WWII Research & Writing Center

Recent Articles

Article Archive

Article Categories

NPRC

Can We Stop the Stigma of History?

by Leave a Comment

Last weekend I was in Son, Netherlands for the Operation Market Garden (OMG) commemorations and living history for the 101st Airborne. Coming up this weekend in Arnhem, they will be commemorating the British aspect of OMG. As I was in the Airborne re-enactment camp, I spoke to many Dutch people about the stigma of war that still exists in society and families today. I spoke to many about the past, the choices that were made, and how we heal in the present and move forward.

My point of view is, the past is not all black and white or right or wrong or good or bad. It just isn’t one or the other. We live in a completely different time, our way of life is completely different than those who lived through WWII (or any other time period for that matter.) It is not ours to judge the past but to observe, research, understand, see the choices that were made in circumstances we cannot imagine. We were not there so who are we to judge?

What would it take for the stigma and secrets of the past to be brought into the light? Is it possible we can take one step into the light and talk about our families and their choices without fear of being cast out of society? What would that one step into the light change for us, the past, the present, and the future?

Are you brave enough to look into your dark past? Are you brave enough to take one step into a brighter future?

© 2018 World War II Research & Writing Center

Seeing the Value of Living History

by 2 Comments

Welcoming the liberators.

I spent the weekend in Son, Netherlands at the 101st Airborne commemorations and living history camp for the 74th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden. As with any living history event anywhere in Europe, there are people who love it and people who do not. The people who tend to not, judge every single thing that is incorrect about the people portraying those from the past. Rather than see the value in providing some education and commemoration, there is nasty judgment spread all around and people only see what is “wrong” rather than the 95% of what is good about the event.

No matter what time period we see people portraying the past through living history, we will never see anything that is 100% correct in every….single…..way.

So, is it possible to step back, stop judging for a moment, and see the value and beauty in living history?

Can we appreciate that the people participating have invested a lot of time and money into their hobby? That most of them have done research and can talk to the population about the event, the battle histories, the lives of specific soldiers?

Did you know many re-enactors (for any time period) have a past life connection to the people they portray and this is one way to heal themselves and others?

Are you aware these events are a place to connect and network? Have discussions about the past, our present, and moving forward in peace today?

Can we see the beauty in children learning about the past in a hands-on, non-threatening or violent way? Through the eyes of those children, can we remember, honor, and commemorate the past and the freedom we have today?

Do you see the value in living history in America or Europe? Have you had a good experience you would like to share? Please tell our readers in the comments.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

How are you Looking at your Family & Military Research?

by Leave a Comment

How are you looking at your family and military research? Are you allowing it to help change your life and show you new possibilities? Here is my take on research and how it has helped me choose different things in my life and business.

**Lisa Alzo and I will be doing a virtual conference next year but the cruise was cancelled due to the ship being chartered the week that worked for us. Join the free member’s area and subscribe to the Finding the Answers Journey newsletter to stay in touch with the conference and future travel details.

© 2018 World War II Research & Writing Center

New Website Honors British Soldiers

by Leave a Comment

A new website has been launched by a young military historian in the UK, Ben McGregor called Liveth for Evermore.

I’m excited to share Ben’s new resource. I hope it encourages other young military historians to tell the stories that are important to them.

Liveth for Evermore

At Liveth for Evermore, we aim to remember, honour and pass on the stories of the British soldiers, and their associated formations, who have served from 1939 to the present day. We do this in several ways:

  • Providing short, but concise, histories of all the British Army formations formed since 1939, with a particular focus on Independent Brigades and Divisions.
  • Writing articles and booklets on specific topics on the Army.
  • Illustrating, through videos, the equipment used by the soldiers and documenting the former battlefields.

Our website is our main hub, where you can found all of the above through using the link below. The website is far from complete, with only the World War Two section being available, but we are going to be adding more and more information in the coming weeks, notably a new section called ‘Veteran Accounts’ where we will be interviewing British veterans who have served in various conflicts.

We also have a YouTube channel, ‘Liveth for Evermore’, where we upload our videos.

To learn more, visit the website Liveth for Evermore.

