Allied Records of Waffen-SS POWs

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gvanderende
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Posts: 8
Joined: 29 Nov 2020, 18:10
Location: Texas, USA

Allied Records of Waffen-SS POWs

#1

Post by gvanderende » 04 Dec 2020, 02:45

Thanks in advance for any help. Can anyone tell me if there are ways to obtain records of Waffen-SS captured by the Allies and held as POWs? I'm trying to find out the fate of my grandfather's brother Theodor van der Ende who my family lost touch with after he joined the 5th Waffen SS Panzer Division in 1941. The Bundesarchiv sent me records that said Theodor was in the 5th SS Panzer until 1945 and also handwritten medical records from a prison in 1946-47 that are very difficult to read. All I can make out from the prison documents is that his registration number was 412998 and he was in compound 412. I contacted the The US National Archives to ask if they can perform a search through their Former German Prisoner of War Files, 1945 - 1946 and got a message back searches are delayed due to COVID-19.

kamililly
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Joined: 04 Dec 2020, 07:02
Location: usa

Re: Allied Records of Waffen-SS POWs

#2

Post by kamililly » 04 Dec 2020, 07:03

The Waffen-SS ... was the military branch of the Nazi Party's SS organisation. Its formations ... What these measures involved is demonstrated by the record of SS Totenkopf ... which they reached on 15 May, capturing 3,500 Dutch as prisoners of war. ... against Greek forces failed, and Germany came to the aid of its ally.
More than 2.8 million German soldiers surrendered on the Western Front between D-Day and ... The total haul of German POWs held by the Western Allies by April 30, 1945 in all theatres of war was over ... For comparison, the available German records mention only 2,959 killed and wounded in the West (677 killed, 2,282 ...

(Off topic Link removed, only for advertising - Georg)


steve248
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Joined: 10 Aug 2003, 21:53
Location: Hertfordshire, England

Re: Allied Records of Waffen-SS POWs

#3

Post by steve248 » 04 Dec 2020, 20:56

The British, American (and possibly the French) sent their POW camp records back to the West German government in the 1950s. These formed the basis for WAst - now Deutsche Dienstelle. If the original poster got documentary copies from Deutsche Dienstelle that's all there is.
US NARA is a hit and miss archival case. Sometimes the archivists know their stuff and respond in kind. Sometimes they do not and any response is a negative. Unfortunately across the world archives have been subject to reduced government subsidy with the result that staff have to go. US NARA is no different and many knowledgeable archivists have retired.
Presumably the only thing US NARA might have is an interrogation report

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