Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Separated in WWII Camp in 1945, Man Finds Family

George Jaunzemis had no idea he was taken from Germany as a toddler

By the Associated Press

Posted May 19, 2011 8:57 AM CDT

(AP) – A man who was separated from his mother at the end of World War II and raised in New Zealand is meeting his German family for the first time after discovering his true identity. George Jaunzemis, 69, was only a toddler when he was separated from his mother at a Belgian displaced persons camp, according to the International Tracing Service. Jaunzemis' mother searched for her lost son for years, but he had been taken to New Zealand by a Latvian woman who found him in the camp. Jaunzemis stumbled across his story while trying to trace his family's Latvian roots.

A ship bringing back the French prisoners of war, liberated by the Soviet advance, arrived in Odessa, April 6, 1945, in the port of Marseilles, while a large crowd came to greet them. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

13%

74%

13%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

German Doctors Apologize for Holocaust Horrors

Medical association sorry for role physicians played

(NEWSER) - Better very, very late than never. The organization of German physicians has issued an official apology for the role doctors played in the Holocaust. “Outstanding representatives of renowned academic medical and research institutions were involved” in organizing and carrying out the mass extermination of millions, and participating in barbaric medical experiments, said a statement from the German Medical Association, issued six decades after the end of World War II, notes MSNBC . More»

Cops Raid Homes of 6 Ex-SS Soldiers

Germany probing 1944 massacre in occupied France

(NEWSER) - German police have raided the homes of six former SS soldiers suspected of having taken part in the worst massacre of civilians in Nazi-occupied France. A German war crimes prosecutor says the John Demjanjuk trial inspired him to reopen the investigation into the massacre of 642 men, women, and children in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane four days after the D-Day landings in 1944, Der Spiegel reports. More»

Germany Defuses WWII-Era Bomb

Thousands evacuated from city of Koblenz

(NEWSER) - Germany today successfully defused a massive unexploded World War II-era bomb it found in a depleted riverbed in Koblenz, reports the AP , after having evacuated some 45,000 residents. The 1.8-ton bomb could have wreaked serious damage if it exploded. Experts also defused a 275-pound American bomb found alongside it. Before work began, officials went door to door today, checking for residents who had failed to evacuate. Finding unexploded devices is fairly common in the city, which was shelled during the war: 28 other bombs have been uncovered in the past dozen years alone. More»

Bones of Hitler Deputy Exhumed, Burned

Rudolf Hess's grave had become pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis

(AP) - The bones of Adolf Hitler's deputy have been removed from their grave in a small Bavarian town after it became a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. The administrator of the cemetery in Wunsiedel told the AP today that Rudolf Hess' bones were exhumed early yesterday. The remains were cremated and the ashes scattered into a lake whose name is being kept secret. Hess' relatives and Lutheran church authorities in the town both agreed to the solution. More»

Pope Talks About Life Under Nazis

Benedict XVI calls it a 'dark time'

(NEWSER) - German-born Pope Benedict XVI rarely talks about when he was conscripted into the Hitler Youth as a teen. But yesterday, in an audience with a German Catholic group, Benedict made a rare mention of life under the Nazis, calling it a "dark time," reports the AP . "It looked like the continent was in the hands of this power, which put the future of Christianity in doubt," said the pope. The 84-year-old Benedict was forced to join the Hitler Youth in 1941, a time "already marked by war," said the pope, when the Nazis "had already subjugated" much of Europe. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Separated in WWII Camp in 1945, Man Finds Family

George Jaunzemis had no idea he was taken from Germany as a toddler

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Germany • New Zealand • World War II

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

German Doctors Apologize for Holocaust Horrors

Medical association sorry for role physicians played

Cops Raid Homes of 6 Ex-SS Soldiers

Germany probing 1944 massacre in occupied France

Germany Defuses WWII-Era Bomb

Thousands evacuated from city of Koblenz

Bones of Hitler Deputy Exhumed, Burned

Rudolf Hess's grave had become pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis

Pope Talks About Life Under Nazis

Benedict XVI calls it a 'dark time'

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?