Ancestry - 2.4m WW2 German 'Gefallen' Cards

[hucks216]

I am sure some will of seen this announced on other forums but for those that don't know Ancestry in Germany have now added 2.4 million cards for those soldiers killed between 1939-1948 and although I am led to believe that those cards relating to late 1944 don't exist there may well be some for that period and 1945. So far the latest date I have been able to find a card file for is July 1944 but I have been told that there are some for later in 1944 and 1945.

The cards also cover the Luftwaffe (and other fighting forces) although I don't think they cover those reported as MIA but I could be wrong.
Some have just one side of a card while others might have 2 or 3 double sided cards of information.

If all you have is a memorial card or a grave photo then you might be able to gain a lot of previously unknown information such as his basic training unit, his last unit, dog tag details and so on. See below for a couple of examples. Considering how many millions died fighting obviously the card files are far from complete but they are still proving to be a good resource. With regards to Luftwaffe I have had an approx 40-50% success rate. It is useful when used in conjunction with Volksbund (to obtain any unknown date of births) to make the searches more focused.


As with all things Ancestry, after your trial period ends you will need to subscribe to the site to obtain access.