Help with returning German soldier photo to family

[Guest amychri]

My father possesses the portrait of a soldier he shot in Germany late in the war. All he can remember about it is that his name was Ernst and he was from Hamburg. Are there any websites that help reunite vets or their families with personal items?

 

I think this has been a great burden for my father to carry all these years, and if he could return it, it would bring some sense of closure. I know chances are slim, but are there sites that do this? TIA.

[Bob Hudson]

My father possesses the portrait of a soldier he shot in Germany late in the war. All he can remember about it is that his name was Ernst and he was from Hamburg. Are there any websites that help reunite vets or their families with personal items?

 

I think this has been a great burden for my father to carry all these years, and if he could return it, it would bring some sense of closure. I know chances are slim, but are there sites that do this? TIA.

 

I think that would like searching for Joe from San Francisco - even with a last name, it would be tough, but without that impossible.

 

I would suggest mailing it to the Museum of Hamburg History along with a short note. They will put in some archive where most likely it will reside, untouched, for eternity, but perhaps at some point it may catch the eye of a researchers. It's probably the best you can do.

 

Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte

Holstenwall 24

20355 Hamburg

GERMANY

[rrobertscv]

Post it on the WAF, all things German and WWII. They just help reunite a photo back with its original family.

W.A.F.

[cpatrick]

I am not sure if this would be a good idea. The war is still very fresh to many Germans, and to put something like this out into the open may cause some unforseen "problems". The odds of finding the family are slim, and the risk of animocity towards someone that had killed "fellow brethren of the 'Vaderland"" just may not settle well. My two cents

 

Chris