As for me, I have one photo of my great great grandpa, it's the oldest photo of our family. You can see Wilhelm Schochenmaier on it.
The photo had been taken in the 1920s, in Odessa, the biggest city of that region in the South Ukraine. You can find Wilhelm staying together with his wife Eva Bender (daughter of Michael Bender)
and their children Annetta (1918), Frieda (1922), Wilhelm (1924) and Edwin (1926). Annetta is my great grandma (on your right).
Wilhelm was born in 1897, although in some databases 1887 is noticed. I am not sure if it's a mistake or not. He was born in Neu-Rohrbach (Russian name is "Ieraklievka"). I was surprised by getting to know that he had been trompet teacher, because I thought that all of them were farmers or smiths but it's not the case.
My grandma Johanna (Zhanna - in Russian style) does still remember her grandad and she told me some very interesting stories about him. I will write them on our blog later. It's worth to be read))) In 1943 he could reach Germany and then he was hidden in the Switzerland till the end of the WWII. It's a pity that he had been devided from his family and had no idea what had happened to his wife and his children. As consequence, he stayed in Germany and in 1959 only he descovered that the rest of the family was deported from Poland and Ukraine to the South Ural near Kazakhstan. I can't imagine what he felt, he was already married for the second time and he was living in Radolfzell on the Lake of Constance. It was a real tragedy... for him as well as for us who stayed in the USSR...
The photo had been taken in the 1920s, in Odessa, the biggest city of that region in the South Ukraine. You can find Wilhelm staying together with his wife Eva Bender (daughter of Michael Bender)
and their children Annetta (1918), Frieda (1922), Wilhelm (1924) and Edwin (1926). Annetta is my great grandma (on your right).
Wilhelm was born in 1897, although in some databases 1887 is noticed. I am not sure if it's a mistake or not. He was born in Neu-Rohrbach (Russian name is "Ieraklievka"). I was surprised by getting to know that he had been trompet teacher, because I thought that all of them were farmers or smiths but it's not the case.
My grandma Johanna (Zhanna - in Russian style) does still remember her grandad and she told me some very interesting stories about him. I will write them on our blog later. It's worth to be read))) In 1943 he could reach Germany and then he was hidden in the Switzerland till the end of the WWII. It's a pity that he had been devided from his family and had no idea what had happened to his wife and his children. As consequence, he stayed in Germany and in 1959 only he descovered that the rest of the family was deported from Poland and Ukraine to the South Ural near Kazakhstan. I can't imagine what he felt, he was already married for the second time and he was living in Radolfzell on the Lake of Constance. It was a real tragedy... for him as well as for us who stayed in the USSR...
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