a farm in a small village
- village had a POW camp nearby
- part of Austria NOT liberated by soviets
- family had 2 daughters, youngest was 17 and pregnant in 1945
- at least one other Ukrainian girl worker in the village

If anyone can advise how to do a search would be much appreciated.

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