I've managed to pick up a few of these over the years, my latest one has given me a nudge to so a thread showing them in case anyone can add any info - on a couple I have found family trees revealing they lost immediate family in the Camps but on others I haven't been able to find anything but I'm sure there are stories to be told (I just need to keep looking) Max John Tandlau serving as Tendlow, a German Jew originally from Hamburg but later in Wiesbaden, after Kristallnacht he was arrested and imprisoned in Dachau, within 6 months he had been released and travelled to England via Sweden where he was reunited with his wife and son. He served in the Pioneer Corps
Gustav Metzker, an Austrian from Vienna, he doesn't seem to be Jewish (although the R.C. entry against religion could be cover) I'm not sure why he came to the UK but he served in the Pioneer Corps then RAOC
Wilhelm Braun serving as William Winston Brown in 6th Airborne Armoured Recconaisance Squadron – an Austrian Jew from Vienna – his parents were sent to the Lodz Ghetto where they were killed
Ludwig Israel serving as Louis Israel, I'm not sure if his surname was actually Israel or if this was based on the German law forcing all Jewish men to take this as their surname, he was a German Jew from Berlin he served in 248 Company Pioneer Corps
Wilhelm Franz Weiss there is a different name and number noted at the top, this appears to be an alias he used, an Austrian Jew from Vienna and served in the Pioneer Corps then HAA branch of the Royal Artillery. I believe his brother died in Auschwitz and his mother in Theresienstadt Ghetto.
Well done for researching the ‘enemy aliens’ many of whom were sent to the Isle of Man and despite their detention, volunteered to serve in the Pioneer Corps. Somewhere l remember that it was about 12,000? Their backstories have not been examined very much but deserve it. Not all, but very many, were Jewish and became members of war crimes investigators post war, interpreters for combat units and in POW camps. Some remarkable work done by them in the re-education programme in UK POW camps.Herbert Sulzbach and Charles Stambrook for instance.
Tandlau definitely went to the IoM, for the others there is a good chance but I can't find any confirmation - all these individuals must have really interesting back stories, I've been looking on Ancestry and for family trees, also their Alien registration cards, the US Holocaust museum also has some odds and ends of info - a lot of it is just snippets about the individual in isolation though so difficult to link them to family members.
Not paybooks but a couple of bits to Erwin Peter Hamburger (served as Hall) a German Jew from Berlin - he was brought to England in 1938/9 on one of the Kinder Transports and went on to serve in the Suffolks
Naturalisation Certificate: Max John Tendlow. From Germany. Resident in Shipley,... | The National Archives Reference: HO 334/165/19556 Description: Naturalisation Certificate: Max John Tendlow. From Germany. Resident in Shipley, Yorkshire. Wife's name Eva Charlotte [Tendlow or Tendlau]. Home Office Reference: T 6136. Certificate AZ19556 issued 17 September 1946. Note(s): Alias: Max John Israel Alias: Max John Tendlau. Date: 1946 Sept 17 Held by: The National Archives, Kew There is this database on Ancestry you may know about About UK, World War II Alien Internees, 1939-1945 Historical Context This collection provides details of foreign nationals interned by the British government during World War Two. Internment started immediately following the outbreak of war in 1939, with a small number of Germans being sent to tribunals for assessment as a potential danger to the country. This was expanded to Austrians in May 1940, and then to Italians in the same year. If deemed to be ‘high risk’, the individual was immediately interned, or deported. Those labelled as ‘doubts’ were let go but supervised and those deemed ‘low-risk’ were released. A large number of internees were made up of German and Austrian Jews. The measure of internment was scaled back toward the end of the war and by 1943-1944, most internees had been released. What can I find in these records? You may be able to find the following information (where available): Name Gender Date of Birth Date of Internment Date of Death Date of Discharge There are several Tendlau's these could be relatives? Charlotte Gertrude Tendlau 17 Oct 1886 German Berthold Tendlau 26 Jun 1874 Siegfried Tendlau 25 Aug 1854 German Berthold Tendlau 25 Jun 1874 German Charlotte Gertrud Tendlau 17 Oct 1886 German Charlotte Gertrud Tendlau 17 Oct 1886 Berthold Tendlau 26 Jun 1874 German TD
Example UK, World War II Alien Internees, 1939-1945 Name: Berthold Tendlau Gender: Male Nationality: German Birth Date: 26 Jun 1874 Birth Place: Wiesbaden, Germany TD Shows he was released in Nov 1940 Name: Berthold Tendlau Birth Date: 26 Jun 1874 Discharge Date: 29 Nov 1940
I hadn't noticed Naturalisation certificates, I did see a note in the London Gazette I think that was about his name change. On the relatives its just difficult to confirm a link (well it seems difficult to me) - on the US Holocaust site I did find a few Tendlau's in Wiesdbaden and have found 2 ladies who died in the Holocaust whose maiden name was Tendlau one of whom has a Stolperstein memorial.
