February 10, 2014
Entry #3
There was no question in my mind who I should select as my subject ancestor for the second week of February. Anna Marie Kessler Lindner was my great grandmother and she died in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, on February 13, 1945 – 69 years ago on Thursday. If that date rings a bell, it was the first day of the infamous Allied Forces fire bombing of the city that was known as the “Florence of the Elbe.”
Granted, I am interested in Marie, as she was called, for more reasons than the way she died. Marie represents the shortest branch of my personal tree; and, this is sad since I had ample opportunity to ask my grandfather about his mother and her parents. I have a photo of her parents, identified as “Mom L’s mother and father,” but, sorrowfully, no names are included. Hand-printed around the corner from the i.d. is the place name, “Freiberg, Saxony.” Since the photo was taken in Dresden, I think this is intended to mean that Marie’s parents were from Freiberg. I just regret that I do not know their names.
Marie Kessler was born in Freiberg, Saxony, on November 29, 1861. She married Emil Max Heinrich Lindner in 1887. I am told that her insurmountable fear of sailing is the reason that my grandfather, Richard Max Otto Lindner, was born in Germany instead of the United States. Max Lindner traveled throughout Europe as a young man and then sailed to the United States in 1885. He was listed on the passenger list as a tourist. He did not stay in the US, but returned to Germany to marry Marie. Marie, it is said, was deathly afraid of crossing the ocean. The irony is that she may have been spared a horrific death if she had braved an ocean voyage.
My grandfather and his second wife, Effie Daughters Lindner, traveled to Dresden from Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1937 to celebrate Max and Marie’s 50th wedding anniversary. My Aunt Marian has said that Effie did not think Marie liked her very well. Marian says she has the impression that Marie was rather stern, but she said that this may just have been a matter of cultural differences. Marie doesn’t seem overly stern to me in her photos. I usually see a little trace of a smile on her lips. I love the family photo of the anniversary dinner with everyone gathered together for what must for one of the last times before World War II changed everything.
Max Lindner died before the bombing of Dresden. Marie was left alone to face a tragic death. My mother told me when I was a little girl that Marie died in a basement trying to shelter from the air raid. We would talk about the horrors of the war and the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Mom did not make any excuses for what Hitler did, but she was saddened that Marie was a victim of the Allied attack. This story left an indelible impression on my young mind. I never stopped grieving for Marie, even though I did not know her. My mother also commented that women should be the leaders of nations. If they were, she believed there would be no war.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I learned we probably don’t really know how Marie met her end. It probably was not as simple as dying in the ruins of a basement. The bombing created a firestorm that defies description. There are images of the aftermath in Dresden that are appalling. Just a warning – some are pretty graphic, but I believe that they are necessary to help tell Marie’s story.
Anna Marie Kessler Lindner died a terrible death – one that one that she, like so many others caught in war, did not deserve.
I am a Swede, born in 1931. I am married to Anne-Marie Kessler, who was born in 1933. She is a granddaughter of Oswald Kessler, who was born in Freiberg on April 22, 1863. Oswald Kessler came to Sweden in 1889. He settled here. He married Marie Sörensen in 1890. His wife was born in Flensburg in 1860. Together they had eight children, born from 1891 to 1903.
I visited Freiberg in 1900, together with my wife. There we got some information about he parents of Oswald Kessler. Oswald had an older brother, Hermann Paul Kessler. He also emigrated to Sweden. Paul had 4 children, all born in Sweden.
I have met Kurt Lindner. He also lived in Sweden. He was married to Vilma. They had no children.
Oswald and his brother Paul founded a very successful business in the food area. The company was later run by Oswald alone. Oswald bought a beautiful summer house in the Stockholm Archipelago in 1912. I and my wife now live in this house year round. In 1914, the company mentioned above celebrated its 25 years of existence. We have a picture from this celebration. It was a big party at Oswald’s summer house. Oswald’s mother (and therefore also Anne-Marie’s mother) can be seen in the picture.
Oswald’s mother was Johanna Christiane Kessler, born Strassburger in 1834 in Kleinwaltersdorf near Freiberg. She was married to Friedrich Ernst Kessler, born in 1828 in Kleinschirma near Freiberg.
