Cannock German Cemetery Headstone

[AndyJohnson]

Hello

Does anyone know what the abbreviation "I.M." means on this gravestone at Cannock German Cemetery?

regards

Andy

[Keith Iles]

Hi Andy had a look up on the web for German abbreviations and came up with Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter the nearest translation I could find in English was Unofficial Collaborator ??? don't know if this is of any help to you all sounds a bit puzzling if what I found is accurate. Best of luck with tracking this one down mate.

Best regards,

Keith

[apwright]

I think it's simply "In Memoriam".

[Kath]

Andy,

have you seen this?

http://books.google....ronika"&f=false

Go to chapter 10, page 108.

Kath.

[AndyJohnson]

Thanks folks.

The book link is amazing, there's so much information out there!

The fact that this grave is of 3 aviators from a Junkers 88 which crashed and was buried for 30 years makes it unlikely that they were any sort of collaborator I suppose! However another less frequent translation of 'Mitarbeiter' is Colleague or Co-worker which could make sense as they were the Junkers 88 Crew? 'Unofficial Colleagues' doesn't sound quite right, but translations aren't always literal - could be something here. I imagine it would be difficult to identify the individual men 30 odd years after a high speed crash and fire, could it be a version of 'Unidentified Crew members' or something like that. Next time I'm at Cannock (prob end Sept) I'll look and see if there are other graves marked IM and see if they seem to be connected like this crew. A good lead.

I wondered what's the German for "In Memoriam" but then I realised that it is Latin anyway and wouldn't be translated necessarily. This is a possibility, but I don't know if this is used in German - and why would it be on this but not all the graves, again a possibility.

Thanks folks, interesting, but not yet definitive.

[SiegeGunner]

I agree with Adrian that "I.M." stands for 'In Memoriam'. It isn't an abbreviation of rank, because the ranks are there in the lines below: 'Ogefr.' (Obergefreiter) and 'Gefr.' (Gefreiter), and it isn't an abbreviated crew function (pilot, wireless operator, air gunner), as all three are the same.

'In Memoriam' is Latin and is used in German exactly as it is in English, but is often abbreviated to "I.M.", just as English abbreviates "Requiescat in pace" (Rest in Peace) to R.I.P.

[Karsten]

I have no better suggestion than "In Memoriam".

"Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter" (= "Unofficial Worker") is a terminus technicus used only by the Staatssicherheit (= "Stasi") of the GDR (= "DDR"): http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoffizieller_Mitarbeiter

Regards,

Karsten