Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

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Volyn
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#106

Post by Volyn » 01 Nov 2018, 20:58

history1 wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 21:18
1. The caption to the photo in the links reads: " Sept.7th 1939: Southern border of the 2nd Polish Republic, Dukla pass near Ożenna - soldiers of the 100th Gebirgsjäger-Regiment. Recognisable are the typical boundary stones"
2. What leads to the conclusion that the grandfather was assigned to the 98th and not to the 100 Gebirgsjägerregiment?
You could be correct, my thinking was that the photos were taken at different times of the day, so they would be two different units. If you believe it is GJR 100 and not GJR 98, please share your evidence.
Ożenna - Poland - Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 - 7 SEP 1939.jpg
history1 wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 21:18
3. A Bataillon is a battalion and not a regiment.
You are correct, this must have been an error in the translation to English, I should have caught that.

wbfamily
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#107

Post by wbfamily » 02 Nov 2018, 01:26

Volyn wrote:
01 Nov 2018, 20:58
history1 wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 21:18
1. The caption to the photo in the links reads: " Sept.7th 1939: Southern border of the 2nd Polish Republic, Dukla pass near Ożenna - soldiers of the 100th Gebirgsjäger-Regiment. Recognisable are the typical boundary stones"
2. What leads to the conclusion that the grandfather was assigned to the 98th and not to the 100 Gebirgsjägerregiment?
You could be correct, my thinking was that the photos were taken at different times of the day, so they would be two different units. If you believe it is GJR 100 and not GJR 98, please share your evidence.Ożenna - Poland - Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 - 7 SEP 1939.jpg
history1 wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 21:18
3. A Bataillon is a battalion and not a regiment.
You are correct, this must have been an error in the translation to English, I should have caught that.
In one of the above posts I shared a photo my grandfather took of Schroner. Didn't he command the 98? Also, he has a photo for Kubler (I believe). I don't know which units he commanded off the top of my head but I though it was the 98 as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


Volyn
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#108

Post by Volyn » 02 Nov 2018, 02:42

wbfamily wrote:
02 Nov 2018, 01:26
Volyn wrote:
01 Nov 2018, 20:58
history1 wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 21:18
1. The caption to the photo in the links reads: " Sept.7th 1939: Southern border of the 2nd Polish Republic, Dukla pass near Ożenna - soldiers of the 100th Gebirgsjäger-Regiment. Recognisable are the typical boundary stones"
2. What leads to the conclusion that the grandfather was assigned to the 98th and not to the 100 Gebirgsjägerregiment?
You could be correct, my thinking was that the photos were taken at different times of the day, so they would be two different units. If you believe it is GJR 100 and not GJR 98, please share your evidence.Ożenna - Poland - Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 - 7 SEP 1939.jpg
In one of the above posts I shared a photo my grandfather took of Schroner. Didn't he command the 98? Also, he has a photo for Kubler (I believe). I don't know which units he commanded off the top of my head but I though it was the 98 as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes, Oberst Schörner was in command of GJR 98 in Poland 1939, so we have that as another point of reference because the only time he was in 1. Geb-Div was with GJR 98. The Grandfather was a Feuerwerker and they were assigned to the regimental staff, this explains why he was so close to his regimental commander to take a photo of him. Therefore, the photos of the soldiers crossing the Polish are definitely from GJR 98 not GJR 100.
Oberst Schörner.jpg
Oberst Schörner.jpg (57.56 KiB) Viewed 2116 times
Ożenna - Poland - Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 - 7 SEP 1939.jpg

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#109

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 09:10

Volyn wrote: "[...] If you believe it is GJR 100 and not GJR 98, please share your evidence.[...]"

I don´t have any evidence, I translated only the Polish text. Neither am I familiar with the operations of those units.