I dont know if you have Ancestry, so have shown the one above as an example, if you need more doing then just ask. There are other files for example for Berthold but they are only accessible if you have access to the German files. Max John seems to have lived in Yorkshire where he died England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Max John Tendlow Death Age: 83 Birth Date: 14 May 1899 Registration Date: Apr 1983 [May 1983] [Jun 1983] Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun Registration District: Bradford Inferred County: West Yorkshire Volume: 4 Page: 0281 TD
I've got Ancestry and have the Alien cards - not sure about German access, I haven't noticed any files jumping out that I can't open - on Weiss I found a family tree on GENUKI (which I've seen in passing but never really looked at) and it had his family with birth dates but no death details except his Mother and Brother (who were killed in the Holocaust as mentioned) I do wonder about the others as they may also have been victims, I probably need to check them against other sites. Max's son has an obituary on this link (page 14) https://ajr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/5904-AJR-Journal-Feb-2019-FINAL.pdf which gives some details on his Dad which was very useful
UK, World War II Alien Internees, 1939-1945 Name: Ludwig Israel Gender: Male Nationality: German Birth Date: 7 Aug 1904 Birth Place: Berlin, Germany Discharge Date: 5 Nov 1940 1939 England and Wales Register Name: Ludwig Isreal Gender: Male Marital Status: Single Birth Date: 7 Aug 1904 Residence Year: 1939 Address: 69 Raglan Court Residence Place: Wembley, Middlesex, England Occupation: (Optics) Agent Commercial Traveller Line Number: 37 Schedule Number: 271 Sub Schedule Number: 3 Enumeration District: BWCW Borough: Wembley Registration district: 130/1. Inferred Father: Oscar Isreal Inferred Mother: Blance Isreal Household Members Age Oscar Isreal 64 Blance Isreal 60 Ludwig Isreal 35 Heinz Isreal 33 Hella Isreal 24 TD Just found this but cant access the actual file Germany, Index of Jews Whose German Nationality was Annulled by Nazi Regime, 1935-1944 Name: Ludwig Israel Birth Date: 7 Aug 1904 Birth Place: Weißensee Last Residence: Schöneberg As mentioned need a wider subscription to access some of these files/records
Name: Gustav Metzker . Date of Birth: 15/4/1904 . Place of Birth: Vienna Name: Gustav Metzker . Date of Birth: 15/4/1904 . Place of Birth: Vienna . | The National Archives Reference: HO 396/61/101 Description: Name: Gustav Metzker. Date of Birth: 15/4/1904. Place of Birth: Vienna. Date: [1939-1942] Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description States it can be downloaded for free from Find My Past TD England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Gustav Johann Metzker Death Age: 72 Birth Date: 15 Apr 1904 Registration Date: Jul 1976 [Aug 1976] [Sep 1976] Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep Registration District: Southport Inferred County: Merseyside Volume: 37 Page: 0330 1939 England and Wales Register Name: Gustav Metzker Gender: Male Marital Status: Married Birth Date: 15 Apr 1904 Residence Year: 1939 Address: 23 Chatsworth Road Residence Place: Willesden, Middlesex, England Occupation: No Occupation (Accountant) Line Number: 2 Schedule Number: 317 Sub Schedule Number: 5 Enumeration District: BXGB Borough: Willesden Registration district: 129-2
A very touching film on "friendly enemy aliens" who joined the Pioneer Corps - made with the help of Arthur Koestler_ LIFT YOUR HEAD, COMRADE [Main Title]
