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Remembered Today:

Lieutenant d. Reserve Heinrich Steiner - A Grave Mystery


ph0ebus

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Yes, that's the one I used. Works fine. Christine

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Yes, that's the one I used. Works fine. Christine

Perfect! Email and evidence at hand sent to Volksbund. I will post updates here as I get them. Thanks everyone who has contributed to this effort!

-Daniel

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all,

My update is that there is no formal response as of yet from Volksbund after two weeks, other than the automated 'Thanks for your email" email I received on 6/22. I'll continue to monitor and will post any new info as it comes in.

-Daniel

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all!

I am pleased to report I have received a clear, comprehensive and I would say definitive answer in regards to the whereabouts of Heinrich. First, the reply, in German, which I provide for those German speakers (and readers) to help clarify (and in my small way, apologize for) the terrible machine translation into English that will shortly follow. The original reply:

Sehr geehrter Herr Stern,

Ihre E-Mail vom 22.06.2015 bezüglich Heinrich Steiner haben wir erhalten.
Nach einigen Recherchen konnten wir herausfinden, dass Heinrich Steiner in
das Familiengrab der Familie Steiner auf den israelitischen Friedhof in
Laupheim überführt wurde.

Der für diesen Friedhof zuständige Mitarbeiter Herr Michael Schick hat
angeboten Ihnen detaillierte Auskünfte zu Heinrich Steiner geben zu
können. Des Weiteren kennt er die Familie Steiner persönlich und hat auch
sogleich Kontakt zu Herrn Dr. Yitzhak Heinrich Steiner aufgenommen.

Herrn Schick können Sie unter der folgenden Adresse kontaktieren:

Michael Schick, ******************(redacted),
E-Mail: *********************(redacted)

Herr Steiner hat mich inzwischen per E-Mail kontaktiert und mich gebeten,
seine E-Mail-Adresse an Sie weiterzuleiten, damit Sie sich direkt mit ihm
in Verbindung setzen können. Er ist gern dazu bereit, Ihnen bei Ihrem
Anliegen weiterzuhelfen.

Sie können ihn unter folgender E-Mail-Adresse erreichen:
*******************(redacted)

Ich hoffe Ihnen mit diesen Informationen weitergeholfen zu haben und bin
bei weiteren Fragen selbstverständlich gern für Sie da.

Mit freundlichem Gruss/best regards
Stephanie Backhauß

The translation (for what its worth):

Dear Mr. Stern,

Your e-mail from 22.06.2015 regarding Heinrich Steiner we received.
After some research we determined that (the body of) Heinrich Steiner was transferred

to the family grave of the Steiner family in the Israelite cemetery in
Laupheim .

In charge of this cemetery employee Mr. Michael Schick
can offer you detailed information about Heinrich Steiner.

Furthermore, he knows the family Steiner personally and has also
immediately contacted Dr. Yitzhak Heinrich Steiner.

Mr. Schick, you can contact at the following address:

Michael Schick, *************************(redacted),
Email: ***************************(redacted)

Mr. Steiner has since contacted me via email and asked me
to forward his e-mail address to you to make you feel right with him (??)
can get in touch. He is willing to provide you with your
Weiterzuhelfen concern. (??)

You can reach him at the following e-mail address:
*************************(redacted)

I hope to have helped you with this information and am
For further questions, of course happy to help.

Best regards / best regards
Stephanie Backhauß

So, it would appear we answered several questions; we now know that Heinrich is buried in Laupheim, and that the individual stone likely is his original gravestone after his birial there, but which was subsequently replaced by the family stone that presently stands on that spot. Another fellow soldier now lies in the very grave he once occupied.

It also is clear that at least in this case, Jewish remains were exhumned and returned to Germany for burial, which of course is quite significant.

Lastly, I now know that apparently have living family that I can now contact and get to know there! All in all, a fantastic result, and I could not be more pleased or more thankful to everyone who contributed and came along on this journey. In baseball terms, this is (in my estimation) a home run.

Best wishes,

Daniel

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Result!

Puzzled to learn that Heinrich's body has apparently been exhumed, and removed to the family grave back home (as I honestly thought that was against Jewish beliefs), but delighted to find he's now with his family!

Herr Steiner hat mich inzwischen per E-Mail kontaktiert und mich gebeten,
seine E-Mail-Adresse an Sie weiterzuleiten, damit Sie sich direkt mit ihm
in Verbindung setzen können. Er ist gern dazu bereit, Ihnen bei Ihrem
Anliegen weiterzuhelfen.

In the meantime Mr Steiner contacted me by e-mail, and has asked me to send his e-mail adress to you, so you can contact him directly.

He is very willing to help you further in this matter.

JW

And don't forget to contact Michael Schick! I'm confident he can tell you things about Heinrich and the Steiners that even the Steiners don't know.

PS:

dict.cc is a very good German-English on-line translator, I use it daily. It catches the words that Google translate very often misses.

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That is what I thought! Having this information I did a little research and discovered there are circumstances in which exhumation is not only permitted but may even be required under Rabbinical Law: See these:

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19912000/geller_exhuming.pdf

Page 2 (Exceptions) of the above appears to apply to this instance.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05253.html

The rules laid out in the last paragraph, though it applies to later conflicts, may have been shaped by what happened in previous conflicts, including the Great War.

-Daniel

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Good news on all sides - you have found the grave and the bonus of the extended family!

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Great result Daniel - and well done to everyone involved.

Neil

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Hi,

Great that you got an answer from the Volksbund to the question where Heinrich Steiner was buried, and that he actually was transferred to the family grave. So nice that you even can get into contact with relatives and to Mr Schick at the cemetery.

Christine

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  • 4 weeks later...

Very excited to share that I am now in contact with the Steiner family and have begun exchanging information. Of note is that many of that branch of the family came to New York and Chicago over the last century. Interesting! They also sent me more information about Heinrich's service, which I am digesting.

-Daniel

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It just goes to show the rewards which can be obtained from poking around in family history !!

Well done.

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What a fantastic result for you. I hope you will share any further information once you have digested it. If you are still wondering about abbreviations, Vorm. is as JWK suggested, Vormittag and GG = Gewehr Geschoss - GSW.

Charlie

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  • 3 years later...

Daniel.

 

I know this is an old thread but did you find out when his body was moved back to Germany?

 

Neil

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎24‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 09:26, Neil Mackenzie said:

Daniel.

 

I know this is an old thread but did you find out when his body was moved back to Germany?

 

Neil

Hi Neil,

 

I will have to consult my files when I get home; if I did get that information I will post it here.

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

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On 05/06/2019 at 12:41, ph0ebus said:

Hi Neil,

 

I will have to consult my files when I get home; if I did get that information I will post it here.

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

Hi Neil,

 

I never did get that information.  Sorry for the delay in following up.

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

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No worries.

 

I will out at Bray soon so will be mentioning Heinrich.

 

Neil

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 13/06/2019 at 13:55, Neil Mackenzie said:

No worries.

 

I will out at Bray soon so will be mentioning Heinrich.

 

Neil

Fantastic!

 

Best wishes,

 

Daniel

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