Berberich - prisoner of war in Scotland during WW2

[knittinggenie]

Hello! Firstly apologies for writing in English - I do not speak German.

I am trying to trace a Robert BERBERICH, and have very little information. During WW2, Robert was a Prisoner of War in Barony Camp 298 near Dumfries in south Scotland. During the day, Robert and other prisoners worked on local farms. During this time, Robert became friendly with my great grandparents who ran the local shop when he came in to buy cigarettes.

After the War, they kept in touch for a short time. My great grandparents and all older relatives who knew Robert have died. My mother war born at the end of the War and did not know him, but remembers her own mother and grandparents talking about him fondly.

We have very little information about this man and do not know whether he was Navy, Army or Airforce and why he was in the work camp. My mother thinks there might be a connection with Baden-Baden. We don't know whether he returned to Germany, or whether he emigrated to another country after the war.

If anyone can help me with ideas of how to track down Robert's story I would be very grateful.

[knittinggenie]

Hallo! Erstens entschuldige ich mich für das Schreiben auf Englisch - ich spreche kein Deutsch.

Ich versuche einen Robert BERBERICH aufzuspüren und habe nur sehr wenige Informationen. Während des Zweiten Weltkriegs war Robert Kriegsgefangener im Barony Camp 298 in der Nähe von Dumfries in Südschottland. Tagsüber arbeiteten Robert und andere Gefangene auf örtlichen Farmen. Während dieser Zeit freundete sich Robert mit meinen Urgroßeltern an, die den örtlichen Laden betrieben, als er hereinkam, um Zigaretten zu kaufen.

Nach dem Krieg blieben sie kurze Zeit in Kontakt. Meine Urgroßeltern und alle älteren Verwandten, die Robert kannten, sind gestorben. Mein Mutterkrieg wurde am Ende des Krieges geboren und kannte ihn nicht, erinnert sich aber an ihre eigene Mutter und Großeltern, die liebevoll über ihn sprachen.

Wir haben sehr wenig Informationen über diesen Mann und wissen nicht, ob er Marine, Armee oder Luftwaffe war und warum er im Arbeitslager war. Meine Mutter glaubt, dass es eine Verbindung zu Baden-Baden geben könnte. Wir wissen nicht, ob er nach Deutschland zurückgekehrt ist oder nach dem Krieg in ein anderes Land ausgewandert ist.

Wenn mir jemand mit Ideen helfen kann, wie ich Roberts Geschichte aufspüren kann, wäre ich sehr dankbar.

[Sxdxdr]

Hi,


basically there are ways to find out something about him. But it can be difficult with just his name.Do you have a date of birth or place of birth? Or how old was he when he met your great-grandparents?


You wrote that they stayed in touch for a short time. Are there letters left? Or something else?

[knittinggenie]

Hi,


basically there are ways to find out something about him. But it can be difficult with just his name.Do you have a date of birth or place of birth? Or how old was he when he met your great-grandparents?


You wrote that they stayed in touch for a short time. Are there letters left? Or something else?

There is a photograph - we are trying to get it from my uncle. Date of birth - nothing exact. Assuming he was in his 20s or 30s during WW2 that would give a date of birth of 1889 to around 1909. My next plan is to contact the national Archive in Berlin to ask if they have any records.

Is Berberich an unusual surname?

[Sxdxdr]

I think Berberich is an unusual surname. I heard it for the first time right now.
But it might depend on the area where you live.
There might be areas where a lot of Berberichs live.

Yes, you can try it at the National Archiv in Berlin.
But it could take a long time (ca. 6-12 month) until you get an answer. Without a date of birth or a birthplace it could be a negative answer. I had my own experiences with this.
Anyway it's still worth a try.


You can also try it at the German Red Cross Tracing Service in Munich.
They have also records of Prisoners of war.

https://www.drk-suchdienst.de/wie-wir-helfen/suchen/zweiter-weltkrieg/suchanfrage-zweiter-weltkrieg/

If you need any help or have any questions feel free to ask.

[gki]

A quick search shows that the surname Berberich was most prevalent in a triangle Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Nuremberg in 1890. Also that it was not uncommon at the time in that area.

https://nvk.genealogy.net/map/1890:Berberich