Contact and Connect:

Facebook Page

Email Ben

Instagram

© 2018 World War II Research & Writing Center

Announcing a New Resource for Genealogists & Military Researchers

by Leave a Comment

I’m so excited to announce a new arm of my business, Finding the Answers Journey.

What can you expect in this space? My target is to create a space in which we can have conversations about the deeper issues, secrets, stories, and questions we encounter as we research our family and military histories. It will also be a place of one-on-one facilitation to help you move through the layers of your family’s past and find closure.

Over the last couple of years, many of the people hiring me have been asking for the deeper things. They want to know more than the basics or skimming the surface of who their father/grandfather/uncle/brother/mother, etc. was or what they did in military service or life.

My clients have questions about who these people really were. They want to explore the different layers of who they were, what their life was, what their family was and is, and how they are affected by the sum. Clients want to know how someone’s military experience or life experiences shaped who they were, and in turn, shaped who their descendants became. Many clients are coping with anticipated grief as they caregive for a parent who is dying or dealing with a long-term illness. Many are dealing with inherited trauma, compassion fatigue, anticipated grief, and PTSD. In this new space we will be exploring many of these issues and more. My husband has been dealing with cancer and other health issues since a month after we met. Now 2 1/2 years later we are still dealing with things. In this space I will be sharing my experiences and resources I use to cope.

To begin, you can sign up for our Free Member’s Area with articles, videos, writing tools, and additional resources. When you join you will also be subscribed to our newsletter.

Coming Soon!

In the next couple of weeks I am launching a book club. This isn’t your typical book club though. Each month or two, depending on the size of the book I choose, you will have the option to purchase access to that month’s book club. Included in the purchase offer will be:

  • Access to a list of questions to use while you read the book.
  • Access to the book club webinar, or in the cases of some books which have a lot to discuss, two webinars.
  • Live webinar with panelists. For some books the author will participate as a panelist.
  • Ability to view a replay of the webinar should you miss it live.
  • Writing prompts and additional questions for discussion to help you learn more about your family and Find the Answers.
  • Special limited-time offers on online classes, future webinars, and other resources.

Be sure to sign up for our Free Member’s Area. This grants you a subscription to our newsletter to learn what we are doing to help you dig deeper into your research to Find the Answers and closure to the past to create a better future.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

 

Exploring Army & Army Air Forces Morning Reports

by Leave a Comment

Company Morning Reports will help you reconstruct military service whether or not the OMPF (service file) burned.

In August 2018, I participated in a webinar with DearMyrtle, U.S. Military: Morning Reports, discussing Company Morning Reports for the Army and Army Air Forces for WWII. While our focus was WWII, the information we discussed also applies to WWI, Korea, and Vietnam.

After you watch the video, we encourage you to read why these reports are so valuable, here are a few articles.

Important! There are many military research firms around today offering ‘Click this item/price and add to cart services. Be aware that these firms will not reconstruct service for you and will only give you what you think you require. When you do not know exactly what you require, you often end up wasting a lot of money on records that have nothing to do with your service member’s service. There is a process to reconstructing military service properly.

We are the only firm that offers full service research customized to your particular project. Read our article When NOT to Hire a Genealogical or Military Record Retriever to learn more.

To learn more about Jennifer and how we can help you research and tell your WWI, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam family member’s story, check out our updated ABOUT US page.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

A Walk in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, MO

by Leave a Comment

Recently, Johan and I visited the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. We were traveling and he felt it was important to stop there while we were in St. Louis. I had never been there, although I have read through IDPFs (death files) for several group burials from WWII which are there.

We did not go to find anyone specific, though Johan did look up a couple of Airborne men he knew were there. After looking them up I said I wanted to find an area that had group burials from WWII. Wouldn’t you know, because the universe takes care of me, that’s the first place we stopped. And across the road from the section we started in were more group burials, not only from WWII but Korea and Vietnam. There are so many stories there. I took a lot of photos of graves and will do some research on those buried in them.

If you have followed me for any length of time you know for the last 3 1/2 years I have traveled extensively in Europe. I visit a lot of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) WWI and WWII cemeteries. I visit British and German cemeteries. Interestingly and still on my list is to visit a Dutch war cemetery. Somehow after living in the Netherlands part of the year, that is one thing I have not seen.

