Down the rabbit hole - Lauren's adventures in genealogy

The Mysterious Anna Marie Engel  In the my last blog, I introduced my grandparents and my search for their families (https://onlyliarsfam.blogspot.com/2024/11/adventures-in-genealogy.html). I had at my disposal an oral history taken by my aunt in 1990 (which had very early on been shown to be inaccurate) and the Familienstammbuch filled in by my Opa and Oma. Having discovered that Hermann Karrasch died at KZ Mauthausen, I turned my attention to Anna Marie Karrasch geb. Engel, his wife and their three children, Margarete, Elizabeth and my Opa, Horst Werner Karrasch. Per the oral testimony, her parents were listed as Wilhelm and Melita Engel and she apparently had a brother, Fritz Walter Engel. My faith in this information was low however, given my experience with Hermann Karrasch.  According to my Opa, his mother Anna Marie Engel had been born in Allenstein in February 1906. He had described her as having black hair, and having been a "lady". My first port of call for Anna...

How it all began When I started my genealogy journey I had very little to go on. I knew the names and dates of birth of my mother's parents: Horst Werner Karrasch (Opa) born on the 26th June 1935 in Bolleinen Osterode East Prussia and Liesel Hoffmann (Oma) born 15th Jan 1925 in Thaleischweiler, Südwestpfalz. Both my Opa (Horst) and Oma (Liesel) are deceased. Luckily, my aunt had slightly more. According to their Familienstammbuch, which my aunt had a copy of, Horst and Liesel were married civilly on the 18th December 1953 and married in the  Thaleischweiler protestant church on the 19th of December 1953.   Familienstammbuch Horst Karrasch and Liesel Hoffmann Horst Karrasch and Liesel Hoffmann wedding photo The document also includes the names of their parents. For Horst: Hermann Karrasch Landwirt (farmer) last living in Bolleinen, Osterode and Anna Marie Engel living in Zaun, Gemeinde Flossing, Bayern. The pair were married in Wittmansdorf on 4th Feb, 1932 (this will turn...