Everything has a beginning and with me it was a report in the television

It concerned the opening of Soviet archives 2. World war and around the prisoners of war.

As in many other families it gave also in our soldiers, who did not come again home

Thus I turned to WASt and asked  under indication of the dates of birth for the fate of the brothers of my father.

The answer confirmed which we already knew

Otto Ohlhoff was missed in action 1942 in Stalingrad and Herbert Ohlhoff disappeared in July 1942 with its entire unit

My interest was waked and thus began I to look for my great-grandparents and their parents

I noticed soon that not only the life data was interesting separate in the special measure the conditions under those it their life to master had

And with each answer new questions arose

It was a lucky circumstance that the majority had been very established and the search was to nearly 90 %  in the former duchy Braunschweig

With the assistance of friendly registrars of births, marriages and deaths I had first successes and then began the search in church books  and in public records of Staatsarchiv Wolfenbüttel

In my book store  recommended one to me the book "Paperback for family historical research" from Ribbe/Hennig.  I must confess after first examining I was overwhelmed  from the quantity of the information

But I recognized also very fast like importantly it was to know something over the history of the country. Here the attendance were very valuable in Herzog-August-Bibliothek of Wolfenbüttel.

Already with my first views of the church books I understood  how much I became to still learn had

Everyone had made the entries in the church books with another handwriting

In some church books  detailed data were to be found, in others stood only for Mrs. von Hans Meier. At the beginning of my search I had written the notes on loose notes. Already soon became it clearly to me that this   way could´nt be enough.. Since then I have for each place a book and notes also in each case the source put on exactly and carefully

Sometimes also data and information those first rather unimportantly published prove after years as helpful As particularly important the notes prove over the occupation, the place of origin or the relationsships of the godfathers

Without the InterNet I would not have experienced many things.  Also the various mail-lists I use and the membership of "Verein für Computergenealogie"

Successes:  In the meantime I have nearly 2000 persons found those directly or indirectly to me related. For me it´s however many more importantly which I informations I get over the life circumstances experience.

And last but not least I found the gr-gr-children of my gr-gr-aunt Johanne Sophie Wilhelmine Räke Geldmacher, and her life in Cape Girardeau, Missiori.

And it seems that a lot of emigrants from Brunswig and Hanover area settled in Missouri.