Fascinating Volkssturm Questions

[mooreisbetter]

I am researching for a family some historical Why/How/When/Where/What on a departed family member, on which they seek some closure (particularly the Why) after almost 75 years. To that end, I pose the following general questions to this wonderfully knowledgeable community.

Facts: He was Volkssturm from a small town in Bavaria. He was listed as Missing Presumed Dead in Festung Breslau. I’ve read Richard Hargreaves’ excellent book on Breslau. Still the following nags at me:

1. It seems that most Volkssturm in Breslau were mustered from the locality. I don’t understand how a middle-aged man from a faraway small town in Bavaria would end up in Breslau. Are there any resources for finding which Volkssturm units were sent where? And what engagements they participated in?

2. As part of other family research (I’m a genealogist), I’ve read a LOT of German War Graves Commission entries. It seems that in the last days of the War, anyone who went missing was listed as missing on January 1, 1945. (Somewhat macabre humor: as I first read entry after entry with that date, I assumed there had been horrific action on Jan 1. Then I realized it appears to just be an accounting entry for “generically missing in the last 5 months of the war). Any ideas for pinpointing when someone went missing?

3. Any other suggestions? The family I’m working for may go to the trouble of contacting the German authorities for whatever data they have, but my understanding is that it’s a long and bureaucratic (1yr?) process. Any other databases I should search? Any ideas?

Thank you so much.

[schwarzermai]

Maybe someone have the amazing documentation: "Breslauer Apokalypse 1945. Dokumentarchronik vom Todeskampf und Untergang einer deutschen Stadt und Festung am Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges: Breslauer Dokumente" by Horst G. Gleiss
Include a voluminous database with personal files and names, so maybe your family member is listed there with additional infos
(or his Volkssturm-Bataillon)

Uwe