Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 2 February , 2003 Share Posted 2 February , 2003 Hello Everyone, I know that this forum deals primarily with the British experience in the war and what I am asking will be new to many. During the war many German families issued death notices/death cards for their loved ones. Not every soldier killed would have one but I am sure they number in the tens of thousands. I am sure that many British collectors hold one or more of these cards in their collections or know someone who might. Several people including myself were toying with the idea of creating a central database with as many of these cards as possible. The database would be a useful tool to many in their study of the war in general. Our plan would be to encourage anyone who holds death cards to supply a scan of the photo and accompanying page. The men would be placed in the database on their regiment, company, branch of service, etc. All of those who do participate would receive a CD of the entire lot. I know that many do not like to share their collections but I do encourage everyone to think about joining in. I have already started the collection with the cards I currently hold. This database would enhance the German online site. The German War Graves site is good but lacks details on unit and service. This requires a direct inquiry to their records unlike the British site. What I am asking for is any feedback from the members of this forum if they would be interested in cooperating in such an enterprise. Any response, positive or negative is welcome. Any advice on how to accomplish this task is also welcome. I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks, thank you for taking the time to read my message and respond. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 2 February , 2003 Share Posted 2 February , 2003 An excellent idea Ralph - and I am happy to help with the ones I have. How about also including photos of wartime German graves where these are identifiable to an individual? I have one album of a German gunner were a number of them are in there with the names visible - now there is no trace of these men on the German wargraves site. Who do we send the scans to? Will there be a website? Brilliant project - which I hope all who can will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 2 February , 2003 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2003 Hello Paul, We are still in the planning stages but it would not include a web site at this time. It seems I have been designated as the database keeper, I have 120 Gig hard drive to fill. If you would like just send them to me at rwhiteh1@twcny.rr.com Thanks for the support, I look forward to seeing them. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 2 February , 2003 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2003 Paul, I forgot to reply to the second part. The idea of wartime graves is also very good as many of the cemeteries were destroyed and there is no record of these men. Send any along that you have and I will include this part in the request, thanks for the idea. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J.Woodward Posted 2 February , 2003 Share Posted 2 February , 2003 I have a couple of 'death cards' for the 65th I.F and would be more than happy to include them on a data base Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 3 February , 2003 Author Share Posted 3 February , 2003 Thanks Joe, The more the better. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 Ralph. I've got quite a few.I'll be sending you the scans shortly.Would you also be interested in the Austrian ones that I possess (similar designs to the German type)? Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 Hello, a few thoughts over this idea: you only have death cards from catholic soldiers (so mostly from Bavaria and a few from the Rhine, Württemberg and Baden), this means that probably 80% of the dead never had such a card. So, I would advise to include all data from the published regimental histories and of course also use the original cemetery registers. Quite a job I must say to make such a database... I still like the idea though. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Lines Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 As Jan says these cards (to the best of my knowledge) were only circulated by Roman Catholic families. One of the things about them I find very interesting is that they often have the cause of death on them and the standard "he died instantly" phrase is very rarely seen. I guess I have around 200 or so in my collection. If you would like scans Ralph of all of them please let me know and as time permits I can send you a few at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 3 February , 2003 Author Share Posted 3 February , 2003 First let me say that I am very pleased at the initial response. Even though the number of cards is limited it does provide a great deal of information for any research. Alan, Jan and Dave: I appreciate the offers and would love to see your cards whenever you have the time to scan and send them. I have begun a folder by unit to store the ones I own and the few others have already sent. Even if we cannot locate the majority of them it will still be a valuable resource tool. I think that we will stick to the German side at this time and leave the Austrian cards out. I appreciate the thought. Our hope is to coordinate the details with any available records including regimental histories. I have not seen any German cemetery records. Jan, do you know where these can be obtained? Every time I feel that I have exhausted all areas of research new ones keep popping up. THe more we dig, the more we find. The end result will hopefully be the spread of knowledge and the preservation of a small piece of history. I am going to expand the request to as many groups as possible. Once we know the full extent of the repsonse we can determine when to end the first phase of the search. I am keeping a record of each person who cooperates so that all details and findings of the research can be shared via a CD with all known details. Thanks for your support. Remember, if you know someone else who has cards ask them if they would like to join. Thanks to all, Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 I have a few copied cemetery registers from the 1920's and I know I can find a lot more in the Royal Military Museum in Brussels. I have also excellent contacts with a few people from the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge. I've got about 30 death cards from Flanders in my collection, but I have about 50 or so other death cards which I am trying to sell. I'll have a look what I can do... Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Orfei Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 Ralph, A very interesting subject matter,I have read articles about this topic a few years ago. However, I have never seen one would it be possible for you to scan a few Death notices/Death cards and post them on this discussion forum. So members who have never viewed one can view same. Or if you think it is discourteous to do so, please scan one to me. It is a very fascinating tidbit of history. Regards, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 3 February , 2003 Share Posted 3 February , 2003 John, for you a scan of a death card. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph J. Whitehead Posted 3 February , 2003 Author Share Posted 3 February , 2003 Jan, Thank you very much for the help in the scan. I have already received some via e-mail. I finished scanning the ones I have and entered them into the database. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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