"Therefore, the photos of the soldiers crossing the Polish are definitely from GJR 98 not GJR 100"

When you compare both images there are hints that they are not from the same time of day. The road surface appears different and so does the little bush group in front of the trees.
Can you/we exclude that more units did cross the border there or do you know that it´s only the GJR 98?
PS.: I mean I don´t doubt that the photo shared by wbfamily are showing men from the 98 GJR crossing the Dukla pass.
PPS: I just read that the 2nd batallion of the 98th GJR was built in 1937 by renaming the 2nd batallion of the 100th GJR.
Quote: "Das II. Bataillon vom Regiment entstand durch die Umbenennung vom II. Bataillon des Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 100" End of quote
Source: http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... /GJR98.htm
Last edited by history1 on 02 Nov 2018, 11:47, edited 2 times in total.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#110

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 09:14

wbfamily wrote:
14 Oct 2018, 05:27
[...]
I asked about Greece as well. I was told that he was there, but not sure when.
It's all so confusing.
The answer is in this photo which you posted a couple days ago:
Image
"Saloniki, May 12th 1941
Walther"

I wonder to which unit he belonged at the time because the GJR 98 history doesn´t mention Greece until June 1943 on this website: https://tinyurl.com/yaryyenf
Last edited by history1 on 02 Nov 2018, 11:54, edited 1 time in total.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#111

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 09:17

wbfamily wrote:
02 Nov 2018, 01:26
[...]
In one of the above posts I shared a photo my grandfather took of Schroner. Didn't he command the 98? Also, he has a photo for Kubler (I believe). I don't know which units he commanded off the top of my head but I though it was the 98 as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Schörner, not Schroner. At the end of WWII even General Field Marshall Ferdinand Schörner.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Per ... nerF-R.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Sch%C3%B6rner

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#112

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 10:28

wbfamily wrote:
14 Oct 2018, 05:27
[...] I get such sporadic information from my family...I asked about why he'd have been at that facility and was told that he was there for some kind of inspection. That at some point he was an artillery sargent [...]
Image

Information on the wall reads "Nachschub - Führer" = supply/logistics leader" and shows your grandfather as "Unteroffizier= Sergeant" which is the lowest NCO rank within the Wehrmacht. Evidence for that rank: the broad edging (maybe "galloon" fits better?) of the epaulet/shoulder strap with an opening on the lower end and the edging of the collar.
I didn´t find the unit-emblem at the left from the text, sadly.

Here he´s allready Feldwebel:
Image
Further informations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_ ... rld_War_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and ... 80%931945)
http://taskforcebaum.de/soldiers/d%20ra ... mpare.html
Last edited by history1 on 02 Nov 2018, 13:22, edited 1 time in total.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#113

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 11:21

Image
Don´t know if you know anything about this photo then that it is from France?
As we can read from the street sign they are in the department Seine-et-Marne on the route national /state road 376 which begins in Jutigny and ends in Pont-sur-Yonne. As the sign shows they´re ahead of a T- crossing with another main road which leads from Paris to Auxerre.
That means they must be somewhere in the area of Pont-sure-Yonne heading south.
https://goo.gl/maps/ki5sPvR8eMF2
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_nationale_376

Volyn
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#114

Post by Volyn » 02 Nov 2018, 14:01

history1 wrote:
02 Nov 2018, 09:10
Volyn wrote: "[...] If you believe it is GJR 100 and not GJR 98, please share your evidence.[...]"

I don´t have any evidence, I translated only the Polish text. Neither am I familiar with the operations of those units.

"Therefore, the photos of the soldiers crossing the Polish are definitely from GJR 98 not GJR 100"

When you compare both images there are hints that they are not from the same time of day. The road surface appears different and so does the little bush group in front of the trees.
Can you/we exclude that more units did cross the border there or do you know that it´s only the GJR 98?
Yes there were a few other units that entered here at the Dukla pass near Ożenna, Poland on the same day, not only GJR 98; you are correct to notice the change in the road and environment. We can confirm that the border crossing photo is from GJR 98 because of the additional photo of Oberst Schörner who was the regiment commander at that time in Poland.
history1 wrote:
02 Nov 2018, 09:14
The answer is in this photo which you posted a couple days ago:
"Saloniki, May 12th 1941
Walther"

