Stolen Identity
My grandmother was a Sudeten German that stole an identity to escape CZ for the United States. She married my American grandfather while he was in Europe during WWII with the army. He was at least stationed at Schweinfurt, DE if not in other towns. She was working as a translator for the United Nations Relief and Rehab Administration and we guess that they met both because of their work.
Sadly, she stole the identity of a Jewish woman, Magdalena Bergerova, that was murdered in a concentration camp in Poland.
Interestingly, my grandmother knew Magdalena's exact history. She knew her correct DOB, town, parent's name and parent's dates of birth. Magdalena was born in Levoca, Slovakia. My grandmother was born in Svoboda nad Upou 9 years apart.
Has anybody heard of a similar story?
What theories do you have on how my grandmother knew exact details about Magdalena? I won't be offended by any suggestions.
My grandmother went to her grave having lived her US life under the stolen identity. I discovered the truth mostly with DNA but confirmed with her birth record (and the uniqueness that she was a twin) and then more recently confirmed with translated letters that her mother and aunt wrote to her after the war.
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I think the first question ought to be why your grandmother felt she needed another's identity. Was she in danger under her own identity? There has got to be a (good) reason.
Then, you need to find a connection between the two. If there's no school or workplace, they could have shared, it may be that your grandmother worked at a place where she (or a helper) had access to records concerning Magdalena Berger(ova)'s details.0 -
Have you tried to contact descendants of the twin's side, that is if she married.? Or any other family members? They might know the answer.
Betseylee Browning
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@Betseylee Browning - The twin died very soon after WWII and was never married.
@StH31 - Our current theory is that as a sudeten German she predicted her fate in CZ and did what she could to escape. We know some of these from how other family members were treated and how my great grandmother stayed in CZ (as a "half-breed") and lived in fear.
There was one family member who was a pilot for the Nazi regime, but we see in letters that my grandmother and her mother did not support the campaign. That being said they did identify as Germans and CZ sent my extended family to work camps and into exile in Germany. My great grandmother's letters are an incredible piece of history and talk about the decreased rations that she received, her constant fear of being exiled away from her very ill and dying daughter, then later her fear of being exiled and to no longer be able to care for the grave, etc.
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Sad story. I am a twin and my twin died 8 days after she was born.
Betseylee
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Do you have the death info on the twin? Do you know the year and place?
Betseylee
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@Betseylee Browning - I have not looked for the official document. I know from letters that Elizabeth Huder died on October 29, 1946 in the Liberec region of CZ. We plan to visit her grave next month.
I'm sorry that your twin passed away at such a young age. You and I have that in common. It is a life long sadness to lose a twin sibling.
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Lfdnr 12595
Ortsname Aktuell Svoboda nad Upou
Ortsname Früher Freiheit
Ortsname Deutsch
Ortsname Ungarisch
Ortsname Slowakisch
Ortsname Ukrainisch
Kronland Böhmen
Pfarren in Tschechien (Geolocation)
Bezirk Trutnov
Pfarre(n)
Name Matrikenbeginn zuständiges Archiv
Zuständige Pfarre - Römisch Katholisch:
Svoboda nad Upou 1721/1721/1721 Samrsk0 -
Do you have the christening record of your grandmother? What is her Czech name and birth date, please? Also the name of her husband, please. Where is the twin buried?
Betseylee
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"Our current theory is that as a sudeten German she predicted her fate in CZ and did what she could to escape. We know some of these from how other family members were treated and how my great grandmother stayed in CZ (as a "half-breed") and lived in fear."
Well, i cannot agree with that. Of course the czechs won´t be thrilled to keep much germans, but as for my Greatgrandmother the new government wanted to give her the czech passport. She decided against and left, but the brother of my great grandfather stayed, and a lot of the other side stayed too. It was surely not easy in the aftermath of the war, but i guess it was nowhere in europe.
As i know from our german after war history, usually, and that is probably not the history of your grandmother, people how took jewish passports or took another name had very very good reasons not wanted to be recognized. A lot of nazi criminals were in displaced persons camps, unrecognized. The then left via Rattenlinien to south america.
Probably that woman was a friend of her sister or cousin and she met her or befriended her. That would explain, why she knew the story and the backround.
It is always a bit fishy, when they changed names after war.
"That being said they did identify as Germans and CZ sent my extended family to work camps and into exile in Germany. My great grandmother's letters are an incredible piece of history and talk about the decreased rations that she received, her constant fear of being exiled away from her very ill and dying daughter, then later her fear of being exiled and to no longer be able to care for the grave, etc."
That is very sad, but it is also what germans did with czechs. Some were forced to work in Germany with little or no money. Or their property or firms were taken from them. They had beaten people on the streets, justice was not present for die "lower races".
The czech leaders did what they thought was fair afterwards.
My Greatgreatuncle had to work in a camp because he was drafted in the last days of war.
My family was in one of the less structed train deportations. Total chaos. They just found together via red cross.
Without the Benes edikt it would eventually been different or less fast deportion, more stuctured.
But, lets be honest: I, and i am german, wouldn´t have wanted to have the former war enemy as my neighbor afterwards after all the restrictions, murder of people, harrasing trough the wehrmacht, SS or SA.0 -
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Have you looked at the 1900, 1910, or 1921 census records? They are organized by house number. If I had more info as to names and dates, it would be very helpful.
Betseylee
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