Wilhelmine Anna Henriette (Unknown) Miether (abt. 1885 - aft. 1952)

Born about 1885 in Duisburg, Germany [uncertain]

Died after 1952 after about age 67 in Siegen, Germany [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jennifer Fulk [send private message]

The Letter

Envelope, from field: [shorter than name, looks like "Mise", hard to decipher]

Envelope, to field: Martha Roof [Da?]nnon Court Delaware, Ohio U.S.A.

Stamped: Frau Wilhelmine Miether (21b) Siegen | Westf., Bleichweg 6

Writing at top of letter: British zone [other writing] Siegen, 31.8.47 [Which is August 31, 1947]

The letter written by Wilhelmine, translated in pencil by a college professor in Delaware, Ohio, U.S.A.:

" Dear Miss Martha Roof! I found your address in a pair of shoes which were given to me at a distribution center. I needed the shoes badly and I very heartily thank you for your help. I want to tell you now about myself. I used to live in Duisburg, a large industrial city. There my dear husband and I lost everything in the war in an air raid. Then we went to Siegen to our children. We received 2 mobile rooms. On the 10th of Dec 194[4?] we moved [in?]. On the 16th of Dec. there was a terrible raid and we spent 6 days as if we were in the street. That happened twice in 8 weeks. My dear husband whose health had failed badly died on the 16th of March 194(5?). I live now with my children in Siegen since my youngest son was killed in 1942 in the war. It was very hard for me, to lose two dear men and all my worldly possessions. I am 62 years old and because of physical suffering [I'm] very emaciated. I have lost 60 pounds. The dear Lord has imposed very great hardship on me but he also helps me to bear it each day, I feel. "

There may be more in the letter, but this is all I can see from images provided in the listing from the seller. Link to the listing for sale is in the sources below if you are interested.

Biography

Wilhelmine (Unknown) Miether has German Roots.

Wilhelmine Lengling was born aroung 1885, probably in or near Duisburg. (She was 62 years old in 1947.)

She was married to Ernst Otto Miether +1945).^[1]

1910 to 1912 their address was Goethestraße 5 in Ruhrort ^[2]

In 1910 son Otto Karl Johannes was born and died 2 month old. ^[3] In 1912, son Georg Karl Bruno was born and died only 21 days later. ^[4]

In the next years the couple has more children, this can be seen in the letter.

1931 they live in Grünstraße 52a in Duisburg-Hamborn (Bruckhausen) and her husband is working as "Rendant" for the Protestant Parish in Duisburg, Plessingstr. 36. (That means he is the Church treasurer, manages the Churches money). ^[5]

They live in the same house until it is destroyed in an air raid. But the street name changes 1933 from Grünstraße to Johann-Broweleit-Straße. (Today it is called Dieselstraße). Otto now works as "Bürovorsteher" (head clerk in an office) ^[6]

The letter tells about Wilhelmines wartime experiences.

We do not know when she died., but in 1952, she is still alive in Siegen. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Her and Ottos complete names are given in their sons death certificates.
2. ↑ Adress also given in their sons death certificates.
3. ↑ Death certificate Otto Karl Johannes, 1910 Duisburg Ruhrort II
4. ↑ Death certificate Georg Karl Bruno, 1912, Duisburg-Ruhrort II
5. ↑ Duisburger Adressbuch 1931 - Churches / Duisburger Adressbuch 1931
6. ↑ Duisburger Adressbuch 1935 / Duisburger Adressbuch 1937 / Duisburger Adressbuch 1939
7. ↑ Adressbuch Siegen 1952

• Historic maps for Duisburg can be found in the Historisches Geoportal Duisburg

• A listing I found on Esty of a letter from Frau (German equivalent of "Mrs.") Wilhelmine Miether. It is for sale for $27 USD at https://www.etsy.com/listing/462360614/post-wwii-letter-from-the-british-sector? for those interested. In case it is not sold to those interested on WikiTree, I am uploading the images here for those interested in doing research for this profile.
  • On listing by sallys4025, the listing's description: " This is a letter I found while digging at a college professors home in Delaware[, Ohio]. She and her husband both spoke many languages. I found books in Latin and Greek which had note pads with the books translated in English ....just for practice along with Spanish, French and German. This letter shows the desperation of war and the toll it took on, even the enemy['s citizens, such as Wilhelmine]. I don't know if she [Martha Roof] continued to help her or even wrote her back. I found no other letters. This was forgotten and found tucked away in an old book. Feel free to ask about shipping if outside the US. "

• In regards to the Martha Roof she wrote to, there is a 1940 U.S. Census record of a Martha Roof, age 5. In 1947, she would have been 12 years old.

• With some research on age and U.S. shoe size (Note: Since the 1880s, shoe sizes have been about the same as modern shoe sizes, so the size in 1947 would be the same in modern shoes), it's safe to assume the shoes were about a Women's shoe size 7 or 7.5. This reflects the fact that "20 years ago" (likely also in 1947, which was 75 years ago), "the average German woman's shoe size was 38", which is 7.5 in U.S. Women's shoe size.
  • The German shoe size fact mentioned was answered by a native German, Simone Ines Lbr, answering a question on Quora (a question/answer website) in 2018. (The question was asking what the most common female shoe size was in Germany, which they answered with the fact, as well as the answer of 39 and 40, stating that women have become taller in Germany.)