Karsten Posted 11 November , 2012 Share Posted 11 November , 2012 I like the "Remembered Today" - I live in Stuttgart and the Pragfriedhof ("Prag-Cemetery"; it is NOT named for the Czech capital PRAG, but for a hill in Stuttgart which name is "Pragsattel") is not far from my home. I will try to find the grave of Leutnant d.R. Erwin THOMAE one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 11 November , 2012 Share Posted 11 November , 2012 From the transcription of the Ehrenbuch for Stuttgart at Denkmalprojekt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 13 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 13 November , 2012 Ken, many thanks. But where do you have the information from that he is buried at the Pragfriedhof? I have asked the administration of that cemetery and he is not known there ... Regards, Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 13 November , 2012 Share Posted 13 November , 2012 I have asked the administration of that cemetery and he is not known there ... Ask them to check the burial ledgers from 1923, not 1918 Grave is in there but ,unfortunately, unmarked for the past 70 years at least (or lost by the sound of it!). Tried and failed to find it myself a couple of years ago though I did see the documentation regarding his exhumation and repatriation from France (plus costs!). Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 13 November , 2012 Share Posted 13 November , 2012 Thank you Dave, I really appreciate your multi-national contributions to our "Remembered Today" feature. Like this one prompting a member from Stuttgart, assisted by another in Canada to find out more. It would be great if Karsten could track down the grave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 13 November , 2012 Share Posted 13 November , 2012 Do we know how long he was with the 19th Uhlan's and 5th squadron ? Would he have been too young to have fought at Ethe/Bleid in August 1914 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 14 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 14 November , 2012 (edited) Thank you, Dave. I did ask the lady in charge this morning. She checked the lists of 1923. This is her answer: "Sehr geehrter Herr XXX, konnte leider auch in 1923 keinen Eintrag im Register zum Sterbefall Thomä, Erwin finden. Mit freundlichen Grüßen XXX" She could not find an entry in the register. Mr. Thomae seems not to habe been buried on the Pragfriedhof. Any other idea? Steve, thank you as well. I do like this kind of international cooperation, too. (Thank God we have internet and e-mail today!) Perhaps we find his grave. Edited 6 March , 2022 by Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 14 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 14 November , 2012 BTW: His (I think military) personell records are in the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg: https://www2.landesarchiv-bw.de/ofs21/olf/struktur.php?bestand=6057&sprungId=1538282&letztesLimit=suchen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 23 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 23 November , 2012 Thanks to the mods for shifting this topic to the "Soldiers"-forum. Kind regards, Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 29 November , 2012 Share Posted 29 November , 2012 Would it be feasible for you to have a look at his file? It would be interesting to know more about him as he was allegedly the last German killed in the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 6 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 6 December , 2012 I haven't found his grave yet, but today I went to the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, where the service records of the soldiers of the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg are kept. The service records of Leutnant der Reserve Erwin Thomä have the No. M 430/3 Bü 11489. They contain only a few pages. Erwin Alexander Thomä born 7th October 1896 lived in Stuttgart and was a merchant by profession (His parents actually lived in Stuttgart only a few yards away from the place where I grew up!) He entered the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg as a volunteer on 7th April 1915 and came to the Ulanen-Regiment "König Karl" (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 19. On 30th July 1915 he came to the 4th Eskadron of the Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 19 and went into the field. On 1st February 1917 he came to 2nd Eskadron of the Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 19. During the war he saw service at the Western and the Italian front. Promotions: 10th October 1915: Gefreiter 9th March 1916: Unteroffizier 16th October 1916: Vize-Feldwebel und Offiziers-Aspirant 6th January 1917: Offizier-Stellvertreter 30th April 1917: withdrawal of the promotion as Offizier-Stellvertreter by a general advice given in the Militär-Verordnungs-Blatt 1917, page 268 (I do not know the reason for that.) 26th February 1918: Leutnant der Reserve Awards: 7th December 1916: Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 20th Juli 1917: Prussian silver Militär-Verdienst-Medaille He was killed 11th November 1918 by an infantery bullet at Inor near Stenay (France). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 7 December , 2012 Share Posted 7 December , 2012 Hello, He was awarded the Württemberg silberne Militär-Verdienstmedaille (it's an award from Württemberg and not Prussia). Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 7 December , 2012 Share Posted 7 December , 2012 Karsten, that's fantastic. I appreciate that you took the time to research him further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 7 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2012 @ Jan: Thanks for that correction. Then the Guy who filled Out the service record sheet made a mistake. He filled the Militär-Verdienst-Medaille in the space for Prussian awards and the E.K. II in the space for other than Prussian awards. @ Ken: Yes, I will try to find out some more details. First, I like to get to know under which circumstances he was killed at the last "official" day of the war. Second, I like to get to know what happened to his grave. And last, I would like to find a photo of him (almost impossible as I guess). Keep your fingers crossed and wish me good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 7 December , 2012 Share Posted 7 December , 2012 Hello, Details of his death are given in the regimental history. It appears that he was shot when he tried to find some quarters for the troops near Inor (Meuse). This happened after the armistice (after noon on November 11, 1918). Thomä together with two others went into a barn where some Americans raised their weapons to the Germans. Thomä tried shouting in English that the war was over but the Americans started shooting and killed him. One of the other Germans managed to escape, while the third was taken prisoner. The body of Lt. Thomä was recovered the same day and taken to the Squadron. There was a short service and they loaded the body on a wagon. They drove to the next railway station and managed to get the body by train to Stuttgart. Regards, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 7 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2012 Jan, thanks for that details. Yes, it was a tragedy - he was killed a few moments AFTER armistice. I made a google-research to find out some details about his death. And guess what: I found a hint in a nice little forum called the "GREAT WAR FORUM"! Have a look at this thread: http://1914-1918.inv...ico#entry964925 It's all already in the GWF! More from Persico; "After 1100, a German Lieutenant Thoma, 19th Uhlans at Inor, 3.5 miles nth of Stenay, headed toward the American line to ask now that is was over, whether they required quarters fro their troops, The doughboys of Comp L, 356th regt, still uniformed of the cease fire, watch the Lt and shot him. The Regt's comms lines had been severd by shell fire. Col Robert Allen, commanding the Regt, explained . "the last elements of my commd ceased firing at approximatley 15 minutes before noon." His report ended, "There were some casualties in my commd between 11 and 12:15, and there many more among the enemy, but l am unable to give a complete number." Nevertheless I have ordered the book with the regimental history in the library I normaly use to check if there are some more details in. The war diaries of the Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 19 are kept in the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart. I will check them some day, too. Leutnant Thomä is commemorated in the Münster (= cathedral) of Ulm: http://denkmalprojek...anen_wk1_bw.htm The regiment had four more members who died after armistice. The history of the Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 19 is described here: http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/UR_19 and here: http://www.offizier-...ches_Nr_19.html I think we have tracked him down now. So what is missing is his grave and a photo. His biography shows all the madness of war: He entered the army as a volunteer when he was still a boy with 18 and a half years, spent three and a half years in the field and was killed when the war was over! What a tragedy - damned war! Greetings, Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 7 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2012 I did see the documentation regarding his exhumation and repatriation from France (plus costs!). The body of Lt. Thomä was recovered the same day and taken to the Squadron. There was a short service and they loaded the body on a wagon. They drove to the next railway station and managed to get the body by train to Stuttgart. How does this fit together? When was he brought to Stuttgart? In 1918 or later? Can you give me scans of these documents? Greetings Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 7 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2012 I forgot: The speech which was held by the priest at his burial (Grabrede) is kept at the Württembergische Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart. I have ordered a copy to get more biographical details! Greetings, Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 13 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 13 December , 2012 I now have obtained a copy of his burial speech. According to this, he was buried on 23rd November 1918 on the Waldfriedhof (Forest Cemetary) in Stuttgart. I have send an e-mail to this cemetary to ask whether the grave still exists. More details to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph0ebus Posted 14 December , 2012 Share Posted 14 December , 2012 This is quite an interesting story! I await your findings with great anticipation. -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 14 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 14 December , 2012 I got a reply to my request today: his grave still exists on the Waldfriedhof! Heureka! I will visit it after Christmas, take some photos and post them here. Greetings Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph0ebus Posted 14 December , 2012 Share Posted 14 December , 2012 Well done, Karsten! Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 14 December , 2012 Author Share Posted 14 December , 2012 Thanks, Daniel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 20 December , 2012 Share Posted 20 December , 2012 That's great news! Looking forward to the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsten Posted 28 August , 2013 Author Share Posted 28 August , 2013 Update: The name of Leutnant Erwin Thomae and the circumstances of his death are also mentioned here on p. 244: http://archive.org/details/historyof89thdiv00engl I have finished my article bout his death now and am looking for a publisher - hopefully my local newspaper. And I stood at his grave on the Waldfriedhof in Stuttgart (confirmed by the administration of the cemetery), but it seems as if his headstone is gone/missing. So unfortunately no photo yet. Regards, Karsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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