Johann Gottfried Hinz (abt. 1805 - 1859)

Born about 18 May 1805 in Prussia

Husband of Dorothee Henriette (Hübner) Hinz — married 2 May 1856 in Wurchow, Kreis Neustettin, Pommern, Prussia

Descendants

Died 18 Jan 1859 at about age 53 in Storkow, Neustettin, Pomerania, Prussia, Germany

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This profile is part of the Heinrich Name Study.

Biography

Johann lived in Nemmin and later moved to Storkow. He was married at least twice.

A large portion of Johann and Caroline's children and grandchildren immigrated to America. Those that stayed were displaced^[1] at the end of WW2 as described in the History of Grunewald (see Sources, below). An excerpt describing the conditions is included below.

In 1949 Melinda Hinderer, great grandchild of Johann and Caroline, wrote a moving letter describing the plight of her cousins who had been displaced to Berlin and Leipzig after the war.

1945-1948 The time of occupation and the expulsion of the inhabitants. The first time after the Russians had occupied the country is said to have been the worst. Many women were raped, the houses were pillaged, and the Russians often destroyed what they could not take with them. Many people were taken prisoners and sent to Russia to work. The conditions there were so bad that a great number of them did not return (at least 8 people of Grunewald died this way). The cattle were confiscated and driven away and all agricultural machinery was transported to Russia.

Things gradually became better when the occupation troops started to get organized; the best thing which could happen to a German family was that the Russians would decide to install the local headquarters in their house. These officers usually were decent people, and at least this family would not have to fear the raping and pillaging.

After some months, the country was handed over to the Polish. More and more Polish people were coming to the towns. They walked through the villages and chose the farms and houses they liked and moved in. They had to buy them from the Polish administration, but to the Germans it looked as if they simply took their property. Some of the new Polish owners sent the German families away, others let them work for their families until they had to leave. This was the hardest time for the Germans - during this time of occupation they were rightless people.

Most of the people of Grunewald had to leave their hometown on Nov. 30, 1945. They were brought to Gramenz, where they were searched and anything of value was taken away (a procedure that was repeated several times during the transport). From Gramenz they were transported by train to Scheune near Stettin. Some people say that they were transported in cattle wagons, others remember wagons with compartments, so the Polish were using whatever they had for these transports. The people who died on these transports were just put down beside the railway tracks when the train stopped - there was no other possibility. This transport ended in the refugee camp of Neustrelitz (East Germany). The conditions in this camp were very bad and many people died of hunger and disease there.

Other transports which included people from Grunewald were in March 1946, April 1946, and August 1947 (to a refugee camp in Kothen/Anhalt, East Germany). One of the transports also went to Schleswig-Holstein (a region north-east of Hamburg). When the men who had been soldiers were released from captivity, they had no home to return to. Many of them had difficulty finding their families.

Name

Uta Hartling describes the name Hinz as follows in the Grunewald History noted in Sources below.

Hinz - dialect form of Heinz, which is a diminutive of Heinrich, which means‘ruler over the village protected by hedges’ (from hagan = Hagen = place protected by hedges; rik = Herrscher = ruler). Sources say that the Hinz family came during the 17th century from the Pomeranian coast to Grünewald.

The anglicized Hinz has become Hintz in America.

Uta's research notes the following office held by a Hinz in the region.

Schulzen in Grünewald-Busch 1841-1855,

Otto Christoph Hinz b. about 1783 - d. about 1855-59

Sources

1. ↑ 1944–50 flight and expulsion of Germans

• LDS Film 1193868
• History of Grunewald, Kreis Neustettin Pomerania located at Materialien aus dem Kreis Neustettin
• Photos of Grunewald and of Neustettin in general.
• Ernst Mielke, Historian