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German Kurrent script

14 replies

WulliPulli · 08/06/2025 13:37

Good Afternoon, trying to establish family history to pass on to cousins of the family and create a family tree as most of the older generation is gone.
thank you

German Kurrent script
OP posts:
orangetulipsinbloom · 08/06/2025 17:51

Renate
auf dem Wege nach
xxx xxx [a place name]
am 6. Juli 1941
Renate on her way to xxx xxxx, 6th July 1941

ForestAtTheSea · 08/06/2025 21:45

Maybe the place name is "Münster"?
It would help to have a bit more context, as in what are do you think they were coming from or going to? Then it's easier to see whether suggestions would suit.

Here is an overview over the alphabet, maybe it can help you, too:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Kurrentschrift

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Deutsche_Kurrentschrift.svg

WulliPulli · 09/06/2025 09:11

Thank you, herzlichen Dank, wohin woher weiss leider niemand.
Das hilft schon weiter, die Ort ist Gera, Thuringen, Gegend Erfurt . An dem Tag finde ich leider keine Feiertage,
😊

German Kurrent script
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UmCachorroVerde · 09/06/2025 10:33

If the month is June (difficult to say) it could be Pfingsten (Whitsunday, Pentecost) when girls would wear new white dresses to wear in church but I am not sure if this was also the case in Thüringen and the actual holiday was on 1 and 2 June 1941, so no an exact match.

ForestAtTheSea · 09/06/2025 16:36

@UmCachorroVerde @WulliPulli

Thanks for the photo, and PP had a good idea with the white dress.

I still can't read the text but my grandma had a photo with a similar headdress.
That was from going to their first communion
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommunion
often at "Weisser Sonntag"
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei%C3%9Fer_Sonntag
after Easter. But when there were many children, the church sometimes distributed these celebrations to several sundays.

You could try to contact the churches in that area where they might have gone to. It might even be still on their church books, unless they were destroyed, but maybe copies exist.

WulliPulli · 09/06/2025 17:09

Thank you, Renate was 4 at the time, this might generate a memory.
so kind to spend your time.

Mx

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WulliPulli · 09/06/2025 20:03

Thank you very much

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ForestAtTheSea · 09/06/2025 21:48

I remembered something else:
If you search google with the keywords "Kommunion" + 1940er Jahre, the results are some old photos that appear similar to yours.
The girls all wear the white fabric flower decoration on their head.
That's why I think it was probably a comparable event. Maybe you'll even find such a photo for the lady who you are asking about. You could try a "Heimatverein" / "Geschichtsverein" (hobby historians) for this town.

Some examples here:
https://loeffingen-damals.de/2-fotos-kommunionkinder-des-jahrgangs-1938-39-vor-der-schule-1947/

https://loeffingen-damals.de/tag/erstkommunion-1934/

Here is an article about a dress from parachute silk, in after-the-war fashion, some years later:
https://industriemuseum.lvr.de/de/sammlung/sammlung_entdecken/oekologie___recycling/kommunionkleid/Kommunionkleid_aus_Fallschirmseide.html

UmCachorroVerde · 09/06/2025 21:56

Interesting idea. I would say that the girl is too young and the dress and headgear are too informal for the First Communion. Unfortunately I can't make out the two crucial words on the back of the photo.

ForestAtTheSea · 09/06/2025 22:12

That's possible, but the less formal dress could be explained with that it was war-time economy; not everything was available and people were probably saving or rationing. I agree about the age being an indicator for a different event, but I wouldn't know for sure.

WulliPulli · 10/06/2025 10:08

You are all amazing, a huge thank you to everyone
i am sure all these details are of interest.
have a wonderful day.

Mx

OP posts:
fuzzwuss · 10/06/2025 10:52

you could try to use an online service like transkibus.org. They "read" old texts, and translate. It is free but you have to register

WulliPulli · 10/06/2025 21:24

Vielen Dank fuer alle Tipps

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WulliPulli · 12/06/2025 10:04

The information and the detail you have all supplied will be very helpful to me to research the town of Gera, some info quite shocking. however it is such a treat to get to know the past of your parents and grand parents. Unfortunately that generation never did like to talk about their lives.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Monika

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