Still Searching

These are the people I'm still looking for

Photo of young soldiers

Did your own genealogical research bring you to my site while searching for the names Böldicke, Heidemann, Rönnefarth, Lilischkis or Lilienthal? As is probably true for every researcher, I too am still searching for various names and people in my family. If you happen to have information about the people listed below, I'd love to hear from you.


I'm still looking for information on the people listed below: (A note on the spelling of the name Lilischkis: the surname Lilischkies was originally spelled with "ie," and later only with "i".)

Wilhelm Lilischkis/Lilischkies

Wilhelm Lilischkis was born 24 June 1900 (?) and died around 1948. He lived and worked in Memel at least during the 1920s to 1940s. Unfortunately I don't have more precise data — the relatives who provided information were still children at the time, and lost track of their father amid the chaos of war. Wilhelm Lilischkis worked as a track foreman for the railway and was married to Martha Lilienthal. The couple had 10 children. Wilhelm's father was named Emil Lilischkis (*?, † Memel c. 1939), and his mother was Dorothea (maiden name unknown). The Memel address books list the following:
1926 — resident at Weidendammquerstraße 1/3
1929 — resident at Mühlendamm Querstraße 1/3
1931 — Weidendammquerstraße 1-3
1942 — resident at Joh. Schirrmannstr. 17a
Wilhelm Lilischkis also had 3 siblings: John, Emma and Lene. Lene was married to Max Kojellis. Emma never married. After Dorothea and Emil Lilischkis divorced, Dorothea Lilischkis, Max Kojellis and his wife Lene (and presumably Emma Lilischkis too) moved to Niederwürschnitz in the Erzgebirge. In 1942, Dorothea Lilischkis and Max Kojellis were still living at Sandwehrstr. 19 in Memel.

Martha (Marta) Lilischkis, née Lilienthal

Martha Lilischkis, born 12.3.1904, died 23.9.1944 in Ostróda, was fleeing with her children in 1944 and died in September shortly after giving birth to a child in Ostróda (Poland). The child's name is not known for certain (presumably Horst-Dietmar). She was married to Wilhelm Lilischkis; the couple had 10 children. In 1944, Wilhelm visited his wife in Ostróda and was reported missing from then on. We have no further information on Martha Lilischkis, née Lilienthal, so far. Place of birth? Parents?

Lilischkis/Lilischkies, (Horst-Dietmar)?

screenshot - old residency listing, Preussische Allgemeine

Born Ostróda/Poland, 19.09.1944. His mother, Martha Lilischkies née Lilienthal, died shortly after giving birth in the hospital in Ostróda/Poland. The following information comes from the memories of older siblings: his first name might also have been Dietmut, Horst, or Diethardt. He was given to a family in Greifenhagen/Poland (now Gryfino), since his younger siblings couldn't take him along during their flight. He may have moved with his adoptive family to Aachen. The name Horst-Dietmar appears in a 1963 issue of the Ostpreussenblatt, which also lists my grandfather Wilhelm Lilischkies' birth date, previously unknown to me. (Image source: screenshot from http://archiv.preussische-allgemeine.de/1963/1963_01_26_04.pdf)

Lilischkis/Lilischkies, Paul

Paul Lilischkis was born on 09.04.1936 in Memel, where he lived with his family until their flight. In 1944 he was fleeing with his family; his older siblings recall a leg injury. Paul ended up at that time in a children's home in Greifenhagen (Gryfino), Poland — likely because of the more serious leg injury. The other siblings (Eva, Helene, Helga) had to keep moving and leave him behind there. The three girls ended up with foster families in Schwedt an der Oder.

Here I'd also like to link to some very moving accounts of the flight from the Memel region.

Reinhold Wuttke

Reinhold Wuttke was born around 1850 in Ohlau. He was married to Henriette Pusch. The couple had one son: Paul Richard Wuttke, born 10.4.1879 in Ohlau. We have no further information so far.

I'd love to hear about these people, and of course about anyone else in my family tree!