Cheers for the extra info TD, I need to sit down and try write it all out (and stop getting distracted by checking other odds and ends) - thanks again for your help with these
This guys interesting - hardly an Austrian name England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: William Winston Brown Death Age: 86 Birth Date: 30 Mar 1909 Registration Date: Nov 1995 Registration District: Reading and Wokingham Inferred County: Berkshire Register Number: B37A District and Subdistrict: 3201B Entry Number: 208 Naturalisation Certificate: William Winston Brown. From Austria. Resident in Reading,... | The National Archives Reference: HO 334/174/24325 Description: Naturalisation Certificate: William Winston Brown. From Austria. Resident in Reading, Berkshire. Wife's name Hedwig [Brown or Braun]. Home Office Reference: B 17880. Certificate AZ24325 issued 9 April 1947. Note(s): Alias: Wilhelm Braun. Date: 1947 Apr 9 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Language: English Closure status: Open Document, Open Description TD
Wilhelm Weiss . Date of Birth: 07/7/1903 . Place of Birth: Vienna Name: Wilhelm Weiss . Date of Birth: 07/7/1903 . Place of Birth: Vienna . | The National Archives Reference: HO 396/100/189 Description: Name: Wilhelm Weiss. Date of Birth: 07/7/1903. Place of Birth: Vienna. Date: [1939-1942] Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description This file is from the series - Subseries within HO 396 - INTERNEES AT LIBERTY IN UK FMP has this file available for download I think this may relate to the same man Naturalisation Certificate: Wilhelm Weiss. From Austria. Resident in London. Certificate... | The National Archives Reference: HO 334/316/812 Description: Naturalisation Certificate: Wilhelm Weiss. From Austria. Resident in London. Certificate BNA812 issued 1 February 1949. Date: 1949 Feb 1 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Language: English Closure status: Open Document, Open Description This being his actual naturalisation file UK, World War II Alien Internees, 1939-1945 Name: Wilhelm Weiss Gender: Male Nationality: German Birth Date: 7 Jul 1903 Birth Place: Vienna, Austria England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: William Francis Whiteley Death Age: 74 Birth Date: 7 Jul 1903 Registration Date: Apr 1978 [May 1978] [Jun 1978] Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun Registration District: Camden Inferred County: Greater London Volume: 14 Page: 1598 TD
Subseries within HO 396 - INTERNEES AT LIBERTY IN UK Reference: HO 396/33/20 Description: Name: Erwin Israel Hamburger. Date of Birth: 22/10/1925. Place of Birth: Berlin. Date: [1939-1942] Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description Downloadable from FMP UK, Selected Records Relating to Kindertransport, 1938-1939 (USHMM) Name: Erwin Hamburger Gender: Male Record Type: Refugee List Birth Date: 22 Okt 1925 (22 Oct 1925) Residence Place: Berlin Document Date: 30 Jan 1939 Document Place: Hamburg Permit Number: 2608 Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database -- Erwin Hamburger TD Looks as though he emigrated to USA after WW2, dont have access to US records U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 Erwin Peter Hall California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 Erwin Peter Hall U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 Erwin P. Hall California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999 Erwin Peter Hall U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 Erwin Peter Hall U.S., Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project) Erwin Peter Hall U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 E Peter Hall