Story This Week: Kitchen Chef August Goldschmidt

Our story this week comes from Maria Goldschmidt of Ettlingen-Spessart, whose grandfather on her father's side served at the Western Front in the Great War.

August was born on November 7, 1879 in Karlsruhe-Durlach and came from a long line of blacksmiths - the family could trace their trade in Durlach back through six generations. August, however, went to work as a chef in the Hotel Wilhelmshöhe in Ettlingen, where he met his future wife Christine, from Ettlingen-Spessart.

Christine and August had four children together, but she passed away in 1916 at the age of 35. As Christine's family came from Spessart, the children were dispersed to friends and relatives in the village, as August had been called up to the army at the outbreak of war in 1914.

August with his unit and other members of the kitchen staff at the Western Front. August is the first on the left in this photo











August worked as a kitchen chef at the Western Front but as the war progressed, he was eventually called up to fight. He fell on September 25, 1918 and is buried at the military cemetry in Lille.

August with other kitchen staff. August is the first on the left.

Treasured by Maria: one of August's favorite cake molds

This Week: Post From The Western Front

This week we return to Sergeant Rudolf Kessler from Ettlingen Town, who fought on the Western Front at Champagne,Verdun and the Somme.

Rudolf wrote home regularly to his family in Ettlingen and his letters included a great number of photos from the front. The landscapes of the western front battlefields contained large amounts of chalk. Rudolf made chalk carvings while serving at the front, memorials of the Champagne offensives and the battles at La Boisselle and Loretto, which can be seen here in our Memorabilia section.

Rudolf sent home this photo of a 21 cm Mörser in artillery position on the Western Front













In February 1917, a friend of Rudolf's, Georg Roth, wrote a postcard to the Kessler family in Ettlingen. Georg was in the Baden Field Artillery Regiment No. 76 and the regiment had been stationed at the Somme throughout the fierce trench warfare battles that took place at the end of 1916 and the beginning of 1917.

The postcard that Georg sends is a photo of his trench at the Somme:

He writes: "After a very long stay with varied experiences, we have now left the Somme and currently all is quiet. This picture is a souvenir of our command post at the Somme. You will have heard that our dear Robert has passed away, it is not clear whether this was due to injuries or illness. Please forgive me that I have not written for so long. I hope you are all well, as am I."







Georg Roth is referring in his letter to Robert Schuler of Ettlingen, born on June 7, 1897, who fell in the Battle of the Somme, sourthern Serre, on November 23, 1916. Robert had trained as a commercial clerk and both he and Georg worked for Rudolf Kessler's father.

Georg's letter of February 24, 1917 in Sütterlin (old German script)

A photo sent home by Rudolf of captured French prisoners at the Western Front

This Week's Story: Sergeant Josef Brehm

Our story this week comes to us from Maria Goldschmidt of Ettlingen-Spessart, whose grandfather on her mother's side, Josef Brehm, served as a Sergeant on the Western Front in the Great War.

Josef was born on September 29, 1881 and could trace his family's roots in Ettlingen-Spessart back to 1790. At a young age, he joined the military to train with the 5th Badische Infantry Regiment No. 13, 6th Company, in Freiburg, where he held the rank of Musketeer.

When war was declared, Josef joined up to fight on the Western Front in the Alsace. In 1914, he held the rank of Sergeant.

Josef Brehm with his wife and four children


















Josef was stationed for a long period of the war at the Hartmansweilerkopf in the Alsace, a strategic area that was bitterly fought over. The most severe fighting occurred in January, March, April and December 1915. Some of the fiercest fighting of the war took place during these battles, with the French Chasseurs Alpins pitted against the German Sturmtruppen. It is estimated that around 30,000 French and German troops lost their lives here.

Josef is second from the left in this photo, which was taken with other officers on September 27, 1914. Apparently they had a dog, which can just be seen at the back

Out on patrol. Josef is second from left in this photo

Sergeant Josef Brehm on November 6, 1917 in Colmar, Alsace

A photo from 1914. Josef is standing second from left in this photo












Josef survived and returned home to his family. After the War, he worked at Eto, a company in the foodstuffs industry, in Ettlingen. He died on January 6, 1975.

Josef's bayonet and dagger

Josef's Iron Cross

Story Of The Week: Unteroffizier Berthold Görig

Our story this week comes from Hermann Sattler of Ettlingenweier, whose great-uncle Berthold Görig fought in the Foot Artillery, Batallion XIV in the Great War.

Berthold was born on January 16, 1870, and joined the military at the age of 20 in 1890. He first held the rank of Kanonier, and on April 23, 1896, he was promoted to the rank of Unteroffizier. At the beginning of the 20th century, he returned to work on his land in Ettlingenweier, where he was a farmer. After war was declared, he joined up again in 1915.

