I recently found this site (www.dpcamps.org) which is an info exchange about UNRRA/IRO's Displaced Persons camps in Central Europe after WW2. My father lived at the following ones in Germany:
1946- Camp Hammerweg, Weiden
3/1947- Prien
9/1947- Aglasterhausen
11/48- Bad Aibling
It was at Prien that his former guardian, Mrs. Proniewicz, turned him over to UNRRA custody. Many of the experiences Dad has talked about, playing on former battlefields, collecting war artifacts, stumbling into a former concentration camp, probabaly occurred during the transit period of 3/1947-11/48.
I'm a little unsure about this timeline, taken from his UNRRA registration form, however. Dad mentioned Aglasterhausen as a sorting facility, probably for repatriation purposes. According to his account, the staff was sorting between German, Polish and Russian children. As he was apprehensive of the Russian staff, and could barely understand them, he chose to tell them he was German, so he could stay where he was. However, he has indicated that he considered Bad Aibling/Rosenheim his home.
His memory of life in Bad Aibling, however, wasn't much happier. He has told me of at least 2 attempts to run away. During one period a family in nearby Rosenheim took him in. He doesn't have an accurate sense of how long he was with them before he was returned to the IRO camp at Bad Aibling.
I would like to hear from anyone who has any information about the above facilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment