Hi everyone. I’m a collector of documents and some years ago I acquired the ID of a German soldier, Fritz Paetsch, who fought in the battle of Berlin. He was taken prisoner along with his comrade, and got sick and died in hospital as a POW. His comrade survived, and sent a letter to his widow explaining their experience in Berlin, and ended it with a promise to tell her more when he saw her. I have the letter, and unfortunately there’s some uncertainty about what his last name is due to the handwriting. His first name is clearly Erich, but the last name is a mystery…possibly Swarki? See the photo here

I have for years tried to trace the Paetsch family, in hopes of finding living relatives. Erich’s promise to tell her more about their experiences has truly been one of the biggest mysteries of my life and has kept me up at night wondering what else he might have had to share. Chances are slim, but I still have hope that perhaps the family passed down the story of Fritz in Berlin. Nevertheless, the Paetsch family tree has proven to be a dead end, so I now turn my efforts towards Erich…but I don’t know for sure what his last name is. I would appreciate your input about what his last name may be!

Here is a transcription of the letter into English for anyone interested. Excuse some of the peculiar grammar and wording:

Dear Ms Paetsch,

Your letter of 26.10 has once again touched all my grief for Fritz and even I can not believe that I can no longer talk to him about our shared experiences. Since you unfortunately do not know everything about Fritz, I would like to tell you about the time spent together with Fritz. Further details I will tell you personally after my release. When the fighting started on April 23 for us in Neukölln, all the responsibility for all the people rested on my and Fritz's shoulders, as our officers unfortunately failed. From that day on I was together with Fritz day and night until our separation on 15.06. Since we couldn’t do anything with our poor armament anyway, we moved in stages to the west, towards Achenbachstrasse. Here our main office was located, though now deposed. From the Lahnstrasse, we would eventually go to the Danube River. From Neukölln we moved on to "Karlsbad 29" at the Potsdamer bridge, where we could take all our luggage with us. After spending a few days in this house, we came here for combat use, luckily we only needed one. In the evening we were able to fight our way through the Tiergarten to the Achenbachstrasse. As a result of the fighting we had to leave our rucksacks in the house "Am Karlsbad 29". Fritz and I handed the rucksacks directly to the owners, while the other comrades placed the rucksacks in a basement room with spare windows in them. If you want to have get Fritz’ rucksack, you have to mention this to the owners, so that they know which rucksacks it is. I hardly believe that the people will still have the backpacks. You will certainly find that the Russians stole them.

From the Achenbachstrasse. We then had to flee to the Kurfürstendamm, where some, including Fritz and I, decided to come out of Berlin via Spandau. This was on the evening of May 1st. Unfortunately, we only came to the Reichssportfeld(Olympic Stadium), so we had to spend the night in a hallway nearby. When we marched to Spandau the next morning, the whole street was full of troops and vehicles, which also wanted to go via Spandau from Berlin. In Spandau itself, however, we were very warmly received by the Russians, so we had to go very fast into cover. Since our colonel now did not know what he should do, Fritz, my brother, comrade Kurt Krüger and I made ourselves independent. We have spent the 2nd of May in the steward's house on the race track Ruhleben and wanted to try on 3rd May to somehow get further. Unfortunately, we did not manage this, because on 3.05 at 5 o'clock in the morning the Russians picked us out of sleep. They immediately stole most valuable things like watches, rings, boots, fountain pens, etc. While my keys were removed and thrown away, Fritz was able to smuggle his keys and glasses. He also had these things when he, on 15.06., went to the hospital. He also had his wallet with money and papers, because he wanted to give you these things if you visited him in the hospital. In cash he had about 50.-RM with him. Unfortunately, I can not tell you if he had his second watch. He also had a very important letter from me he wanted to give either to you or to my sister. Unfortunately, my sister could not, as agreed on 17.06, come to Trebbin, so he could not give the things.

We were led by the Russians after our capture into a barracks, where we were plundered again, so to speak, our ordeal began. We had to march over Pichelsberg, Dahlem, Lichterfelde and Teltow to Ludwigsfelde. There we stayed only one night to march to Trebbin the next day with about 10,000 people. Here we came on 6.05. in the morning. Fritz and I were fortunate in that we became company commanders. We had to look after every 250 men. Although we had work but that was better than if we had to go around like that. We did not come up with stupid thoughts. On the other hand, we also had better accommodations and a little more food. So we both had it relatively not so bad and the weight loss symptoms were not so bad with us. Fritz was also always good on the post and he has still promised us in his quiet way and still hope and courage. He has not really shaken by the adversity in the camp. Of course it can also be that he has kept everything to himself, since he has never really spoken out…you know him! It was not until Fritz fell ill with his sore throat in June that he no longer really wanted to eat and so he lost some weight. When he had a fever, he first came to the infirmary and then after a few days in the hospital. When he went to the hospital, he was already the second day without fever and he said to me that he would probably be back in a few days. But if it took longer, then he wanted to send me message immediately in which hospital he is so I can send him any incoming mail there. He had not had any news from you until then.

Unfortunately, I did not hear anything from Fritz. As long as I could be with him, I was with him, because I accompanied him to the camp exit. I then always waited for his return and when I inquired about him in July with his comrades who had come from the hospital, he told me that Fritz was already well again and that he had come to the former RAD camp for some time to recover. As Fritz then on 04.08. the day of my transfer was not yet back, then I assumed that he is already dismissed. That's why the news of his death hit me all the more. So, dear Ms. Paetsch, this would be everything that I could tell you, and I would like to come to you after my release and tell you more details. If you have the desire, please write me. As far as it is in my power, I want to help you be happy. It hurts me a lot that I'm not free to help you more. Fritz was more than just a comrade. In order to come back to the estate matters again, I am of the opinion that these have been stolen from him in the hospital. Here is in the same hospital a letter with 150.-RM which I wanted to send my wife from there, got lost. Well, dear Ms. Paetsch, I hope with my report to have alleviated your pain and I remain with the best regards to you and your little daughter.

Your devoted

Erich Swarki(?)