Post #2352927

2026-04-17 18:35 UTC

(2/x) Went searching for "Edward J. *B*arth" first. Turns out, there was in fact a prisoner-of-war camp in the German Town of Barth*. This is where a US/UK airman and a German interpreter could actually have met during war. Museum staff researched but could find neither her name (Irmgard Steppat) nor a matching "Edward J." in their documents. *: https://stalagluft1.de/

Replies (2)

@azett@mastodon.online 2026-04-17 18:46

(3/x) Later, I realised: The child was born in November 1944, so the parents must have met in early 1944. Not a great time for a US soldier to casually walk into a photo studio in the middle of Wiesbaden* with his German girlfriend! But even if the pictures really were taken *after* war (which I now am almost certain of - what do you think?) and this man is not his father, it would be great to find clarity about the photographs and the name "Edward". *: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=11/50.0726/8.2484

Open ##2352928
@sarae@ecoevo.social 2026-04-18 15:10

@azett@mastodon.online ok, just so it's clear in my mind: Birth Mom meets Edward J **rth in early 1944, Edward doesn't speak German, signs photos in English Baby (your FIL) born late 1944 chaos ensues Birth Mom relocated many years later, will not discuss Birth Dad after her death, photos of her with Edward J **rth in uniform show up in her belongings

Open ##2352973