Joseph Steurenthaler (1893 - 1965)

Born 28 Mar 1893 in Hinterzarten, Neustadt, Baden, Deutsches Reich

Ancestors

Husband of Frida (Schelb) Steurenthaler — married 28 Apr 1934 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Baden, Deutsches Reich

Descendants

Died 22 May 1965 at age 72 in Hinterzarten, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Florian Straub [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Steurenthaler Name Study.

Joseph was born on 28 March 1893, the son of Joseph Steurenthaler and Maria Wunderle from the Zipfelhof in Rotwasser, Hinterzarten. He was baptized in the parish of Hinterzarten on 30 March. His godparents were Andreas Andris from the neighbouring Raimartihof and his aunt Karolina née Wunderle, from the nearby Steiertenhof.^[1]

During World War I Joseph served as musketeer ("Musketier") in the 238th Reserve Infantery Regiment ("Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 238"). A casualty list from January 1915 reported him as mildly wounded.^[2]

At one point, he was serving as one of the guards/overseers ("Bewachungsleute") of the 112th Prisoner of War Labor Batallion ("Kriegsgefangenen-Arbeits-Batallion 112"). They were watching and organizing Russian Prisoners of War, who were probably used to build railway lines (see Heeresfeldbahn). Together with his comrades Joseph Ganzmann and Albert Blümle from the same regiment and Emil Gramlich of the 171th Infantery Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment 171), Josef was suggested for the Silver Medal of Merit ("Silberne Verdienstmedaille am Bande der Militärischen Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstmedaille") in November 1916 by the chief of the field railways ("Chef des Feldeisenbahnwesens"). General Karl Dürr forwarded the list to the cabinet, but decided not to support the suggestions for 238th Infantery Regiment, since he considered that one "sufficiently awarded" ("hinreichend ausgezeichnet"). ^[3] Gramlich was awarded the medal on 21 May 1917.^[4]

On 15 January 1930 Joseph's father passed away.On 29 September 1933 him and his siblings, respectively their widows and widowers and the guardians of their children, signed a contract: He took over Zipfelhof with more than 138 hectares minus the area of Zipfelmühle with about 10 hectares. The latter went to his unmarried siblings Emil Steurenthaler, Clara Steurenthaler, Amalia Steurenthaler and Sophia Steurenthaler, later Rombach. He was indebted with 90 000 Reichsmark to the others.^[5]

In 1934, Joseph married Frida Schelb from the Altevogtshof in Hinterzarten.^[1] She was already his sister-in-law Joseph's brother Edwin had married her sister Amalia Schelb. The couple had at least six children.^[6]

The Kreisbauernschaft Neustadt, an organisational unit of Reichsnährstand, reportedly urged Joseph to request debt reduction ("Entschuldungsantrag"), but he refused. Then, in autumn 1938 he then went to the meanwhile Kreisbauernschaft Donaueschingen and stated that he is no longer able to pay his debt. On 30 May 1939, there was a negotiation in front of court (Anerbengericht), which lead to his creditors giving up 50% of their claims against him.^[7] So on 25 July 1939 they did a new contract, which specifies the amounts he owes to each branch of his siblings.^[8]

In 1941, Joseph began a sequence of events which led to the killing of a Polish forced labourer, Stefan Kozłowski. According to a newspaper report, there was a pre-existing conflict between Joseph and some of his relatives.^[9]

According to family lore, he was upset that Amanda Fräßle's children came begging for food to neighboring Vogtsmühle, where his widowed mother-in-law lived. He then reported her Amanda to the police. Somebody (him? the police?) discovered that both, Amanda and her maid/servant Hilde Bäuerle, were supposedly 'fraternising' with Stefan Kozłowski, which fell foul of the race laws of the time.^[10] The newspaper article contradicts this version a bit, by claiming that he reported her to protect the family of Amanda, since her husband was in war.^[9]

Stefan Kozłowski was incarcerated, badly mistreated and killed via summary execution. The two women were sent to Ravensbrück-Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1947, Joseph and six other local men were put on trial for their involvement in these events. Of the group, Joseph was given the third-longest sentence of two years in prison, and advised that he was lucky that the women had survived their ordeal, as otherwise he would have faced even more serious charges.^[9][11]

