Hello All, I am new to this forum and hoping this may be a helpful resource. My grandfather was in the 14th Coast Artillery Harbor Defense and the 106th Infantry. He served in France, Germany, and Belgium and was in the Battle of the Bulge. After he passed, I was gifted his army belt. Of course I checked all the pockets and found a letter written by a German POW (pictures and translation attached). Ultimately I am trying to find any resources that may lead me to getting this letter back to the man's family. I know if the situation was reversed I would be happy to receive the same (although you never know in this situation). I understand this is an incredibly challenging endeavor, but worth a shot. Also, here is a link to an interview with my grandfather in case anyone is interested:
Reading the translation it seems all we know about this man is that his name is Erich Biste Ancestry - I cannot fully access these files as they are outside my subscription All results for Erich Biste Germany, Military Killed in Action, 1939-1948 (6 total images in packet) Casualties Name Erich Biste Birth dd mm year location Death dd mm 1942 location So I guess not this one as he was a POW in 1945 The second result shows : Germany and Surrounding Areas, Address Books, 1815-1974 City & area directories Name Erich Biste Residence year city, Polen (Poland) But without access to the file its difficult to know if this man was living pre or post WW2 TD
Suggest "train" in the translation should rather read "platoon". The German word "Zug" has both meanings, and context (Gruppe/group) should be observed.
Locating the family of this man might be extremely difficult But Winzenheim / Bretzenheim was one of the infamous Rhine meadow camps (field of misery): There is a small documentation center there, maybe they could help. Bretzenheim - Dokumentationszentrum & Ausstellung - Kriegsgefangenenlager Bretzenheim bei Bad Kreuznach I could also imagine that they would take care of the letter, since there is a local connection through the then so helpful Fräulein.