various spellings of last name/ anyone speak german?

[Hannia]

Honcho,

Have you contacted INS for Father's & Grandfather's records?

American records for DP's (Displaced Persons) are very thorough. Extensive personal histories had to be filled out before immigrating to States. That record would contain their exact places of origin and give you a rundown on their DP experience, such as what camps, where children were born, etc.

<The Einwanderungszentrale of Nazi Germany had the complete vital statistics of every foreigner entering into Germany (name, age, place of original, date of entry and two photos (full face and profile). Using these files, the UNNRA and IRO (replacement organization for the UNNRA) categorized, provided medical exams, X-rays, TB and VD, mental and educational exams to determine who was eligible for immigration to the US and distant ports. Genealogist should get freedom of information form G639 from the Immigration & Nationalization Services for their records. The INS will tell you what camp your Grandfather and Father were in.>

above excerpt from
Displaced Persons (DP) Camp Table of Contents_
http://www.dpcamps.org/dpcamps/index.html

You will need a copy of their death certificates in order to obtain the privacy release for their documents. If family doesn't have a copy, it is easy enough to get one. Where did they die?

Death Certificate - How and where to obtain a copy in the U.S.
http://www.vitalrec.com/death.html
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With a little bit of effort and poking around, you can make that someday become tomorrow.

It is an amazing experience to be surrounded by lots of faces that look like your own.


[Edited by Hannia on 22nd January 2004 at 15:36]

[honcho40]

I am in the process of getting the info from INS records but in the mean time My mother tells me that the name Chernogorec is suppose too sound like tsnohoretz would this make a difference in the location or were this name came from.Its just strange that nothing can be found on any of the web sites. Also my father Iwan once told me that my grandfather was a general in the army in ukraine and after the was if they were too return they would fear for their lives could there be fact too this story.
Thanks so much

[honcho40]

I had an uncle Anton {Chernogorec} who after the war stayed in and lived in germany is there any way too find out info on this and if his family still lives there.

[Hannia]

Part 1: Postcards Home: Postcards of Ukrainian Forced Labor Workers from Nazi Germany

In spring 1942, Germany began to draft occupied populations as forced laborers. SS General Sauckel, leader of the bureau in charge of this forced labor group, had visited Ukraine many times in order to establish a continuous flow of Eastern workers (Ostarbeiters) of both sexes between the ages of 15 and 60 years old. In total there were 20,000 forced labor camps spread across the Reich. The marketplaces for the sale of forced laborers (arbeitsamt) were set up in Germany, where workers from eastern countries were sold legally to the businessmen and farmers. The German authorities introduced a special brand-sign "OST" ("East") for "eastern workers," which they had to wear on the right side of the chest.

Collection R-4826, entitled "Letters from Soviet citizens deported to Nazi Germany for forced labor to their relatives in Kyiv oblast," has been in storage since 1945. During their period of residence in the Reich, Ostarbeiters were permitted to write their relatives in the Ukraine. Their letters, however, never reached their intended destinations. Instead they were directed into a secret archive and kept "under arrest" until the early 1990s, when the entire collection was finally declassified.

The collection of postcards contains the testimonies of Ukrainian, most of whom had been forcibly removed to Germany. The letters were typically written on special postcards that consisted of two parts. The first part had the address in Ukraine where it was being sent along with the Ostarbeiter's letter. The second part contains the return address filled in and was intended for a reply letter from Ukraine. There are also ordinary postcards without the additional reply card and ordinary letters on paper. Local authorities restricted the number of letters sent from Germany to two or three per month. The correspondence usually got past the German censors, even though it vividly describes the conditions in Germany, the kind of work, way of life, spare time, treatment of Ostarbeiters by the Germans, and relations with representatives of other nations (Frenchmen, Poles, Belgians, and others). Many letters are highly emotional as the writers express their longing to return home and concern about relatives and friends.

The collection's documents are organized by geographic district and settlement.

Gale - PSM - Catalog
http://www.gale.com/servlet/ItemDeta...pe=4&id=189856
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[XeniaUkraina]

Honcho:

I have been researching my Ukrainian roots for only a couple of years, but I found it ESSENTIAL to learn the Ukrainian alphabet and a few words (which I am still working on).
It just makes your research so much easier when you encounter documents written in Ukrainian, even such things as headstones.

As Hannia said, keep digging, keep asking questions. You won't find the answers if you don't search EVERYTHING.Try to work your way backwards from when your ancestors came to the US, don't 'skip to the ending before you read the rest of the story'.

You will be pleasantly surprised when it all comes together.

Christine