Dear wilsoncurator,
The personnel records of the Wehrmacht are not yet available online.
Therfore, it is unfortunately not possible to provide you direct
information on the military career of Willi Werner Schneider. The good
news is that the personnel records that have survived World War II are
are kept by two central archives: The "Zentralnachweisstelle des
Bundesarchives" (Central Reference Office of the Federal Archive), and
the "Deutsche Dienststelle für die Benachrichtigung der nächsten
Angehörigen von Gefallenen der ehemaligen deutschen Wehrmacht" (German
Agency for Information of Next-of-Kins of Soldiers of the former
Wehrmacht killed in Action). Despite its official name, the latter
authority does not only keep records of those killed in action, but of
all members of the armed forces.
-- The Zentralnachweisstelle des Bundesarchivs --
The Zentralnachweisstelle keeps about 15 kilometers of personnel files
of the former Wehrmacht.
The Zentralnachweisstelle is bound to the strict regulations of the
Federal Archives Law; information on former Wehrmacht soldiers is only
provided:
- with approval of that person, should he still be alive
- with approval of his next-of-kins, should he be dead for less than 30 years
- without restrictions, should he be dead for 30 or more years
Requests for personal data are the more likely to be successful the
more of the following information on the former soldier can be
provided by the applicant:
- Family Name
- First Name
- Place of Birth
- Date of Birth
- Last Service Grade
- Last Service Unit
The archive's services are subject to fees. Here is full contact information:
Bundesarchiv
Zentralnachweisstelle
Abteigarten 6
52076 Aachen
Germany
--
Phone: +49(0)2408-147-0
Fax: +49(0)2408-147-37
E-Mail: zns@barch.bund.de
Website: http://www.bundesarchiv.de/aufgaben_organisation/abteilungen/zns/
-- The Deutsche Dienststelle --
The Deutsche Dienststelle (formerly Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle für
Kriegerverluste und Kriegsgefangene) keeps about 300 million personal
data records of all kinds.
Unlike the Zentralnachweisstelle, they are not bound to the
regulations of the Federal Archives Law. Therefore, they will provide
personal information:
- with approval of the former soldier
- without restrictions if the person is dead for more than 10 years
The services are subject to fees. An English version of their website
is available, online requests are possible. Here is full contact
information:
Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)
Eichborndamm 179
13403 Berlin
Germany
--
Phone: +49(0)30-41904-0
Fax: +49(0)30-41904-100
E-Mail: St.Ihlenburg@dd-wast.de
Website: http://com-de.com/wast/
I wish I could do more for you; but I hope that this will help you to
obtain the information you are searching for.
Best regards,
Scriptor |