Poles, Balts, Yugoslavs, Latvians, Jews
From 1938 until 1945 a concentration camp was established in the Neuengamme quarter of Hamburg, the Neuengamme concentration camp. Some of the buildings have been preserved and as of 2008 serve as a memorial. From 1939 until 1945 more than 500,000 men, women and children -- including prisoners of war -- were forced to work at more than 900 companies, living in more than 1,200 camps all over Hamburg. Some of these camps held only 7 inmates, others wre known for more than 1,500 inmates. [Wikipedia]
Especially in 1943, Hamburg was severely damaged by aerial bombardment and some 55,000 persons were killed.
Liebe Frau Kaczmar, vielen Dank für den Hinweis auf die website www.dpcamps.org! Die ist sehr interessant für uns und wir werden von unserer website aus einen link auf diese Seite setzen. Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Lehmann@webpony.de Mathias Lehmann, Exilmusik Hamburg Univ of Hamburg has a webpage on dp camps written in German.
State archive Hamburg:
http://fhh.hamburg.de
http://fhh.hamburg.de
Staatsarchiv Hamburg
Kattunbleiche 19
22041 Hamburg
Tel.: (040) 42831 - 3200
Fax: (040)
42831-3201
They undertake the desired genealogical and biographical research for you: If you would like to commission a search, contact us by e-mail info@linktoyourroots.com, by telephone (0049/40/659090-833 or -834) or by post (Link to your Roots / Beschäftigung + Bildung e.V. / Besenbinderhof 37 / 20097 Hamburg / Germany). The Hamburg international website Click English, Click on Link to your Roots, click on passenger ship lists.
Team 74-Hansestadt Hamburg region - British zone, Hansestadt was built on the salt trade.
Marti Soosaar marti@finnelectric.ca
April 19, 2021 Hello,
I am of Estonian decent and my family were in DP camps in Northern Germany. I came across this original photo of the gate of the DP camp Zoo.
If you want you can post it on your excellent site. Marti Soosaar marti@finnelectric.ca
Nov. 5, 2014
I had hoped to find the site of my my birthplace in 1947. Unfortunately my Ukrainian parents did not want to talk about their time of forced labor during the war nor their life after 1945 in the displaced person camp. My birth certificate lists Hamburg-Neugraben as place of birth, and I drove to an address my daughter found online today it is in the woods behind the Neugraben senior citizen residence, along Falkenberg street. We found a hiking trail path into the woods marked with a sign Neugraben. I walked the path for a bit, and it felt like this could be the woods could be the site of the camp, but would like to know. Can you give me any information about where the Neugraben camp was located? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Olga (Kotelka) Gates olgagates@me.com
I've been reading responses people have sent to you and am very impressed.
I'm wondering if you might be able to help. As far as I've been told my
mother Irene
Janine Malyska was
born in Hamburg, Germany in 1946 apparently while her parents were
on holiday from Poland. Although I was also informed that my mother was in
an orphanage at the age of 3 and then I was informed that my mother and her
parents migrated to Australia when my mother was 3. Her fathers name was
Zygmunt Malyska and her mother's name was Wladyslawa Alexsandra Malyska.
I also recall my mother telling me that her parents were POW, so as you can
imagine I am quite confused. Can you help?
Regards Suzanne gpasue@bigpond.com
10/17/04 Dear Olga;
I just found your website about dp camps. I was born in the HAMBURG camp
in 1951, only to leave 8 weeks later to go to America. I am visiting with
my husband's niece in Dusseldorf, Germany, and wish to visit the site where
I was born. I know I was born in a hospital there in the Uhlenhorst sector,
so I was wondering if there is some reference point I may find to retrace
my nativity. This has become an extremely emotional issue for me, as my yet
alive 84 year old mother still cannot talk about her experiences in the war.
Please help me. I have found the location of the concentration camp, but
NOTHING other than this website for a location.
Ragnhild Stopinski
Loos randee@ceprotec.de
0/18/04 Dear Ms. Stopinski Loos,
If you have a birth certificate, there should
be the indication of the hospital. Uhlenhorst is located in the center of
Hamburg with the postal zip code 22085. By searching in the internet, you
could probably find out the location of the hospital (if it still exists)
or eventually where it was located. You could also contact the city archives
before you arrive there. Normally they are very helpful. Greetings from Germany
Wolfgang Strobel Wolfgang.Strobel.Bonn@t-online.de
1/7/05 Dear Olga,
You have an incredible website. I couldn't stop reading. However, I would
love some help to find out the name of an English zone DP camp near Hamburg.
My mother said there was a Volkswagen factory nearby. We were there in 1945
for a while and then went to the Geislingen in the American zone.
