From the war trauma to the family reunion: a moving life story

From the war trauma to the family reunion: a moving life story

Baumkirchen, Österreich - On June 6, 2025, the fate of Alois Léon Weitenthaler is apparently a central topic in the media. Weitenthaler, born in May 1945, experienced an eventful past that is closely associated with the history of prisoners of war in the Second World War. His biological father, Léon Haspérue, was brought to Styria in 1939, at the beginning of the war and had to work in Baumkirchen near Judenburg. At that time, Haspérue was about 25 years old. Only at the age of 41 met his father for the first time in France, a meeting that is considered significant in the family.

The history of German prisoners of war in World War II is characterized by many tragic and challenging moments. The war began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland and ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. A total of around 100 million soldiers who fought, around 35 million in captivity. An estimated 5 million did not survive this time, others suffered serious losses. Over 20 million soldiers fell in the war. The camp life was shaped by many privations, whereby the food in the camps was initially better than in the Wehrmacht, but was greatly reduced after the end of the war.

prisoners of war and their challenges

The status of "prisoners of war" is regulated under international law and not only protects combatants, but also certain other people such as doctors, paramedics and clergymen. These regulations are anchored in the Hague Agreement and the Geneva conventions. Despite these protective measures, the status in Europe, especially on the eastern theater of war, was often disregarded. The Soviet Union, which had not joined the Geneva conventions, had its own regulations on the treatment of prisoners of war who often led to a high death rate.

After May 8, 1945, many German prisoners of war remained in all -sized captivity. A large number of them were still supervised, while control over the prisoners was initially shared between the Allies. This often very unequal treatment ranged from better living conditions in British camps to the harsh conditions that many experienced in Soviet captivity. An estimated 1.11 million German soldiers died in the Soviet camps, which corresponds to a terrifying death rate of 34.7 percent. The last major dismissal of German prisoners of war from the Soviet Union did not take place until 1955.

commemoration of the past

In order to document the experiences of the prisoners of war, a scientific commission was founded in 1957, which dealt with the fate of the German prisoners of war. In Germany and other countries, memorials and exhibitions are reminiscent of the fates of these men and women. The return of the last German prisoners of war lasted until 1955, which illustrated the long and painful queues, the many dismissed.

The processing of this story shows how important it is to look at the experiences of people like Alois Léon Weitenthaler and Léon Haspérue, but also to contribute to the general memory of the dark chapters of history. The Krone reports on the personal and historical dimension of this topic, while on wikipedia and wikipedia Comprehensive information on the conditions and fate of prisoners of war are provided in the Second World War.