Berthold joins the ranks again in 1915 as an Unteroffizier

Berthold's service medal and leather wrist watchstrap. This is an unusual item, which was designed to hold a watch previously used as a pocket watch

Berthold's "Schiessbuch". This book contained the soldier's individual shooting record. We can see that the Schiessbuch must have been kept since Berthold first joined the military, as his personal information, including rank and batallion, has been changed by hand.

Berthold's "Soldbuch". This was the pay book carried by every member of the German armed forces. It contained unit information, a record of all equipment issued, and other important details.

Inside the "Soldbuch". We can see that Berthold would have once again had a brief period at home to tend the land, and returned to the military on March 1, 1917.

As a successful and respected farmer in Ettlingenweier, Berthold was a highly regarded member of the local community. In March 1918, while he was in the field, the village of Ettlingenweier elected him to the office of Mayor, and the military released him from service for this purpose.

Telegram from the authorities in Ettlingenweier to Berthold, informing him that he had been elected as Mayor.

The letter from the village authorities on March 28th, 1918 to Berthold's military company, requesting that he be released from military service to take up his office as Mayor.

The approvals by the military authorities

Berthold Görig as Mayor of Ettlingenweier

While Berthold was at home serving his term as Mayor, soldiers were billeted at his house, which was a common practice at the time. A billeting note that he received is shown below.

A soldier called Stobel was billeted at Berthold's house. If Berthold had handed in the "Quartierzettel", he would have received money, but apparently he kept it rather than claiming for the billet.

In September 1918, shortly before the end of the war, Berthold received tentative call-up papers informing him of how he needed to conduct himself should he be called up. Fortunately for him, the war ended before he could be called up.

The tentative call-up papers

This Week: Karl Albiker - A Bridling Yoke In 1919 Europe

Our story this week is based on a letter from the Ettlingen sculptor Karl Albiker, discovered in our town's archive, combined with his sculptures in our town's museum and located around the town.

Karl Albiker and Oskar Kiefer, two Ettlingen sculptors, were also friends who exchanged a good deal of correspondence. After the Great War, Oskar Kiefer designed the "anti-war memorial" shown in the section List Of Fallen. During the war, he also worked as a driver behind the front lines.

Karl Albiker was born in 1878 near Freiburg. He studied with Rodin in Paris and in 1905 moved to Ettlingen, which he made his home until his death in 1961. Karl joined up to serve in the war as a volunteer in 1915, but in 1917 was severely wounded when he fell from his horse, and was declared unfit for war service in 1918.

In a letter found in our town's archive, dated November 4, 1918 - one week before the end of the war - and addressed to his friend Oskar Kiefer, Karl Albiker expresses his relief to hear that Oskar, serving behind the front lines, is well - although he would have been happier to hear that he was not in the field at all, Karl says. The war is coming to an end, the American president Woodrow Wilson is pushing for his "14 Points" postwar peace proposal to be accepted and Karl asks, how will the Europe of 1919 look?

"I was very pleased to receive a sign of a life from you from the field, after you disappeared from the face of the earth at such short notice. Of course, I would have been much happier not to have received word from you in the field. Now I can only hope that you are riding your steed somewhere in safety, where you can await the liquidation of this sad undertaking. This is not a happy time and what is to come will probably hit us harder than you out there! We all know the proverb of the pitcher that goes to the well until it breaks, but nobody could have imagined that the end would suddenly come crashing upon us at such a speed. What will the Europe of 1919 look like? I regret now that I am not a lithographer. One could have at least earned one's living as a cartographer afterwards. There certainly won't be any victory monuments now. What a terrible world! Meanwhile, we wait to see, calmly and with dignity, what bridling yoke Mr. Wilson intends to impose upon us. We are, after all, used to waiting and lobbying higher authorities. I hope to see you back here soon."

Karl Albiker (1878-1961)
Fallender Krieger (Falling Soldier)
Model for a memorial in Greiz, Thuringia, 1926
Bronze Wvz. KA 161
Ettlingen Museum/Palace

Karl Albiker, 1913
Figures, Town Park, Ettlingen

Karl Albiker, The Young River Alb
Friedrichstrasse, Ettlingen
Created posthumously in 1964/65 by Walter Rössler from a design by Karl Albiker

This Week's Story: The Soldiers Of Spessart Part 1

Our photos and stories this week are brought to us by Brigitte Weber of Ettlingen-Spessart, which lies in the hills above Ettlingen Valley. Brigitte's uncles Josef Martus and Albert Fang both fought and died in Laffaux on the Western Front. Friends and acquaintances from Spessart often sent postcards and photos from the front, and the family also collected the memorial cards of those who had fallen.






The memorial at Spessart to those who fell in the Great War

The names of the fallen of Spessart in the form of a prayerbook leaflet

Those who fell from Spessart's choral society

Brigitte's Uncle Bernhard Fang, brother of her uncle Albert Fang, who fell at Laffaux. Bernhard served in the Reserve Batallion of the Foot Artillery Regiment No. 14 at the Western Front. He survived the war and went on to have four children and twenty-three grandchildren.