Josef became a member of the community council committee ("Gemeinderatskomitee") of Hinterzarten mayor Adolf Laule in spring 1946.^[12]

In 1948, Joseph was using a threshing machine when his glove was caught by the machine and his arm pulled in, resulting in severe injuries to his hand and arm. The wounds became infected with gas gangrene ("Gasbrand") and both his hand and arm had to be amputated. At the time Joseph was in Neustadt hospital, personnel shortages led to relatives being asked to watch over Joseph in his hospital room at night. Bertl Steiert, the daughter of Paul Steiert, was one of the relatives who agreed to do so. However, she fell asleep during her night watch and a candle she had lit fell over and started a fire. The fire was quickly extinguished without any serious damage. His niece Luise Steurenthaler had volunteered to stay the following night, however after hearing about the fire she was scared of falling asleep as well. Despite her fears, she stayed the night and watched over Joseph.^[13]

Joseph reportedly walked to the Adler inn in Bärental every day and had others buy him a glass of wine.^[14]

"Zipfelbauer" Josef Steurenthaler passed away in 1965 in Hinterzarten. He was interred on 25 May 1965 in Hinterzarten.^[15]

Research notes

Vaccination

According to von Thiessen/Hitz he was the last person to be vaccinated in 1893.^[16]

• to do: vaccine against what? maybe smallpox?

Postcard

Postcard to Joseph Steurenthaler

There is a postcard that was written to Joseph by one of his brothers. The address field says it should go to "II. Comp. Kriegs. Gef. Battl. No. 112 " (2nd Company 112th Prisoner of War Battalion) located at "Deutsche Hafen Comandantur No. 501".^[17]

The last line of the postcard probably contains the word "Ostfront". The Stuttgart branch of the Baden-Württemberg state archives has dispatches about the "Mobile Bahnhofs-Kommandantur Nr. 502 an der Ostfront" followed by "Mobile Hafen-Kommandantur Nr. 526 in Bulgarien" and "Mobile Hafen-Kommandantur Nr. 541 an der Ostfront", so he more likely served in that area.

• to do:
  • find out if there was some Hafen Commendatur 501 somewhere in the area
  • Who is Untgf. Rösner, 5 Comp. Rgt. 257, who's mentioned at the postcard

Military file

According to GenWiki, the 238th Reserve Infantery Regiment was created in 1914 from the 3rd and 4th company of the 1st Reserve Battalions of Infantery Regiments 112 and 142 along with the 2nd Company of the 1st Reserve Battallalion of the 109th Infantery Regiment. I didn't find him in any of their muster rolls. --Straub-620 04:38, 29 March 2024 (UTC)

Farm size

According to Reichserbhofgesetz an Erbhof, the legal construct which only allowed debt reduction, has to be less than or equal to 125 hectares. While the 1933 contract states the size as 138 hectares 12 ares 72 square meters,^[5] the 1938 correspondence regarding his debt reduction only mentions a size of 121.09 hectares.^[7]

The 1933 contract states that the property will be reduced by cutting away Zipfelmühle, where the siblings would reside, but that one was only attributed "about 10 hectares".^[5] This would still have left some 128 acres and not 121.09.

The 1773 cadaster ("Kastastervermessung") states the area with 129.62 hectares, where it is a bit unclear if that includes Zipfelmühle, which Johann Steurenthaler took for himself in the 1880, or if Liehl or somebody else had removed that one already.^[18]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Baptism: "Germany, Baden, Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Catholic Church Records, 1678-1930", citing Baptism, Hinterzarten, Neustadt, Baden, Deutschland, , Erzbischöfliches Archiv Freiburg (Archbishop's Archives), Germany, FamilySearch Record: QYBP-563Z (accessed 14 July 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-892X-1634 Image number 00292, Joseph Steuwinthaler baptism on 28 Mar 1893, daughter of Josep Steurenthaler & Maria Wunderle, in Hinterzarten, Neustadt, Baden, Deutschland:

   Im Jahr 1893 den dreißigsten März wurde

   in hiesiger Pfarrkirche durch den Unterzeichneten

   getauft: Joseph, geboren den achtundzwanzig-

   sten März, ehel. .... des Zipfelbauers

   Joseph Steurenthaler u. der Maria geb. Wunderle.

