Who was Horst Perez? 4/JG26

[Leendert]

May I suggest that the name 'Perez' here has/had more to do with people of Sephardic Jewish background in Europe.
Since Spain ousted them in 1492, people settled elsewhere and the surname lived on.

See e.g. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizchok_Leib_Perez or https://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/breslaumarrgs.html (search for Perez).

Moreover, Spanish sounding surnames have survived outside Spain due to its dominion of parts of Europe in past centuries.

Not related to 'our' Horst Perez, but in 1954 a man with the same name was convicted of practicing medicine without proper credentials. He was born in Konitz, West Prussia in 1920 (now Chojnice, Poland). Surname therefore not altogether unlikely in those regions.

Regards, Leendert

[VtwinVince]

I think you're on to something with the origin of the name. People are under the mistaken preconception that Prussia was some sort of hyper-racist society, when in fact the opposite was true. Refugees from all over Europe settled in Prussia, such as the Hugenots and Jacobites, amongst other persecuted groups. My grandmother's neighbours in East Prussia had the old German surname of Douglas.

[Leendert]

A picture of Horst Perez in a POW camp reportedly here: https://digitalcollections.ucalgary....BF1X4SLB1.html

Leendert

[tonda75]

Horst Perez is not in this photo!