Lincoln 2025

The AHSGR convention in Lincoln was an opportunity to present my findings to a larger audience. I had made a presentation the previous year in Oklahoma City, but to a rather limited audience. This time there were well over one hundred people in the audience. The presentation was called "The Demise of Rohrbach and the Berasan Colonies - a Personal Perspective". I covered the experiences of my great grandfather and his descendants during the first half of the twentieth century, ending with the occupation during World War II and the evacuation to Poland, then dispersed into Germany, and to the Soviet Union.

The presentation was well received and resulted in invitations for more presentations.

National Archives

The National archives in Bethesda, Maryland houses copies of the EWZ records captured by the US army at the end of World War II. These are the same ones housed in the Family Search Center in Salt Lake City. I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. Besides, I needed an excuse to visit Washington D.C., hopefully during a time when the weather was a little less repressive. This time, even though it was early May, the weather was still very accommodating. It also afforded me the opportunity to tour the National Mall and some of the Smithsonian Museums, then to knock off two more baseball stadiums - the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles.

Once I got myself acclimated to the facility and passed the exam which everyone had to take to obtain an annual pass (primarily do's and don'ts about security), I made my way to the floor where the documents were housed. I was first directed to where the Army records were kept, but soon found out I needed the next floor where the microfilm was actually housed. 

Sadly, the staff there consisted of summer interns who had little knowledge (or interest) in helping me find the appropriate records, so I took it upon myself to search through the drawers throughout the room trying to locate what I needed. After I found the appropriate drawer, I spent the rest of the day poring through microfilm records. Although I did find a few records I had not seen at the Family Search Center in Salt Lake City, I did not find the treasure trove I was looking for.  Of special interest were the "Lebenslauf" documents - essentially an essay written by the refugee describing his life's experiences. To date, I still have only the one document, from dad's uncle Wilhelm. Perhaps more time, or a more experienced assistant, could have turned up additional records. 

The originals are in the German archives in Berlin. I think that would be worth the trip. In addition to EWZ, they would have German military records, of which I have only those from my dad. I would like to see if there are any for his brothers.

The British Archives

In the summer of 2024 I decided to check a few European destinations off of my bucket list, visiting Barcelona and Palma in Spain, then Warsaw, Poland, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. After Copenhagen, I decided to take the opportunity to take a side trip to one of my favorite cities, so I booked a flight to London before coming back through the Chunnel and visiting Amsterdam, before spending a few weeks with relatives in Germany. I wanted to visit the town of Hay-on-Wye, a small town in Wales, knick-named "The Book Town" for its preponderance of used book stores. Hay-on-Wye is not on the beaten path, and after realizing that I just couldn't fit it in to my schedule, I decided instead to make a visit to the British Archives just outside of London to see if I could find any information about my dad's time there after World War II. I have a passport size photo of him stamped by the British Home Office, and I know that he worked in a coal mine either in England or in Wales. I searched the British immigration records and could find nothing of him entering the country. I looked for ship manifests and enlisted help from a research assistant. He speculated that records of those coming by ship were widely scattered throughout different ports of entry or simply no longer kept - not an encouraging answer.

I did, however, manage to find naturalization records and death records for his cousin Waldemar, whose daughter still lives in England. I believe dad went to England with Waldemar. I have reached out to his daughter but she had no recollection of her father's activities during the post-war era. 

All said, the archives, while an interesting travel experience, did not reveal anything I had not already known.