Family Letters

I've finally wrapped up a bit of a genealogy project--scanning and transcribing a set of letters that my great-aunt wrote back to her family from Europe while she was with the Red Cross after WWII. I really enjoyed reading them, and I was kind of surprised at just how "long ago" some of the scenes she described sounded to me. My favorite part of the project came near the end of the stack of letters, though. When she was transferred to Schweinfurt, she wrote:

Guess where I'm living at the moment. In an honest to goodness castle. This beautiful castle which is just like a museum with all the armored suits, swords, carvings, figurines, beautiful paintings, etc., belonged to a Nazi named Wm. Saks who is now on trial for having been a War Criminal. He owned a tremendous ball bearing factory.

I thought that all seemed pretty specific, so I spent a few minutes on google and wikipedia and quickly found out that she was in Mainberg Castle. (In her next letter she got the spelling of Sachs corrected--that helped verify things.)

I also found this site, whose author, Don Enderton, writes:

From August 29 to October 2, 1945 my father, a U. S. Army officer, resided in Mainberg castle, near Schweinfurt, Germany.

(Be sure to go look at the pictures.) The internet makes "small world" happenstances even more likely....

(More about Auntie Marge's letters here.)