Re: Haase/Wichmann
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In reply to:
Haase/Wichmann
Linda Cavanaugh 8/16/09
Linda, first, you have to be aware that just like the U.S., Germany, too, has always been made up of STATES.Carl Haase and Augusta Wichmann were from what was until 1945 Germany's largest state by far, PRUSSIA (in German: Preussen), the capital of which was the city of BERLIN.(Following German unification in 1871, Berlin became Germany's national capital as well.)Because of its vast size, Prussia was divided into PROVINCES.
So to be more precise, Carl Haase and Augusta Wichmann were from what was until 1945 the Prussian province of POMERANIA (in German: Pommern), the capital of which was the city of STETTIN (pronounced: shteh-TEEN).
Pomerania has traditionally been divided into two parts:That portion of Pomerania lying west of the Oder River is referred to in German as "VORPOMMERN", which translates as "Closer Pomerania", but which is usually referred to in English simply as WEST POMERANIA.That portion of Pomerania lying east of the Oder River is called in German "HINTERPOMMERN", which translates as "Farther Pomerania", but which is usually referred to in English simply as EASTERN POMERANIA.Sadly and tragically, all of Eastern Pomerania belongs to Poland today, as does Pomerania's former provincial capital, the city of Stettin.(Stettin is now known by the Polish name Szczecin.)
There is no town anywhere in Pomerania called "Gortz" or "Gurtz".What was the source of your information that Carl and Augusta were from a town called "Gortz" or "Gurtz"?What kind of record or document did you get that from?
There are, however, two towns in West Pomerania called GARZ -- pronounced as if the spelling were "Gartz", "z" in German being pronounced "ts".The larger of the two is located on the large island of RÜGEN -- or if written without the "Umlaut" (two dots) over the "U", RUEGEN.Garz/Rügen (Garz/Ruegen) is a small city of about 2500 people today.The smaller of the two is located on the island of USEDOM at the mouth of the Oder River.Garz (Usedom) is a very small town of only about 200 people today.
My feeling is that Carl Haase and Augusta Wichmann were from one of the two towns called GARZ.There are no other towns in Pomerania, the names of which resemble "Gortz" or "Gurtz".But I do have one important question:Are you absolutely certain that the town they were from is in Pomerania?I ask, because although there is no town in Pomerania called "Gortz", there is a village in the former Prussian province of BRANDENBURG called GORTZ.But if you are certain that Carl and Augusta were from Pomerania, then that would of course eliminate Gortz in Brandenburg as having possibly been the town they were from.
I will add here that West Pomerania (in German: Vorpommern) is one of the two components of today's new post-World War II German state of MECKLENBURG-WEST POMERANIA (in German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), the capital of which is the city of SCHWERIN in Mecklenburg.The city of GREIFSWALD functions as the unofficial capital, one might say, of West Pomerania.
Robert
More Replies:
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Re: Haase/Wichmann
Linda Cavanaugh 8/20/09
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Re: Haase/Wichmann
Reinhard Renn 8/22/09
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Re: Haase/Wichmann
Reinhard Renn 8/22/09
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Re: Haase/Wichmann