A postcard from the front sent by Bernhard on November 22, 1917.
He writes: "Dear Parents, I received your package with joy and thanks. Today I am back in the lazarett and will come out on the 27th. I don't have much more time to write. If only you knew what we are going through here. I dreamed about Albert again all night" (his brother Albert who had died four weeks previously).

Josef Weber was a young friend of the family who died at the front on April 25, 1917

Wilhelm Rauenbühler and Karl Lauinger (right) of Spessart, friends of the family.
Karl fell at the front on October 19, 1915

Story This Week: Bahnobersekretär Adolf Sattler

Our story this week comes from Hermann Sattler of Ettlingenweier, whose grandfather on his father's side fought on the Western Front at the Somme, Flanders and Kemmel in the Great War.

Adolf Sattler was born on November 18, 1888 and before the war he worked at the company Dynamit Nobel-DWM in Karlsruhe, Ettlingen's nearest city. Here, he tested and fired the weapons that were produced there.

Adolf's own weapon, a 7.92 mm caliber 1898 Mauser model, with bayonet attached



Adolf was a Bahnobersekretär (Senior Railway Secretary) in the Badische Feldartillerie in a Rastatt regiment. He earned the Kriegsverdienstkreuz (medal for war service in Baden).

Adolf's steel helmet. In 1916, steel helmets were introduced at the front, and in 1918, this camouflage painting (known as Tarnbemalung in German) was added.










Adolf survived the war and subsequently worked for the railways, both at Ettlingen-Bruchhausen and Rastatt. He died on October 14, 1956.

Hermann has also provided us with the memorial cards of two other soldiers from Ettlingenweier who served with Adolf and who fell at the Western Front:

Josef Vielsäcker, who held the rank of Pionier. Josef was born on May 28, 1898 in Ettlingenweier and fell on October 20, 1917 in St. August, France

The memorial cards were distributed in church and contained a "Nachlassgebet" ("abatement" prayer), intended to reduce the number of days that the soldier had to suffer in Purgatory for his actions in battle.

Emil Speck served in the 94th Infantry Regiment as an officer (lieutenant and company commander) and was born on June 18, 1896. He fell at the Western Front at the Somme on May 1st, 1917 and lies buried at Selvien in France.

This Week's Story: Musketeer Albert Fang

Our story this week comes from Brigitte Weber of Ettlingen-Spessart. Her uncle Albert Fang, born on January 7, 1897 in Spessart, fought on the Western Front during the Great War. Albert fought with the Infantry Regiment No. 111 and held the rank of Musketeer.

Musketeer Albert Fang, January 7, 1897 - October 20, 1917

This photo, sent home to his family, shows Albert with his fellow soldiers in front of their dugout. Albert is standing at the far left, marked by the X. The other X marks a friend of his also known to his family.
The soldiers have hung up a sign "Villa Gansrieme" outside the dugout, which is the name they have given to their trench home.






Albert fell at the Western Front in the tiny village of Laffaux, France, on October 20, 1917, at the age of 20.

Albert's memorial card.
Baden is predominantly Catholic. It was believed that soldiers had to suffer in Purgatory for their actions in war. The memorial cards were distributed in church after the mass, and contained a "Nachlassgebet" ("abatement" prayer), intended to reduce the number of days that the soldier had to spend in Purgatory for these actions.

This Week: Privates Leopold Maisch and Robert Laub

This week our story comes from Mathilde Heinrichs (born Laub) of Ettlingen-Spessart. Both Mathilde's grandfathers served at the Western Front as privates in the Great War.

Leopold Maisch, the father of Mathilde's mother, was born on August 17, 1888 in Ettlingen-Oberweier. He was married to Rosa, who worked as a midwife. Their daughter Hedwig was Mathilde's mother.

Leopold in uniform with his wife Rosa, a midwife, and daughter Rosa (Mathilde's aunt)

After the war, Leopold worked for the German railways and died in Ettlingen-Oberweier on January 1, 1975.










Mathilde's father's father, Robert Laub, was born on August 13, 1884 to Maria Laub (1844-1924) and Johann Laub (1835-1916).

He is shown in this photo together with his parents.

Upon returning home, Robert received the official letter of thanks presented to all the soldiers from Baden who had fought in the War, from "The Temporary People's Government of Baden", on November 16, 1918. Although it states that it is signed by "The President", it bears 11 signatures.

The Kaiser had fled to Holland, and Germany had become a republic. The country was in the hands of workers' and soldiers' councils.

The letter contains the line "Späte Jahrhunderte werden noch von Eurem Ruhme sprechen" - "You will be renowned for hundreds of years to come", which is an interesting quote in light of the centenary of the Great War this year.










In addition to his work as a gardener, Robert was very active as a paramedic for the town of Ettlingen in a Red Cross-type organization.

He died on January 29, 1953.