I wonder to which unit he belonged at the time because the GJR 98 history doesn´t mention Greece until June 1943 on this website: https://tinyurl.com/yaryyenf
Great identification in Greece! He seems to move around to different units, I believe he served with Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 54 during the invasion of France. See #84 Post by Volyn » 19 Oct 2018, 06:35 on this thread, I identified the photos are from Mâcon, France. You can clearly see that he must be with with GPB 54, he appears to change battalions in each campaign. There are several photos of him with the Signal battalion in Russia as well. We do not yet know who he was assigned to in Yugoslavia and Greece (1941 & 1943), maybe you can help figure that out?
history1 wrote:
02 Nov 2018, 11:21
Don´t know if you know anything about this photo then that it is from France?
As we can read from the street sign they are in the department Seine-et-Marne on the route national /state road 376 which begins in Jutigny and ends in Pont-sur-Yonne. As the sign shows they´re ahead of a T- crossing with another main road which leads from Paris to Auxerre.
That means they must be somewhere in the area of Pont-sure-Yonne heading south.
I was able to identify Pont-sur-Yonne as well, see #34 Post by Volyn » 11 Oct 2018, 08:38. Thank you for confirming it!
Last edited by Volyn on 02 Nov 2018, 16:31, edited 1 time in total.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#115

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 14:15

Image
And here we have him early in WWII with the rank "Gefreiter = private" chavron on the left upper arm and the mountain troops Edelweiss-emblem on trhe right upper arm.
AFAIK this information wasn´t mentioned yet, in case I overread it ignore this post.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#116

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 14:25

Sorry, Volyn, I did read only until #71 at page 5 yet and did´n came accross #84 by now.
I overread or simly forgot that you did locate Pont-sure-Yonne. English isn´t my mother tongue....
BTW, you can link to each post by clicking on the eg. #23" number and copying the link from the address bar.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#117

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 15:03

wbfamily wrote:
18 Oct 2018, 22:06
Hohlladung wrote:
18 Oct 2018, 21:37
Hi wbfamily
The photo in the snow is not from the Caucasus region.
The backside reads:
"Blick vom Marzellkamm."
It's a glacier in Tyrol.
Best Regards
Armin
Thank you for the translation! However, the photo in the snow does not have anything written on the back. This is the front of the picture that has the inscription on the back (yet I don't see a glacier so it's a bit confusing):
Image
There is absolutely no doubt that Armin´s transliteration is correct. The only minor correction needed is that a "Kamm/Bergkamm" isn´t a glacier but a mountain crest.
Feel free to explore that area:
https://www.bergwelten.com/map/3d/t/b/4827

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#118

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 15:44

wbfamily wrote:
26 Oct 2018, 20:07
[...] Are there hospital lists that can be checked to see if he was hospitalized? I think this may be the answer.
I know that while in russia he miscalculated an explosion and it knocked him back quite a ways. I'm unsure if the extent of his injuries. [...]
There was the former "Krankenbuchlager", roughly translated "sick/injured soldiers archive" but it got transfered to the WAst a couple years ago from whom you mentioned that they don´t havy any informations about your grandfather.
https://www.berlin.de/lageso/versorgung ... buchlager/

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#119

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 15:59

Volyn wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 14:33
[...] Great job - I am curious how did you identify it as the SS Deutschland, is it written on his hat (I cannot read it)?
No, I wasn´t able to read it tough it´s written on the hat. wbfamily gave us his name, DOB and information that he traveled from Hamburg to NY and that was enough to find him in the crew list of this ship mentioned as "ordinary sailor". Further informations are his weight and size and that they arrived on July 9th 1937.

history1
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Re: Help with grandfather's photos. Any info, please!

#120

Post by history1 » 02 Nov 2018, 16:33

wbfamily wrote:
31 Oct 2018, 17:36
[...]How did you know he was an artist? I don't think I mentioned it before but he did some beautiful work!
It´s mentioned in the adressbook for Brunnthal near Munich. :D
And based on the neat uniforms and smiling faces I place those pics into a mountineers training and and not into a battle or other activity on the front. Note: No Gebirgsjäger emblem on the arm nor any rank insignia visible.
Image
Image
Last edited by history1 on 02 Nov 2018, 16:39, edited 1 time in total.

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