My cousin James Privoznik is buried in the ABMC Luxembourg cemetery.  The ABMC cemeteries have a much different atmosphere and energy than the National Veterans Cemeteries in the U.S. ABMC is strictly WWI or WWII. The graves are all the same – white marble crosses and some white marble Star of Davids. The energy of an ABMC cemetery focuses on, from my experiences, the stories of those men who died there in one war. A lot of history is contained in one cemetery.

National Veterans Cemeteries have a completely different energy and atmosphere. These cemeteries do not focus on one war but most wars. Jefferson Barracks even has a Revolutionary War section. At first this surprised me but after I stopped for a moment and through about my history and genealogy training I remembered that while the men and women who fought in the Revolutionary War were on the east coast, many received land patents and eventually moved west. So it is no surprise there are veterans buried in the Midwest.

Other things that are completely different, is in the Veteran Cemeteries many spouses and sometimes children are buried with the veteran. You do not see this in ABMC cemeteries for obvious reasons. There are monuments for all wars throughout the cemetery. Animals watch over our war dead, something I only once experienced in an ABMC cemetery and that was a snail. At Jefferson Barracks, the deer roam free and we found one sitting behind the Gold Star Memorial for WWI. The deer watched us slowly and quietly approach and once we acknowledged each other and the power we each held, the deer got up and left. Not long after, three more deer ran across the road out of a small wooded area near more graves, through the Gold Star Memorial area and into the woods behind it. It was a beautiful site.

While there is so much to say about Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and so many stories there, I leave you with a couple more photos that impacted me. While I knew there were air crew group burials at the cemetery, I did not know there were Japanese POW group burials there. Inside the chapel, I saw a plaque honoring the men who died. Then Johan and I went back to a section we had previously been in, to find the grave. You can click the plaque and group burial photos to see  larger images.

I would encourage you to visit one of our nation’s National Veterans Cemeteries on your travels even if you do not have a family member buried there. It is a humbling, moving experience to walk among the graves that roll over beautiful manicured green hills or plains, that tell an abundance of stories. What can we learn by spending time in these sacred spaces? Whose stories will we be inspired to research and tell? How will those stories and those lives connect with our own?

Have you had an experience at a National Veterans Cemetery you would like to share? Please feel free to tell your story in the comments.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

A Visit to Livingston County War Museum

by 1 Comment

David Estes

Johan and I visited the Livingston County War Museum in Pontiac, IL on 11 August 2018. David Estes, son of Dal Estes, for whom the museum was created, invited me to visit when he attended one of my WWII programs in 2017. You know how, You don’t know what you don’t know? Or you don’t know what you’re missing? I’ll be honest and explain I didn’t know what I was missing!

Pontiac is roughly an hour south of where I live in the Chicago area. It was December that David attended my talk and invited me to visit the museum. In my mind, I was really busy between my business, kids, weather, traveling to and from Europe as often as I do. I had a point of view about driving an hour to visit a small town off I-55 in Illinois to see a small museum. Going there was not on the top of my priority list. I thought, when I am traveling down or up I-55, I’ll try to stop. Someday.

Wow was I wrong in my point of view! After one visit, the museum is a place I want to return to and spend more than a couple of hours.

I made arrangements to stop at the museum on our way back to Chicago from a trip we were taking. It worked out that we would have about two hours or more to stop and see the museum. As you know, I’m an empath and medium. I perceive a lot of energy that others do not. I am able to send souls to the light, heal people, places, and things with just existing in a space, shaking their hand, moving some energy. My body is capable of a lot of different ways to heal – not all pleasant I discovered.

That morning I woke up exhausted and with a small headache. Even after breakfast and coffee I wasn’t feeling great. I let Johan drive and the headache began to turn more into a migraine complete with nausea. My awareness told me that the cause was my visit to the museum. Apparently my body was processing a lot of energy and I knew once something happened at the museum (a meeting, a conversation, someone walking in the door), the pain would subside and it would all be ok. I was also aware that I was connected to this something and healing would take place for me too.

