Where would I find birth records for Mauthausen area Austria?

+2 votes
228 views
Where would the 1938 birth records be for a child born to a SS officer that worked at Mauthausen be located? Would there be a different listing then the general public? Not sure how this works.
WikiTree profile: Karl Kramer
in Genealogy Help by Kurt Kramer G2G Crew (370 points)

4 Answers

+1 vote
by Living Poole G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
I tried the search on them and found nothing, I think I am going to give up in my family tree as no place has any info
It is possible that the name Kramer is an assumed name.
No because he went on trial with the last name Kramer and was executed with the last name Kramer. I think after the war they may have changed names. A lot of people did esp those who had connections to the nazi party. I know his wife changed her name and got remarried and dropped off the earth after the trial. Most wanted families didn't want people realizing they where related to a nazi.
I am trying to figure out who my biological mother is. Josef cheated on Rosina a lot and from my understanding is my real mother is a lady he worked with at Dachau. What I do know is Rosina disappeared when he got arrested and almost got arrested herself (and she really should have) and soon as he hung she changed her name and got remarried and became a school teacher. She lived some where near the Belsen camp with Karl (their biological son) after she retired. In the 80's someone managed to track her down and interviewed her. She seemed more interested in talking about the servants and their lifestyle they had then about what he really did.Karl refused to ever believe Josef did anything wrong. I am the outcast because I openly admit I think he got what he deserved and am ashamed to be related to that. That family is in denial and always has been.
If your presumed mother worked with him at Dachau, then she too was probably a Nazi. Unless she was a prisoner and subject of rape. Is it that important to find out, neither of them were responsible for the person you turned out to be, they just provided genetic material.
I know and thank you for that. She was either a office or switch board employee. I have a pretty good idea who she is. I was dumped on Josef and then Rosina dumped me on someone else. I really would like to know who I am related to, not so much to meet them but just to know. I'm old and my days are numbered. It would put my mind at ease just to have some life long questions answered, I saw Josef right before they took him to Hameln and he told me not to be a burden to Rosina and the kids. No I love you no I'm sorry nothing. I knew at 7 years old what kind of person he was and spent my life making sure I never followed in his foot steps. I just want to know where I came from and that's all. What my parents choose to believe and do is on them,their bad choices sadly affected my entire life. All of the children born to people like them where the silent victims.
Found something odd, we decided to see we could get information on dads girlfriend Irma Grese and guess what, if we wanted to we could do her whole family tree all the information was there but yet none for Josef. We are starting to think maybe government might not have released his records. Is it posible that they are not released?

It is known that he was born on 10 Nov 1906 in Munich to Theodore and Maria Kramer. Have you

  • tried to get a copy of his birth certificate from the munich municipal authority? I believe you have to prove that Josef Kramer is related to you and the authority may charge a few Euros, but I know that they are able to send records by postal mail also outside of Germany.
  • searched the munich catholic registers for his birth record?
He is not listed in any birth records. It's almost like up until the war, he didn't exist. I know some of his information from when he was working at Dachau but it really is not much. I have 2 letters that where between him and Irma Grese and one picture and a birth certificate that lists his wife as my mother even though she is not. That is all of the information that I have ever been able to find.

Kurt, that can't be. Maybe you haven't got in touch with the right authorities.

There is -- by law -- a period of 120 years within that birth records are held non-public. But this is only for non-relatives!
If you can prove that he was your father (and you can, if you have a birth certificate that lists him), you are able to get the information.

So, the information about your father could (at least!) be at two sources:

1. Standesamt of the Munich authorities. Has entries back to 1876. Write them at least a mail -- if they are unable to do it, you have nothing lost. But I'm sure that they have the information and it is possible to get it. Contact is possible via https://www.muenchen.de/meta/kontakt.html

Or try to order the certificate(s) over the web (online), see https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Kreisverwaltungsreferat/Standesamt-und-Urkunden/Urkundenbestellservice.html

If you get through the online form, there is explicitely a possibility to get a birth certificate for one's father or grand parents!