   Pathen sind Rheinmarthisbauer Andreas

   Andris u. Karolina Steurenthaler geb.

   Wunderle.

   Hinterzarten den 30. März 1893.

   Albert Landold. Pfrver.

   side node:

   28 März

   Joseph

   Steurenthaler

   getraut mit Frida

   Schelb am 28. April

   1934 in Freiburg.

2. ↑ Deutsche Verlustlisten (Preußen 169), 7 January 1015, p. 4080 (https://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1171641 : accessed 29 March 2024):

   Musk. Josef Steurenthaler, Hinterzarten, Neustadt, Schwarzw., l.v.

3. ↑ Verleihung der silbernen Verdienstmedaille am Bande der militärischen Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstmedaille, Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, 233 Nr. 46747:

   [...]

   Gramlich ist ein äußerst tüchtiger Unter=

   offizier, der sich als Lagerältester eines

   Russenlagers durch Umsicht und Tatkraft aus=

   gezeichnet hat. Sein verantwortungsvolles Amt

   führte er mit unermüdlicher Pflichttreue.

   In der Organisation seines Lagers hat er

   hervorragendes geleistet. Er wird einer

   Auszeichnung für besonders würdig erachtet.

   
   

   Blümle, Ganzmann und Steurenthaler

   haben sich bei zahlreichen Bahnbauten als

   äußerst tatkräftige Bewachungsleute

   gezeigt. Sie waren nicht nur zuverlässig

   Im Bewachungsdienste, sondern ver=,

   standen es auch hervorragend die

   Gefangenen am rechten Platze anzu=

   stellen und aus ihnen das Höchstmaß

   an Arbeitsleistung herauszuholen.

   
   

   Bei der Bewachungskomp. des Kriegs=

   gefangenen-Arbeiter-Batts 112 befinden

   sich 7 badische Staatsangehörige.

   [...]

4. ↑ Karlsruher Zeitung, 11 August 1917, No. 216 (Badische Landesbibliothek : accessed 28 March 2024)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Badisches Notariat Neustadt/Schwarzwald: Übergabe- und Teilungsvertrag Zipfelhof Hinterzarten, 29 September 1933 (copy in possession of Florian Straub)
6. ↑ reported by Zähringer-29 and her mother
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, 469 Nr. 811: Forderungsverzicht auf zu zahlende Gleichstellungsgeldern von Josef Steurenthaler aus Hinterzarten, http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=4-122798
8. ↑ Badisches Notariat Neustadt/Schwarzwald: Übergabe- und Teilungsvertrag Zipfelhof Hinterzarten, 29 September 1933
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Unser Tag, 83, 24 October 1947 (Badische Landesbibliothek : accessed 12 October 2023)
10. ↑ told by Luise (Steurenthaler) Mechau to Florian Straub on multiple occasions, e.g. 4 April 2019
11. ↑ Helmut Schubert: Hinterzarten im 20. Jahrhundert. vom Bauerndorf zum heilklimatischen Kurort (2002), p. 138-140
12. ↑ Helmut Schubert: Hinterzarten im 20. Jahrhundert. vom Bauerndorf zum heilklimatischen Kurort (2002), p. 62
13. ↑ told by Steurenthaler-1 to Florian Straub in November 2014
14. ↑ told by either Zähringer-29 or Steurenthaler-1 to Florian Straub in October 2014
15. ↑ Death announcement, Badische Zeitung
16. ↑ Hillard von Thiessen, Rüdiger Hitz: Anhang zu Band 3 der Hinterzartener Schriften "Familie, Arbeit und Alltag in Hinterzarten 1600 bis 1900", p. 214, #1974.10 (unpublished manuscript)
17. ↑ Postcard to Joseph Steurenthaler
18. ↑ Ekkehard Liehl: Geschichte der Hinterzartener Hofgüter I. (1997)

Acknowledgements

• Danny Gutknecht and Schubert-772 for transcription support with the postcard