Need help finding info about my great uncle
 

Hi, I have recently found out that I had a great uncle that was a Luftwaffe pilot that died in a Russian POW camp. My family has always been very secretive about our history, no one will tell me his name, and the only reason I was told this was because my dad had a few too many drinks and let it slip. If it would help at all, this is all the information I have: My father's father name was Eberhardt, the last name we have in the US is Barth, I don't know if this was shortened or changed. I went to a family reunion in Zurich in 1985 and met my other great uncle Karl, who died a few years later. At the reunion I noticed it was odd that although I was told our background was Swiss, most of the family was from Germany (West at the time), and that those who did live in Switzerland came there from Germany in the 30's, when my father's father came to the US. I know this is most likely not enough information, but it is all I have. Now that the older generations of my family are starting to pass, we have little contacts left in Europe and even less idea of our family history. Can anyone help, or at least give me some ideas of other places to look? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and I thank in advance all who respond.

-Justin

Re: Need help finding info about my great uncle
 

The name "Eberhardt" rang a bell in relation to the Luftwaffe, albeit not as a family name, but rather a given (Christian) name: Eberhard von Boremski, famous fighter pilot, who was prisoner of war in the USSR, but did not die there (died in Hamburg, Germany on 16. 12. 1963).

Dénes

Re: Need help finding info about my great uncle
 

Try this link: http://feefhs.org/UK/indexger.html It is an English-language website dedicated to German ancestry research. Nothing lost in giving it a try.

Re: Need help finding info about my great uncle
 

Also try this site here http://www.luftwaffe.be/Good Luck.

Re: Need help finding info about my great uncle
 

Hi,

the surname Eberhardt is relatively common. By searching the online database that the Volksbundes Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V., the organization that are responsible for the German war graves, I found 689 persons registered with this surname.

If You are going to succeed in Your search You will have to get a bit more information about this relative of Yours (a given name and birth date or year would definitely narrow the number of results a lot).

There are bound to be several Eberhardt's with a Luftwaffe background lost at the eastern front, but if You are curious about what information the above mentioned database can give You, follow this link:

http://www.volksbund.de

Regards,
Andreas