Help with a Title / Job in German army & what regiment likely to be a part of

There is some assumption that I didn't look at all. I did find it, what it doesn't say is what the schloss was used for, there is not much information about that at all in english. Yes there was a satellite camp of sachsenhausen in the region of the town but what was the Schloss specifically used for, was it associated, or was it not? I found indications of an HQ but an HQ for what? I am trying to find out what he was doing there.

I am not held up on whether he was SS or not.. if he was then he was, if he wasn't then he wasn't, it is what it is. Furthermore whether he was or wasn't, being in the vicinity would he have known about it, research seems generally to suggest there was at least a vague understanding of the camps in general society, so to some degree he (and others in my larger family) have some culpability anyway - I'm not scared of it nor afraid

Since then we have found that he died in "Res.Laz.Schloß Lieberose, Krs. Lübben" with help from people within this community. The res laz schloss shows it was a field hospital


Again with help I was made aware of the below:
"Hauptverbandsplatz (HVPl) Peitz: The Hauptverbandsplatz Peitz was established in early 1945 by Panzer Corps Medical Company 440 of the XXXX. Panzerkorps set up in the school in Peitz. Contemporary witnesses report that school lessons were cancelled and the classrooms were prepared to receive the wounded. An operating theatre was set up in one room by the medical orderlies. In order to ensure the smooth treatment of the wounded soldiers, the medical soldiers of Panzer Corps Medical Company 440 were later supported by parts of Luftwaffe Medical Company 1145,Medical Company 2/214 of the 214th Infantry Division, and Medical Company 1/87 of the 25th Panzer Division. The head of the Peitz HVPl was the then chief physician of the Guben hospital, Dr. Eggert Stahnke. In addition, medical officer Dr. Wilhelm Bausch was deployed in Peitz as head of the medical company 2/214. In principle, two surgical groups and a nursing area were set up in a HVPl. Some of the medical companies were assigned to transport the wounded from the dressing stations to the HVPl. In addition, a pharmacy and a dental station were under the command of the medical company. An operation group of a HVPl could treat about 25 severely wounded, 60 moderately wounded or 120 lightly wounded per day. A longer stay of wounded at the HVPl was to be avoided in order to keep its capacity free for more wounded. From the HVPl in Peitz, the wounded were transferred either to the field hospital in Lieberose or to the military hospital in Cottbus."


What the above tells us that it's not as simple as just lieberose

So please, thank you for your point, it has been noted, just let it be now

 

Here is my 2p.

My understanding is as follows. Wachmeister is an Army, rather than SS rank. The location of his death is in the middle of an SS Training area. There were other facilties including a concentration camp and a military hospital. There are several hypotheses that could account for his death in that location.

#1. He died of wounds in the hospital sustained at the front with an artillery or cavalry unit.

#2 He served in some capacity in the SS Training establishments. By 1945 lots of people served in the SS including Gunter Grass. The SS had expanded rapidly and were short of specialists. E.g. dozens of Wehrmacht technical specialists were drafted into the 12 SS Panzer Division when it was formed. Some kept their Wehrmacht rank.

#3 He may have served in a small Wehrmacht organisation that was located in the area. Logistic organisations rarely conform to the tidy goose eggs beloved of tactical maps.

 

Yes I think this sums it up well, it may be something I have to wait for the war records to come back (if they've survived), I am going to research the divisions "associated" with the field hospitals, as something to do in the mean time. I had already searched his name on some sites for links to both SS/Wehrmacht but nothing much comes up on either to be honest.

I found an article today that said alot of the documents around the three linked field hospitals (Peitz, cottbus and lieberose) haven't survived - presumably they would have given a bit more information than what I currently have (for example thinking of WW1 records of family members I have traced, where injuries/stays in hospital help narrow it down somewhat)

I presume the fact its fairly late war & a retreat meant that there was alot more consolidation of troops across ss/wehrmacht divisions etc

 

Quite right.

Wachtmeister is also a police rank. And that may have implications given the fighting units in the vicinity.

Using 1 March 1945 as a reference point.

Lieberose sat on the dividing line between two Heeresgruppe: HG Weichsel and HG Centar.

North of the line was the 9th Army of HG Weichsel, the southernmost corps being V.SS-Gebirgskorps. The frontline lay on the river Oder with the two southernmost formations of the V.SS-Gebirgskorps being the 32.SS-Pz-Division (30th January) and the Div.Stab z.b.v 391. The later (391) was a redesignation the previous month of 391.Sicherungs-Division and by February 1945 it had been filled out with SS and Polizei units.

The HG boundary was a straight line from Lieberose to the junction of the rivers Oder and Neisse.

South of the line was the 4th Panzer Army of HG Centar, the northernmost corps being XXXX.Pz-Korps. The frontline lay on the river Neisse with the northernmost division being an amalgamation of Division z.b.v. 608 and a Kampfgruppe of 35.SS-Polizei-Division. The constituent parts of the former (608) included Polizei units. South of them was Festung Gubin which was made up of numerous sub-units under command of SS-Brigade-Dirlewanger. A Kampfgruppe from 25.Pz-Division was their immediate reserve.

In otherwords, the casualties filling into the two dressing stations (Hauptverbandsplatz - HVPI) in Peitz and Jamlitz (and perhaps onto Feldlazarett Liberose) are going to have alot of Polizei and/or SS among them. More so than cavalry or artillery.

 

All true, but we are dealing with possibilities not certainties.

 

Absolutely. The individual may not have had anything to do with the front line at all. He may have been a bookkeeper in the very rearest of rear units that caught a very nasty cold.

 

We can rule out a cold, it states he died of his wounds, bombing yes maybe..but a cold no...

 

Having looked at the wider book that the page was from, it looks like they state any role titles they had during life, which makes sense I guess... examples:
- buchhalter who died of tuberculosis
- a volkstrum, schlosser
- a retired lady
- a leather cutter / corporal
- a commercial clerk / corporal

So looks likely that the buchhalter / wachtmeister is a red herring, these are just job titles he had, not necessarily together...unless the volksturm needed a locksmith or a corporal commercial clerk as well!

 

I also found a list of deaths at the Peitzer hospital which seems to have been linked to lieberose to some degree. What is fascinating is that the website states not much has survived about the people going through these hospitals, however they do have some for Peitzer, what it does show is the varied type of people going through such a place:

Lazaretttote in der Stadt Peitz im 2. Weltkrieg

I also reached out to a website I found in german, which a man seems to be making a databases of field hospitals, focusing on mobile ones. However he was able to give me some information stating that it is worth asking the Lieberose city administration as they may have information about lieberose as most german administrations keep a day by day history - obviously it might be sparse but he said it is worth reaching out, which I have done..