With thanks, Heli
Brecht / Australia heli@coombs.anu.edu.au
1/17/05 Hi Olga
Zwracam sie do ciebie z prosba . Chcialbym sie dowiedziec gdzie moge odszukac
dokumenty zwiazane z bylymi polskimi jeA?Ncami wojennymi ktorzy po 1945 roku
przebywali w obozach DP na terenie Niemiec. Brat mojego dziadka po wojnie
przebywal w obozie DP w okolicach Hamburga. Wiem ze jeszcze okolo 1950 roku
przebywal tam .Od tamtej pory nie ma z nim kontaktu i zadnej wiadomosci .
Pozdrawiam
Boguslaw Samul
Kolno
Poland
Translation: I am writing to you with request. I would like to ask where I can seek documents on former Polish war prisoners of war after 1945 year in camps in the area of Germany who were DPs. Brother of my grandfather stayed in Hamburg camp region after the war. I know, that he stayed there til around 1950 year. From that time we don't have contact from him. Samul Boguslaw / Poland samulb@interia.pl
1/24/05 Dear Olga,
I have been reading the information on the internet and I too was so surprised
to find that the details of the camps were there!!!!. You seem to have
been able to help with a lot of information for other people I hope you can
help me also. My birth is recorded at Standesamt Hamburg - Hohenfelde. I would
like to know if this is the name of the hospital & where it is exactly in Hamburg.
If it is near the Elbe Tunnel??? up from the waterfront. I do know that
there was a hospital here during the war it is nearly opposite where the Infectious
diseases hospital is now. I think now this building has been renovated
and in the year 2000 was being used as an Ambulance station???? I would also
like to know if there were DP camps in Wedel and if there was a camp called
the Zoo Camp in Hamburg, and where it was in relation to the city of Hamburg.
My parents were Latvians who were placed in both of these camps. The Zoo camp
was where they spent most of their time as far as I can find out. From
the Zoo Camp, we went on to Australia. I have found no record of these camps
in any of your information. Were these actual camps or were they some sort
of school barracks. My mother thought they could have been barracks of some
sort or an old school building. MI would appreciate any information you could
find for me. Ilona Barr (nee Klava) / Australia ibarr@tpg.com.au
3/2/07 Ms. Kaczmar,
I wrote you earlier about my daughter doing a National History Day project
about a Ukrainian lady... Natalia Saveliovna Khatshchenka Mershiewsky (2nd
married name). She was born in 1912 in Kharkov. She and her family
were very devout in their faith. Her parents died in the Russian Civil War.
During the Great Famine, she was taken to Armenia by Armenian Christians.
Later she returned to Kharkov and we know she was a singer in a swing band.
She was transported to Germany where she was an Ostarbieter on a farm near
Hamburg. When the Allies began dividing up Germany, she found her way to
the US sector and was in a DP camp, where she married her 1st husband (name
unknown at this time). She was not transported because he had Polish papers.
They came to the US in 1950 and later became citizens. She passed away last
Jan. Thank you so very much for whatever information you can give us,
Dani and
Hailie Hendrickson, email: band7269@yahoo.com
1/23/08 Hi Olga,
I am early in my search of my grandparents/parents history – family names of Czubara and Pijanka, as all my grandparents have died. My father and his parents were in DP Camp Eckernforde 10/1946 - 10/1947I am finding your site were interesting and if I can help anyone else fill in the gaps it would be a pleasure.
Regards, Anne-Marie Pijanka apijanka@internode.on.net
11/29/12Dear
Olga!
You have an incredible website and
I am so happy I found it!
My name is Jana (Joan ) Trusko and I live in California,
US.
I was born in Germany by Ukrainian parents who were forced laborers during WWII and lived near by Hamburg.
My family : mother - Ewdokia
Trusko , 1905 ,
father
- Grigoriy Trusko , 1905
sister
- Lidia Trusko , 1927
brother
- Viktor Trusko 1928 - worked on the farm near Hamburg,
later they moved to Lubeck to Flender Werke AG.
I am trying to find my birth place for the last 15 years. I was told by my mother that I was born in Germany in 1943 near city Hamburg. I sent request to ITS ( International Tracing service ) and Red Cross - it came back without results. They found records of my parents , my sister Lidia , and my brother Viktor but nothing about me (all records related to Lubeck)
All I know, from my sister stories, they stayed on the farm and planted cherry trees. There were also French workers (or prisoners) with one of them my sister Lidia was in love , and I was named after him Jeane ( Joan) . He asked my sister Lidia to go to France after war, but my family was sent back to Soviet Union in 1945 . It was horible time for them. Nobody in my family liked to talk about this time and I never asked. Now, when they gone and I almost 70 years old.I want to find my family past and my birth place. I send more then 30 emails to different cities (Standesamt)and villages around Hamburg to check their records dated 1943, no luck. all replied that I am not registered.Maybe my birth wasn't registered since I was born on farm, but if I find place where my family stayed, it will be it. I will appreciate any advice and thank you for the great website!