We arrived at the museum and David greeted us and told us a little about the historical building the museum was housed in and took us upstairs to the museum. My initial thought that a museum that occupied the top floor of an old courthouse or firehouse could not be that large. Again, I was wrong. The space may not be national military museum size but it contains so many stories. It is unlike any other museum I’ve seen in the states or Europe.

We were greeted inside the museum by mannequins all dressed in uniforms from WWI to the present. These uniforms were donated by the veteran or a family member and ALL of them lived in Livingston County except for one. With each uniformed mannequin, there was also attached a photo where possible of the service member and a short biography of their service.

For anyone searching for information and photos of WWI or WWII service members from Livingston County, this museum is a place to contact asking for assistance.

Stories are what I love and think we should be creating more of about our service members so we better understand them, the wars in which they fought, our families, and ourselves. The Livingston County War Museum does an incredible job telling the stories. These mannequins were only the start of what was there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David gave us a tour of the museum which contained a main room with model airplanes, artifacts, mannequins, stories. There is a WWI room with a research library for all wars. The WWI room has a lot of photos and artifacts and so many stories I think you need 30-45 minutes minimum in that room. The main room contains more mannequins and stories, flags, shelves and cases filled with artifacts, and so much more.

The museum is run primarily by volunteers, veterans who man the desks, answers questions, educate through Skype in the Classroom all around the world, and tell stories. The museum offers school group tours and encourage more schools to arrange a visit. They also have a YouTube channel with videos and veteran interviews. I met Raleigh, a Navy veteran from WWII who told us he was on a Destroyer in the Atlantic. The gentleman who donated the model planes at the front of the museum told us a funny story in which he made Raleigh the primary reason we won the war. We all had a good laugh.

If you can perceive the energy, you will feel it in the museum. To me it felt ok as if I was being embraced. After about an hour in the museum, perceiving energy in some spots more intensely than others, I had a couple of conversations with some veterans and my almost migraine left. Poof – gone! And then in walked a 69th Infantry Division Veteran (who will remain nameless for privacy), regaled us with stories of his training, did a little tap dancing, and then magic happened. First, he could not believe he was standing in a war museum at the age of 97 or talking to us all and that we wanted to listen. Second, I was aware a lot of healing was going to happen.

The veteran had no idea Johan is Dutch and lives in the Netherlands (or Holland as the GIs knew it and called it during the war). The veteran told us at one point he helped liberate a camp with French, Belgian, and Dutch workers (this choked him up a bit). When I told him Johan was Dutch, the tears began to flow, hugging commenced, I started tearing up, and an intense healing came for not only those of us in the room but all those who were part of the war attached to the 69th or these camps. The veteran again started saying he couldn’t believe he was there and that he was meeting us at the age of 97. It was a beautiful moment to be a part of.

We spoke with the veteran on and off throughout the last 30 minutes or so of our visit as we all moved through the museum. Maybe he will come to Europe next year for one of the anniversaries the 69th Infantry Division commemorates. He said he would like to.

I would like to leave you with a few photos and some final thoughts.

  1. Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know and often don’t know what you are missing. Try not to put off visiting places you know intuitively you should go.
  2. Timing is important. I am aware that the timing of a visit or meeting often happens when people are ready for it. Maybe I wasn’t ready or the people with whom I had conversations weren’t ready. Honor your timing.
  3. Do not pass up a small museum off the highway because of your points of view. You never know what is inside that will change your life.
  4. Pay attention to the stories in the small museums – they often appear more powerful because the museum volunteers have more knowledge about the men and women, their service, and their sacrifice.
  5. Finally, you never know who is going to walk through the door of these small museums and change your life or the world. The atmosphere in the small museums, as compared to national military museums, is more intimate. You can have a longer conversation without being bothered by a lot of noise or activity. You can have those more intimate moments with people that are not possible elsewhere.

Am I ready to go back to the museum? YES YES YES!!! One conversation I had with David opened up several new possibilities for my life, he told me something that is very important for me to do which I have been putting off, and there is an amazing energy there that begs you to return. Once I get my thoughts organized and create more of the healing side of my business, I do plan to return and talk with David more. And yes, I promise I will write my story and get it into the world. Plus, you never know who you will meet!

