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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Elliot Schneider Dec 12, 2019 4:59 PM (in response to hhuppert)1 person found this helpfulHenry,
Do you have any more information on your relative? I presume he was a POW then liberated while being shot and injured by the Germans in Austria. Just taking a stab was he at the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria if so that was liberated by Patton's 3rd Army, 11th Armored Division. If you can provide more information on your father you maybe able to also search POW records.
Thanks,
Elliot Schneider
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 15, 2019 1:43 AM (in response to Elliot Schneider)Hi Elliot
My father and 3000 Jews were taken from the Dachau Concentration Camp as American forces were approaching to be exterminated. They were taken to the snowy Tyrol mountains near Seefeld Austria and they were gunned down by machine gun fire. All but 16 people were killed. An American unit found them and searched for survivors. My father was taken to a hospital in Mittenwald Germany. That is all I got and it would be great if I can find out which Army unit was involved.
Thanks
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Elliot Schneider Dec 16, 2019 9:48 AM (in response to hhuppert)1 person found this helpfulHenry,
Here is information from a cemetery.
Waldfriedhof is a cemetery located above the "Römerweg" in the woods of "Föhrenwald". It includes individual graves and family graves, a military cemetery and the memorial in honor of the prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp who died in the Death March of 1945. Waldfriedhof was established in 1947 as a Jewish cemetery and later became a general cemetery when the old cemetery around St. Oswald Church was demolished and moved here to enlarge the central square of the village.
In April 1945, during the last days of the war, 8,000 prisoners were removed from Dachau and its sub-camps and forced to march to the Bavarian Alps. Some thought they would be part of a Red Cross prisoner exchange. Other prisoners thought the plan was to kill them out of sight of the rapidly advancing U.S. military. It is possible that the Nazis planned to use prisoners to build fortifications in the Tyrolean mountains for a defense of last resort. Whatever the reasons, the German guards forced a brutal pace and thousands of walkers died in a few days. Fortunately, the march never reached its final destination.
The Death March has passed directly through many towns near Dachau, including Allach, Pasing, Graefelfing, Planegg, Krailling, Gauting, Berg, Icking, Wolfratshausen, Geretsried, Bad Toelz, Waakirchen, Fuerstenfeldbruck and Gruenwald. Many walkers literally died at the front doors of citizens. There might have been a temptation to forget this terrible part of local history, but after much discussion and introspection, citizens chose another path.
Thanks,
Elliot Schneider
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 19, 2019 5:15 AM (in response to Elliot Schneider)Hi Again,
Thank you for the information on the Death March.
My Father (and his group) were taken by train to the area were the Germans tried to execute them.
Henry
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Elliot Schneider Dec 14, 2019 10:49 PM (in response to hhuppert)Henry,
Was your father Charles Huppert of California?
Thanks,
Elliot Schneider
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 16, 2019 9:19 AM (in response to Elliot Schneider)No sorry
Henry
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Elliot Schneider Dec 16, 2019 9:44 AM (in response to hhuppert)Do you have his first name?
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 19, 2019 5:13 AM (in response to Elliot Schneider)Hi Elliot
My fathers name was Bernhard Huppert
I dont believe we have any relatives (that we are aware of) out of New York
Thanks
Henry
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Elliot Schneider Dec 16, 2019 9:56 AM (in response to hhuppert)2 people found this helpfulHenry,
Looks like the 103rd Infantry Division had a camp near Seefeld, Austria in mid 1945. According to the order of battle and camps. This unit may have been part of that Army Division.
Elliot Schneider
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 19, 2019 5:16 AM (in response to Elliot Schneider)Thanks!
That may be very helpful
Henry
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
Jason AtkinsonDec 18, 2019 7:25 AM (in response to hhuppert)
1 person found this helpfulDear Mr. Huppert,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
We searched the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1905-1981 (Record Group 407) and located approximately 25 linear feet of records of the 103 Infantry Division and its subordinate units. Using the division history at the beginning of the records, we confirmed that the 103rd was the first American unit to enter Seefeld, Austria, in early May 1945, a few days before the final German surrender on May 8, 1945. For access to and/or copies of these reports, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We also searched online and located the following sources that, although they do not mention the specific incident you are researching, describe some of the experience of soldiers of the 103rd Infantry Division toward the end of the war.
- http://103divwwii.usm.edu/assets/h.-k.-borwn-s-wwii-1944---1945-diary.pdf
- http://narafriends-pittsfield.org/roger.htm
- http://www.pierce-evans.org/remembrances8.htm
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Locating a WWII Army unit
hhuppert Dec 19, 2019 5:18 AM (in response to Jason Atkinson)Very Helpful
Thank you so much!
Henry Huppert