Slovak National Uprising

[Benadik]

Please, have you - someone - Information, which Wehrmacht und SS Units were in central Slovakia, on the Horna Nitra (Obere Nitra) Territory, arround Prievidza City (Cigel and Velka Lehota villages)?
I have special reason why I need to know that, because of one unknown german Officer, who saved the lifes of my mom and her brother.
Can you help me?

[saturnin]

1) I am in time pressure, will be able to find more time for research after February 9, but hopefully somebody else will answer your question much sooner

2) If you can speak Slovak/Czech I can provide you few link which could be helpfull

3) Do your story with mom have something to do with accident on 13. January 1945 when "some?" german unit took 93 civilian from Cígel as prisoners (before this date they took another 7) and some of them tortured (8 died) and later let other free?

btw. my grandfather was partisan in central Slovakia (participated also during SNP - Slovak National Uprising). His village was burned out. My grandmather has some stories from occupation some of them funny some very sad....

there are few links for start (Slovak language):

From whole slovakia:
http://forum.valka.cz/index.php/f/500569

Prievidza region:
http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/title/Nacisticke-represalie-na-Slovensku-Okres-Prievidza/t/45675

this would be usefull books for you in your research:
Authors: Stanislav Mičev, PaedDr. Ján Stanislav, PaedDr. Jozef Rodák, Dušan Halaj, CSc.
Title: Fašistické represálie na Slovensku
ISBN: 80-215-0063-8

PS: contact me via PM

[saturnin]

From quick research I came across this side:

http://www.szpb.sk/reobsah.htm

this might give you direction:

http://www.szpb.sk/restruk.htm

[saturnin]

If you are serrious with your question, you can contact The International Tracing Service (ITS). From what I heard, there is helpful stuff although their main job is something different then searching for German officer...

http://www.its-arolsen.org/en/homepage/index.html

[Benadik]

Ano, samozrejme, hovorím po slovensky. Vďaka za doterajšie informácie, skúsil som zatiaľ, čo sa dá. Skúmam v slovenských archívoch - zatiaľ v okresnom, potom pôjdem do BB.
Potrebovak by som menné zoznamy členov jednotiek, ktoré tvorili stále posádky v obciach Cigel resp. Veľká Lehota, resp. jednotiek Sonderkománd, Einsatzkománd - Stutzpunkt Prievidza. V zoznamoch SZPB, ktoré som tu našiel, sú žiaľ často len priezviská.
Ale aj tak vďaka, cítim, že sa niekam predsa len pohnem!
S pozdravom - Michal, 52, Slovensko

[saturnin]

1) You are welcome - but next time use English!

2) If you already search in Slovak archives there is little left with what I can help you. Especially if you can use english and german(?) sources on web. You should try some german webs/institutions... Honestly I am quite sceptical about finding concrete officer with information you provided. Even if you would be absolutelly sure about unit, location, time and rank it would be hard to obtain 100% positive match. I don´t know how you want to confirm if some lower(?) rank officer was actually present. According to what would you identify this officer - even if you obtain name list you asked for in your second post?

3) keep in mind that "Sonderkománd, Einsatzkománd" units during that period (you need concrete date and location again!) in central slovakia were to some extend ad hod units often with mixed subunits, especially if this story happened shortly after beginning of SNP. You have better chance if that happened during period prior SNP as you can obtain much more precise information about units and location. Another point is that some of this unit included non-german/austrian "soldiers". Anyway are you sure that you want information on Einsatzko....?????? this units didn´t pay ANY attention to civilian from humanitarian perspective. Those action in Slovakia in which they participated and I have some info about isn´t about saving somebody at all. If somebody survived it was effect of their policy to intimidate civil population from helping partisans. They didn´t have time for full scale extermination and prior to SNP they didn´t want to escale tensions especially from economical point of view and security of army rear area. - You probably search for Wehrmacht officer.... and I don´t want to question your momś memories but just maybe it wasn´t about saving person but time when enemy (partisans) was close (can you writte how exactly this officer helped?).

try to post request on this page, somebody migh help you: http://www.feldgrau.com/

[Benadik]

Sorry, you wrote about my slovak or czech knowlidge... btw., on this I am better than english...:))
If I receive or find sources in german or english, I wil search in it. I can understand enough, I hope. But I am starting with it, this time I have not the right links
I know that it will be hard to find him and confirm, if is it 100% he. But I am quite optimistic... Maybe somebody on web can help me with concrete information and I can later find some data in german archives - in run-downs, assesments, elevations, commands, lists of members of concrete units...
Yes, maybe "my officer" bounds with accident in Cigel on 13. January 1945 because his location to January was Cigel. I know, that the accident was leaded with the Commander of "Stutzpunkt" of Sonderkomando ZBV 15 SS-untersturmfuhrer DANNEL, which came the next day on the horse to Cigel to search the brother of my mom. Officer named Fritz, born cca 1900 in Dresden the same day, month and year as his wife was probably member of Wehrmacht but I am not sure. Since January, after January 13 1945 his location was in Velka Lehota where lived my mom. He came often to our house because my mom can speak german, he knew the brother of my mom and the were friends, if we can use such words in war times. He came to our house brecause of washing his wash. And he more times said they will realize the Aktion against partisans... More times he helped my mom against drunken hungarian soldiers etc. I am sure he knew the operation of my uncle for the partisans, our neighbour was in partisans brigade as the chief of inteligence service...
Probably Fritz was member of Schill Division or Tatra Division, I suppose units of this Divisions occupated the Prievidza region because this Divisions were in battle against regular Czecho-slovak army in this region in September 1944. Economical needs of this units were cover by slovak government according agreement between slovak and german government.

Fritz was in Velka Lehota till 4 of April 1945.
That is all from me...