What small museums have you visited that you can recommend in the states or Europe? Where should Johan and I go next on our travels?

Jennifer and Johan

David Estes and Jennifer Holik

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2018 WWII Research and Writing Center

When NOT to Hire a Genealogy or Military Record Retrieval Person

by Leave a Comment

First, I would like to define a couple of things so readers understand where I am coming from.

Record retriever: Someone who will copy or scan specific records requested by a client, usually based off an ‘Add to cart’ option of specific, non-flexible record requests. This person may or may not have any idea how to reconstruct military histories because they specialize in pulling specific records only. Usually they do not provide context for the records or explain what they mean. Their job is to obtain records for a client only.

Full service researcher: Someone who obtains various records, customized to a client’s specific needs, questions, concerns, and project, to reconstruct military service. This type of researcher provides a fully sourced research report with the documents that show military service. Often you can also request trip planning suggestions if you wish to travel in Europe in your soldier’s footsteps. Some firms, like mine, have a network of tour guides and researchers overseas. These researchers should provide you with a contract for work that outlines what is being done, your fees, and time estimates at the bare minimum.

Most professionals are aware of what is happening in their area of work, usually within their own company or locale, or even the world. Paying attention provides clues as to where we can grow and change, especially if we are running our own businesses. For almost a decade I have watched the genealogy and military research world grow, change, turn upside down at times – like any area. I have always created my business based on the energy of what was light, what no one else in the country was creating, and filling gaps. Every professional serves a purpose and contributes in some way. However, there has to be some education at this point on military research versus genealogical research.

Obtaining records for genealogy questions is not the same as obtaining records for military questions. I’m seeing more genealogy and military record retrieval people advertising specific record sets they will get for you – without appearing to have any concept of how to reconstruct military service.

This bothers me because I hate to see people waste their money and not get the answers I know are available. Additionally, many of the people searching for answers are older and are ready to discover answers now. Not in a year from now.

I have always provided full research services customized to a client’s needs. It is not a one size fits all or click this one record and you have your answers business. I have spent a decade studying WWI and WWII military records for all branches and doing client work that extends beyond this to Korea and Vietnam. I developed a proven system being taught in the country or written about in books, on how to reconstruct service history start to finish for WWI – Vietnam. I have spent two decades studying and researching genealogy for my family and clients.

So what do I mean by genealogy and military record retrievals are not equal?

In the genealogy world we may have a question like, ‘Did my great uncle Albert have a wife and kids? or Who was his second wife?’ With that, a record retrieval person can be hired to obtain specific records from an archive which may answer those questions. Obituaries. Vital Records. Probate files. Church records. Land records. Just to name a few examples.

Now, if we want to know, ‘What did my uncle Albert do in the Army in WWII?’ That requires multiple records, especially if the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF or service file) burned in 1973. One military record never gives us the whole story. Not even the discharge paper because the unit on that document is a final unit – not necessarily the only unit or even the one the man saw combat with. Learn more about this by watching the RootsTech video on the main page of my website.

Example

There are record retrieval firms advertising they will pull Company Morning reports – one fee – and you HAVE to take the full month you request. There is no other option. Click to add to cart. You also have to know what company your soldier was with to get the reports.

What is wrong with this scenario and why are you wasting your money and time if you choose this option?

Morning Reports document changes in a soldier or airman’s service. If they had no change in a month – they will not show up in a report. See below for a link to several articles about these reports.

  1. Men moved through multiple units throughout the war. Even with a discharge paper or IDPF (death file) you still have the final unit. That does not provide you with all units.
  2. One month of Morning Reports are not usually valuable for most people wishing to know what their father, grandfather, uncle, etc. did in the war. Why?
    1. If you only request one month and your guy leaves that unit on the 3rd of the month – the rest of the papers you receive have nothing to do with your guy’s service.
    2. If he doesn’t appear in the reports for that company until late in the month – again you have a lot of papers that have nothing to do with your service.
    3. If he had no changes then he does not even appear in the reports.
    4. In times of high combat, the report writers barely kept up with documenting changes in personnel, let alone write a record of events. The record of events is very helpful in understanding daily experiences of the company.
  3. Pulling one month does not allow for reconstruction of service history.
  4. When we consider record retrievers who will not reconstruct service by moving through various morning reports, we have to ask – do they even understand how to use these records or reconstruct service history?

