Missing soldiers of the German army during the Kurzeme battles - Herrman Faul

Vācijas armijas karavīrs Hermanis Fauls, 20.gs. 40. gadi. Avots: Kurlandkessel.de.

The documentation of the German army group "Ziemeļi", which is later renamed "Kurland" during the siege of Kurzeme, still contains no clear information about approximately 50,000 German army soldiers. These soldiers are missing in action. Even today, the relatives of these soldiers are trying to find traces of their relatives and ancestors in Kurzeme, both documentary and physical. One such story is about

 

Herman Faul was born on January 21, 1909 in Rothelsberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Rank: private, later corporal. Disappeared since 27.12.1944. near "Paugibile" houses, SW of Džukste, Kurzeme

 

 
Storyteller: Michael Molter; Wrote down this story: Jana Kalve
Used sources and references:

http://kurland-kessel.de/

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Related objects

Memorial site for Hermann Faul

It is located at the crossroads of rural roads, turning off the road leading from Pienava to Džūkste.

Memorial to H. Faul, and to the nine German and Latvian soldiers who fell in the battle of 27 December 1944 (probably blown up by a direct hit from a cannon shell) and who are presumed missing since then, as no remains, documents or other evidence of their identity have been found.

Saldus German Soldiers' Cemetery

Saldus German Soldiers' Cemetery is located near the Saldus-Ezere highway. More than 25,000 German soldiers have been reburied here. From May 1 to October 1 an exhibit about the six grand battles of the Kurzeme Fortress will be available in the memorial room. Tours can be booked on Saturdays and Sundays. Registers of soldiers buried in the Saldus German Soldiers' Cemetery and German soldiers who have fallen throughout Latvia are also available. The exhibit has photographs, items and memorabilia donated to the museum by relatives of the fallen soldiers. Military burial site research and reburial of soldiers is being conducted since 1997. Work is still ongoing and all soldier burial sites have not yet been explored. The names of the reburied soldiers suggest that along with Germans and Austrians also Latvians, Estonians, Lithuanians, Norwegians, Danes and soldiers of other nationalities had been drafted into the German Army.

Ezere local history repository “Muitas Nams” (Customs House)

The Ezere Customs House is located in Ezere near the Saldus-Mažeikiai highway at the Latvian-Lithuanian border. The act of surrender of the German Army units ‘Kurzeme’ (Kurland) surrounded in the so-called ‘Courland Pocket’ was signed in this building on 8 May 1945. It is believed that World War II actually ended in Ezere. The customs house has an exhibit covering the events of the end of World War II and exhibits detailing the history of Ezere parish from ancient to modern days. In the morning of 7 May 1945, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L. Govorov, sent an ultimatum to the command of the army group ‘Kurzeme’ to lay down arms. The act of surrender was signed by the involved parties on May 8 and it detailed the procedure of surrender, weapons collection points, documents and information to be submitted and other practical measures.