This is wonderful news! I have hoped for many years to learn what became of my family from Germany. I am not surprised to learn that Uncle Oswald went to Sweden, since I knew that Uncle Kurt had done so. Kurt and my grandfather stayed in touch until the time of Kurt’s. Of course, these are not my uncles, but I heard them spoken of this way for years by my mother (Claire), my aunt (Marian), and my grandfather (Richard Max Otto Lindner). Oswald is my great- granduncle and Kurt is my granduncle. I have quite a few photos and, perhaps, your wife can identify some of the people in them that I don’t know. I would love to send them by e-mail or I could start a separate tab on this blog and post them here. If you haven’t already done so, you can search my blog for family names using the search feature at the top or use the tag cloud for all Lindner related family. Thank you so much for your detailed message. I hope to learn more about the Kesslers. Please give my best regards to your wife. I believe we would be second cousins once removed. You may e-mail me at cherylhartley(at)gmail.com. Just substitute @ for (at). I look forward to sharing with you! Cheryl Biermann Hartley
I saw your lovely picture of Kurt Lindner at age 3, dressed as a girl. We have the counterpart to this in our house: A picture of Kurt’s cousin Albert Kessler, a son of Oswald Kessler, and my father-in-law. When he was about three, he was also dressed as a girl. Albert Kessler was born in 1896.
I got some interesting information about the Kessler family from the Stadtverwaltung in Freiberg. According to this, Anna Maria Kessler had a son, Oskar Paul Kessler, who was born on 1884-05-15 in Freiberg. Oskar Paul first lived with his grand-parents. In June 1896 he went to Sweden. Later, in 1899, he attended a music school in Dippoldiswalde. He moved from Freiberg to Wildsdruff on 1904-03-31. I have no further information about him.
I have some further information about Kurt Lindner. I found a note which said that he was active in WW1, presumably on the German side, and that he came to Sweden after that. But I also know that he was in Sweden on 2014-07-12. The reason for this is that he appears on a photo that was taken that day at Oswald’s summer house, at the 25-year celebration of the company founded by the brothers Paul and Oswald (Bröderna Kessler).
Hello, again. I find what you have written fascinating.
First, are you saying that Anna Maria had a child out of wedlock before she married Emil Max Heinrich Lindner? That is very interesting. I assume there is no record of the father. (OK. I found a military record for Paul Oskar Kessler and it gives Maria Lindner geb Kessler as the mother. He must be a half-brother to my grandfather.)
I spoke with my Aunt Marian (nee Lindner) today. She said that Kurt did fight in WWI, which I did not know. The eldest Lindner brother, Max, was killed in France fighting for Germany. I will write about Max sometime. She also told me that Anna Maria was so afraid of the water that she even refused to take a boat to visit anyone in Sweden.
I am glad you enjoyed the photos. I would like to write more, but it is the eve of tax day in the United States and I am finishing a few last minute details. Plus, I have to finish my blog post for this week. This week will be about my father’s Schatz side of the family.
Each week there is a theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. In two weeks the theme is “Prosper,” and I think I would like to write about the Kessler family in Sweden for that post. It does sound like the family prospered there. If that sounds good to you, perhaps you can help me with some photos from the Kessler family business. I will try to find more relevant photos this weekend.
How interesting that you found a military record for Paul Oskar Kessler! First, I assume that this person is the same as the one that I referred to as Oskar Paul Kessler. In what country did this person serve? Do you have any more information about him, like year of birth, or age? What is the date, or at least year, when this military record was established?
The two brothers Hermann Paul Kessler and Oswald Heinrich Kessler were close during their initial stay in Sweden. Thus, they started the company Bröderna Kessler together. Also, Oswald gave the name Paul to his oldest son, and Paul gave the name Oswald to his oldest son. But later on, the company was run by Oswald alone. The separation between them may have been before 1914. An indication of this is that Paul cannot be found on the photo of all the employees and their families taken in 1914 at Oswald’s summer house.
Is there a way I can contact you directly by email? I can send you the image of the military record for Paul Oskar Kessler. I need some assistance reading it. I can read only a little German.
This is the transcription:
Name: Paul Oskar Kessler
Birth Date: 5 Mai 1884 (15 May 1884)
Birth Place: Freiberg A/VA Dresden Sachsen (Saxony)
Combat Arm: Infanterie
Type of Unit: Feld-Rekrutendepots
Unit: Feld-Rekruten-Depot 1 “Südarmee”
Volume: 10728
The mother is Maria Lindner geb Kessler. The dates in the record range from 1916-1917, if I am reading it correctly. I am sure this is the same person.
Source Citation
Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Mnchen; Abteilung IV Kriegsarchiv. Kriegstammrollen, 1914-1918; Volume: 10728. Kriegsstammrolle
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Bavaria, Germany, WWI Personnel Rosters, 1914-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Kriegsstammrollen, 1914-1918. Bavarian State Archives. Department IV, War Archive, Munich.
Thank you for prompt reply. No question that your Paul Oskar and my Oskar Paul are the same person!
My e-mail address is ingemar(at)kth.se
Did you see the blog entry that I wrote about Oskar Paul Kessler? I hope it meets your approval. Also, did you receive my e-mail of April 17?