Read several articles about Morning Reports here that explain further why you require these records and why one month will not fill your needs.

Retrieving Morning Reports is one example, but there are many others I could go into. So how do you know if you need a record retriever or a full service researcher?

Record retrievers are good if you want an OMPF (if it did not burn), Burial File, or IDPF. Those are larger files that contain a lot of information about a service member for any branch and any war. Also, if you need specific unit records or specific records from specialized repositories other than our National Archives. Be cautious about having other records retrieved because in a ‘click to add to cart’ situation, you often will not get everything you require and end up wasting a lot of money and time waiting for answers.

Full service researchers are good if you want answers to multiple questions, reconstruction of service, an exploration of unit records, connections to overseas researchers, and someone who will provide a fully sourced research report and answer your questions, along with providing documentation. Full service researchers will pull the appropriate military records that will help answer your questions. It is not a one size fits all click to add to cart experience.

Which researcher do I need?

  1. Do I already know every unit my service member was in, regardless of branch? Or do I need to have this information discovered?
    1. If no, then a full service researcher is suggested.
  2. Do I only need a larger file that I know to exist?
    1. If yes, either option would be appropriate.
  3. What specific questions do I have that I would like answered? Will one report address this?
    1. Usually a full service researcher is required.
  4. I found information in a small archive/library/repository and need someone to view it and obtain copies.
    1. Either option would be appropriate.

Additional resource: When and Why Do I Need to Hire a Military Researcher?

Final tips. Whatever research firm you end up choosing is up to your questions and research goals.

  1. Explore the potential researcher websites to learn more about the people you are considering hiring for your needs. Do they have articles, resources, books, speaking engagements, or other materials that show you they know how to do the work?
  2. Email and ask questions of the researchers to find the best fit.
  3. Discuss your budget with the researcher.
  4. Discuss your time with the researcher. This means to get an estimate of actual delivery of results. While many sites say 2-4 weeks, in reality, it could be longer.
  5. Ask where you fit in the researcher’s schedule and how long a project should take. Depending on the depth of research and analysis required, and time it takes to obtain records, most projects for full reconstruction of history take 3-6 months. Some projects are shorter. It all depends on the client’s questions and needs.

Would you like help learning about your military family member’s service? Feel free to contact me to discuss possibilities with research projects. Also explore all our services.  Finally, learn more about Jennifer with two videos on the main page of this website.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

Book Review – Architects of Death

by Leave a Comment

I was sent an Advanced Reader Copy of the book, Architects of Death. The Family Who Engineered the Death Camps, by Karen Bartlett. The book is due to be released in August 2018.

Overall the book was very interesting. Being an empath and medium, I did set a barrier around my house and myself before I began reading it and honestly, read most of it outside where the energy could ground into the earth. This is not an easy book to read, although it does NOT get graphic in the description of what happened to the victims of the death camps/concentration camps, except in a couple instances. For that I was grateful. I just finished reading a book about Japanese POWs and their treatment so a reprieve from such graphic descriptions was good.

For families homeschooling their children, this book would be appropriate for junior or senior level students and give you a lot to discuss.

The book focused more on the history of the Topf family, their often unstable personalities, their business, and what led them to work with the SS to create the ovens and other “necessary” items for the cremation and gassing systems of many camps. Throughout the book the Topf family and others high up in the company who were responsible for these items wrote their documents in such a way, even during interrogations later, about their innocence in it all and how it was just standard operating procedure to supply the necessary items to dispose of so many remains which died of disease. All the while knowing what they were doing and why. The author did give enough background to each of the main characters for readers to understand what might have led them to the choices they made. This included the description of many who served in World War I and after that saw no value in human life. Their struggle to survive in whatever fashion that meant and reach their goals was all that was important.