2. (Catholic) church books of the diocese of Munich. Have information prior 1876, but may able to provide information also after that date. As a private person you can't look into the archives for yourself, but there are professional genealogists that can. See the information about family search at the diocese of Munich: https://www.erzbistum-muenchen.de/ordinariat/buero-des-kanzlers/cont/67273
You can use the google translator on the text, it does the job well.

+3 votes
You may want to try this website of Familia Austria - they have some amazing records and members are really helpful. https://www.Familia-Austria.at/index.php/en - or, try e-mailing to Austria-l-request@genealogy.net
by Hans Hofmann G2G6 Mach 3 (32.8k points)
I found something on it but can't see it because I am not a member
+1 vote

I would suggest the catholic church books, although 1938 is non-public by law: http://data.matricula-online.eu/de/oesterreich/oberoesterreich/mauthausen/

Maybe there are entries at the "Standesamt", since they were responsible from 1940 on for birth, marriage and death records.

I suggest to follow also the answer from Hans Hofmann! The mailing list is free (but you have to subscribe of course). If you can provide some facts / data they are willing to help without being a member.


1938 sollte noch die Kirche zuständig sein, jedoch muss u. U. wegen des Datenschutzes persönlich angefragt werden. Ansonsten am Standesamt, die waren ab 1940 dafür zuständig.

Ich würde die Antwort von Hans Hofmann berücksichtigen und die Mailingliste abonnieren. Das kostet nichts, und Leute helfen In der Regel auch wenn man kein Mitglied ist und einige Fakten präsentieren kann nach denen gesucht werden soll.

by Jochen Oberreiter G2G6 Mach 1 (15.7k points)
edited by Jochen Oberreiter
Thank you. I am starting to think that the German Government may have not made anything about him public as no place has any information about him. Only things I find are related to his trail and execution. There seem to be no records of his marriage, children or any personal information.
I am starting to believe that they have not released his information. We did a test search and found my fathers girlfriends information. If we wanted to we could do all of her family tree but there is no information about him? I find it odd
Not odd if her family don’t want to be associated with him either.
But his birth and death certificates and anything prior to their marriage should be some where. I can see her having control over the kids but his records from the ss and that I don't think she would be able to control that. We can't even find a birth record for him. We tried Irma Grese's and was able to find everything. Someone told me they do not believe they actually hung him as there are pictures of all the bodies of the people hung on the 13th but his. They have one of Irma and her last words, but none of Josef's body or his last words. Someone thinks he may have been one of them they brought to America. It's like he didn't exist until the trial.

Have you tried to contact the team of Mauthausen Memorial?

If he was occupied at Mauthausen, they should know about him:
https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/About-us/Organisation

Some basic information about the Camp-SS and Guards: https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/History/The-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp-19381945/Camp-SS-and-Guards

I have read countless articles about him over the years but none actually gave much information on him. Most of them where either repeated information from other stories or didn't have correct information at all. I am starting to think the government didn't release all of his information.
+1 vote
The US government captured many Nazi records and has microfilms at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. These include family trees for many Nazis, as well as much other information.

I have not personally worked with these records but my brother used to work with them regularly as a historian, and so when he got interested in helping with our genealogy research, he found a lot there due to various German relatives having been Nazis. (It is a pretty safe bet that anyone with German relatives is going to have some Nazis--one hopes not such close relatives, though.)
by Karla Huebner G2G6 Mach 1 (13.5k points)
I will check there. do they have records on line as I do not live near there? I can safely testify that everyone over there was in some shape or form involved in it. I was blessed enough to get out of Germany in '47 but the things I saw will forever be burned into my mind. I didn't just land a nazi father I ended up with the one who also had the worst personality to match his beliefs, I don't have fond memories of Germany, but then I was born when things where heating up. It was a nightmare over there and what I still do not understand is how 1 man managed to get a entire country to follow him like sheep. The couple who raised me taught me a saying so I could stay safe, If you see guys in military uniform are ok, men in leather run away. You couldn't even trust your neighbors. It was a nightmare.
I don't think that they have digitized much if anything. If you aren't easily able to go to the Washington, DC area (which College Park is in), I would suggest hiring a local genealogist to go and look. Sure, we all like to do our own research, but sometimes it is more practical to ask someone else.

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