Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann

1912 - 1985  (72 years)

• Name	Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann
  Born	8 Jan 1912	Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	7 Jan 1985	Siewisch, Brandenburg
  Person ID	I233138	Suedpfalz
  Last Modified	8 Feb 2016

  
  

  Father	Friedrich Winkmann,   b. 26 Jun 1893, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 19 Sep 1955, Pirmasens, Stadtkreis Pirmasens, Rheinland-Pfalz  (Age 62 years)
  Mother	Anna Maria Elisabetha Kilian,   b. 8 Apr 1894, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 1918  (Age 23 years)
  Married	2 Jan 1915	Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern   [2]
  Family ID	F109135	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Johanna Winnwa,   b. 18 Jul 1911, Rodalben, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 31 Oct 1989, Pirmasens, Stadtkreis Pirmasens, Rheinland-Pfalz  (Age 78 years)
  Married	28 Jan 1933	Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern   [3]
  Children	1. Maria Anna Winkmann,   b. 1 Jan 1933, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 0Oct 1983, Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York, USA  (Age 50 years)   2. Ludwig Franz Winkmann,   b. 15 Feb 1934, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 26 Aug 2006, Fischbach bei Dahn, Landkreis Südwestpfalz, Rheinland-Pfalz  (Age 72 years)   3. Inge Winkmann + 4. Renate Winkmann,   b. 29 Jun 1938, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern ,   d. 19 Mar 2018, Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, USA  (Age 79 years)
  Last Modified	1 May 2018
  Family ID	F81138	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  http://soviet-awards.com/forum/soviet-awards-forums/soviet-sphere/german-democratic-republic/ddr-award-groups/121350-ludwig-winkmann-wehrmacht-red-army-soldier-ddr-citizen.html Ludwig Winkmann, Wehrmacht/Red Army Soldier/DDR Citizen The headline seems a bit strange, but the facts are even stranger. This is the story of Ludwig Winkmann - a German man. I first found a couple of documents on eBay that I placed a bid on. One was a late issue victory over Germany medal document but the interesting thing about it was the German name and the title of the awarded: Citizen of the DDR. This got me looking on the other auctions from the seller. It turns out to be a complete group of medals and documents to one person. As I collect documents of the victory medal and the east German fighter against fascism medal documents this was gold. Both medals were present and reasonably priced. I won all the divided lots, except one medal/doc set - the Ernst Moritz Arndt medal. After I had won I mailed the seller and asked if he had some more. Sure, there are some paper and photos. Are you interested? I was interested. Turns out that herr Winkmann was a local celebrity and his name was part of a repair group's name at a power plant. Before the group took the name they did a background check in the archives. Just in case there were any skeletons. All this research had been added to a binder which also was for sale. From all the information in the binder and also some letters I could get a pretty good picture of Winkmann. Born in western Germany he was a working class man. Later he organized himself in the social democratic party joining a sports club, that mainly talked politics. When the nazis took power he got a late night visit, taken from his bed and beaten by SA-thugs. His 1920-ties and 30-ties seems filled of hard times and unemployment. In 1941 he was called to the army and sent to France for occupation duty. He stayed there until early 1944 when he was shipped to the Eastern front. That was the moment he had been waiting for, unlike so many other. Only a few days after he arrived he crossed the front line in search for someone to surrender to. That turned out to be rather difficult as most took a shot at him when they saw him. Finally in captivity he tells the interrogator about his social democratic history and can even produce his member card to the sports club. This makes the Red army officer ask the question if Winkmann wants to join them in the struggle against Hitler. He does. He is sent to the 1:st Ukrainian front propagandist school in Zhitomir. After being "educated" what to think and say he's sent to the front line, 60 army and 302 division. Here his job is to convince "the other" Germans not to follow the imperialistic politics of murder and robbery. This meant speaking in loudspeakers when the night set in. The darkness did not help him and he was wounded by a grenade only a few days later. Recovery is quick and he finds himself in the 256 division. Here he continues his propaganda work. The war then takes him further into central Europe. In Auschwitz he is affected deeply by what he sees. This is a factor, he later claims, to why he volunteers to take up arms against German soldiers at Breslau. A group of 80 Germans in the Red army are armed with rifles and dressed in German uniform with a red arm band. Early may 5 they attack, but after fierce resistance have to retreat. The next day Breslau capitulate to the Red army. In June he and his comrades are set free. They now become "Aktivist der ersten Stunde", the first hour's activist. The documents were both awarded on the 25 january 1974 by military attaché Vinogradov. The newspaper photo text says that L. Winkman was awarded a high soviet honor by the attaché in thanks for his participation in the ranks of the soviet army.

  
  

• Sources

  [S8] Information from an informant - Auskunft eines Informanten - Information d'un informateur. Proposed Change: Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann (I233138) Tree: Suedpfalz Link: http://www.birkenhoerdt.net/getperson.php?personID=I233138&tree=1 Description: Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann was born on the 8th of January 1912 in Pirmasens and died on the 7th of January 1985 in Siewisch. I have done extensive research on his life story; he had an interesting life. He was fought off the SS who visited him in his home, he was put into forced labour but outwitted the guards and escaped, joined the Soviet Army and was one of the ones who liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the WW2 he received about 12 medals for his bravery, and he became a politician and anti-fascist activist for the rest of his life. There is rich history here, if another descendent wanted to contact me I am happy to share. Mia Watkins Mia Watkins [S8] Information from an informant - Auskunft eines Informanten - Information d'un informateur. Proposed Change: Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann (I233138) Tree: Suedpfalz Link: http://www.birkenhoerdt.net/getperson.php?personID=I233138&tree=1 Description: Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann's father was Friedrich (known as Fritz) Winkmann. Fritz was born on the 26th of June 1893 in Pirmasens. I don't know when he died but I would like to find out. Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann's mother was Anna Maria Elisabetha Kilian. She was born on the 8th of April 1894 in Pirmasens. I don't know when she died, but I would like to find out. Fritz and Anna were married on the 2nd of January 1915 in Pirmasens. Mia Watkins Mia Watkins [S8] Information from an informant - Auskunft eines Informanten - Information d'un informateur. Proposed Change: Johanna Winnwa (I233868) Tree: Suedpfalz Link: http://www.birkenhoerdt.net/getperson.php?personID=I233868&tree=1 Description: Johanna Winnwa was born on the 18th of July 1911 in Rodalben. She died on the 31st of October 1989 in Pirmasens. She married Ludwig Friedrich Winkmann on the 28th of January 1933 in Pirmasens. Her mother was Katharina Frank. I will write more details in a separate suggestion box. Mia Watkins Mia Watkins