By 3/4 of the way through the book I was a bit tired of it. The author presented a lot of snippets of documents and statistics throughout the whole book, which at first were fine, but by later in the book I started skimming so I could get to the end where the descendant explained his interest in the Topf family business and the Memorial they created to acknowledge the role the family played and the impact it had. The descendant made it clear that he still struggles with the sins of the fathers and how he views his father and other family members.

The author did end the book prior to her Conclusion chapter, with a question. How would we act today?

Did you notice that didn’t say, What would I have done? Which is usually the question people ask and then we go into judgment of everything and everyone without knowing what led them to make those choices.

The book brought up a lot of questions for me and a lot of themes I feel family and military historians should look at when we explore our own family’s role in World War II or any war.

1. How would we act today?

2. The shock one may go into when discovering a family member or a family business was responsible for some horrible event in history (define that as you need to.)

3. The questions that rise when we discover said act(s) or choices and no one is left to ask. Then what do we do? In this case, Hartmut Topf set out to learn the history of his family’s involvement in the creation of the ovens and all that was attached to that. Then to create a Memorial in Erfurt, Germany to remind people of what happened there and give them pause to think on the effects so this doesn’t happen again.

Having traveled through parts of western Germany and western Europe, it did not go unnoticed that the Germans do not memorialize what took place for WWI or WWII as is done in the rest of Europe. From what I observed and was told, memorials to soldiers are attached to churches for the most part. Or sometimes I have seen them as a small almost “invisible” monument somewhere in town. It is known that most every country rewrites their history so the bad parts are wiped away. This is documented. We know what was and was not taught in schools after World War II and we see how even in our own country today, parts of history are being wiped away. The Topf business histories even ignore their role in the war or leave those years out altogether. How are we serving the past, present, and future by ignoring what happened? What would change if we understood and could not stand in judgment of it all?

4. Traveling as much as I do, this book brought up another question – how much of the past do we never know about as we travel because there are no memorials or reminders? The thoughts in #3 above speak to this somewhat, but as I read this book and thought – ok a friend was just in these cities mentioned and said nothing about knowing the history of the war there. These aren’t things tourism sites or cities usually advertise on their websites or travel brochures. So how do we discover these deeper and darker parts of history, whether WWII or some other war? I think it requires us to look into the histories of the places we choose to visit. Again, as an empath and medium, sometimes I feel things or am aware of things but can’t always put my finger on exactly what/when/where/who it was – I had not considered until I read this book that there are pieces of history that are never discussed.

5. Believing what took place. One Topf family descendant, Udo, saw photographs of the camps, the corpses, the ovens. Read the history. Even visited the camps, yet still could not wrap his mind around the fact his family participated in the creation of it all. Udo had a long career with the company after the war and being loyal to family (whatever that specifically meant to him), he had trouble seeing his family was culpable in this. He talked of blame and what the family should or should not have done.

This is where we get into those grey areas of judgment, conclusion, questioning what we would have done. We weren’t there so in my point of view that question isn’t possible to answer. My point of view is to learn, observe, ask questions about what happened, who was involved, and try to understand the 100 other experiences and choices that led to them saying YES to whatever they chose that had a tremendous impact on the world, the lives of millions, and history. This is also where we have to ask – is it my responsibility to carry the sins of my fathers and the past? What responsibility, if any, do I have here?

Hartmut Topf chose responsibility as his decision to create a memorial and educate people about the dark past.

This book had many more questions and themes that apply to family and military historians. It also illustrates the path taken by one business family in the creation of a killing machine during the war. In my point of view, learning about these people, their personal histories, the company history, that of the political and social situation in Germany from prior to World War I to today, gives us all a new perspective on the war and what took place. Using what we learn through the book and all the questions raised, I think we can create change in the world that allows us to stop hurting each other. If we choose that path.

I’m not finished with my thoughts on this book. I’ll be releasing a new project in the coming months with books as the focal point. Stay tuned to learn more and how this may affect how you perceive, judge, research, write, and heal your family’s history.

Disclaimer: The book link is an affiliate link and I make a small royalty off your purchase. This does not affect your purchase price.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center