Erhard Emil Miegel

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NSDAP
Only the membership of Paul Miegel, the father of Erhard Miegel, could be established in the Gau index at the Federal Archives Berlin (formerly BDC).
The membership number is: 929710.

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Education
Regarding Erhard Miegel’s school education, only the following was known: that he attended a higher school by means of a scholarship.
It was apparently planned that Erhard would pursue a career in the civil service.

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According to report dated 01.01.1942 / 03.07.1942	3. Kompanie Sturm-Regiment
According to report dated 13.07.1942	I. Bataillon Sturm-Regiment
According to report dated 04.03.1943 .	Fallschirmschule III, 4. Schülerkompanie
According to report dated 30.12.1944	Panzer-Brigade 150

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Promotions to higher ranks
17.12.1942	Schütze
30.12.1944	Unteroffizier

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On 26.11.1942, Erhard Miegel came from the troop into Field Hospital 330; the reason was not recorded.
On 02.12.1942, he was transferred via the casualty collection point.
On 17.12.1942, Erhard Miegel arrived at the Reservelazarett Leubus (Lubiąż) / Oder. The cause was his broken left middle finger. The admission took place via a casualty collection point.
On 14.01.1943, Erhard Miegel was then fit for garrison duty and was able to leave the hospital, heading homeward to the Fallschirmjäger Ersatz-Regiment 1 in Stendal.

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The Family History
The sister-in-law of Erhard Miegel described the family history as follows: The father of Erhard Miegel was originally a poultry breeder. Owing to a serious war wound in the Second World War, however, he could no longer pursue his profession. The family moved to Pabianitz (Pabianice); the town lies in the centre of Poland. Paul Miegel worked there at the Landratsamt. Erhard Miegel had a position with the city administration of Pabianitz. There still exists a letter from Erhard Miegel to his parents; this last letter, however, contains only private matters. The content is therefore of no further interest to us. Only the place and the date — where and when the letter was written — should be mentioned here. The letter was written on 22.11.1944 in Altneuhaus, where the Grafenwöhr troop training ground is located.
The preparations for Greif were therefore in full swing. To what extent Erhard informed his brother about the events can no longer be said today. The parents had no idea what their son Erhard had become involved in. During his last visit home, shortly before Christmas, Erhard Miegel said that the war was lost.
There is a photo on which it can be seen that Erhard Miegel is being awarded the EK.II Kl. (Iron Cross 2nd Class). On the photo it can clearly be seen that the men are standing in the snow. Since the certificate belonging to the decoration has been lost, the date of the award can no longer be stated. In the photo he is wearing a second badge. Although it is not really discernible, it can only be the Fallschirm-Schützen-Abzeichen (Paratrooper Marksman Badge). Photographs of Erhard Miegel — he was rather tall, of strong build, with dark blond hair combed back — will not be published, as his brother would never have agreed to this. To this we all feel committed.
The loss of the brother, but above all the circumstances of his death, also tore deep wounds in this family. Therefore, this subject was rarely touched upon within the family. After the war, Erhard Miegel’s brother threw the EK. II Kl. into the Rhine. Only a few documents have been preserved. In the family’s possession is the death certificate from the Red Cross in Geneva. Unlike the certificate of Rolf Meyer, this is a negative, a carbon copy, on thin cardboard. It is not the only difference compared with the Rolf Meyer certificate. The second difference lies in the size. The Meyer certificate is in A4 format. The Erhard Miegel certificate is barely A5 format.
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American death certificate. Source: Family possession

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Official notification of death from the German authorities, however with incorrect information. Source: Family possession

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The death notice for Erhard Miegel appeared in 1948 in a daily newspaper. Source: Family possession

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The following passage from the Report of Operations of the First US Army is interesting because later an independent source also confirms that prisoners of war of the US Army were also held at the citadel in Huy. By contrast, in most sources one only finds that German prisoners of war were held there during the war. On Wikipedia it merely states that the Belgian justice system briefly maintained an internment camp there after the war.
First United States Army Report of Operations
Individual suspects arriving at the army interrogation center, who upon completion of interrogation, were determined to be of a category other than that necessitating permanent internment, were released to the following agencies:
Dutch Authorities
Luxembourg Authorities
Belgian Authorities
Displaced Persons Camp (Verviers)
Displaced Persons Camp (Homburg)
Prisoner of War Enclosure
Twelfth Army Group Interrogation Center
Polish Recruiting Office
French Gendarmerie
ETOUSA G-2
First Army G-5
On 31 December this installation was moved to the Citadel, Huy, Belgium, where it remained until 20 February 1945 when it displaced forward to the same location as the Army PWE at Welkenraedt.
3. Military Commission
During the month of December 1944, pursuant to Military Commission Orders #1, 2, and 3, the following named enemy prisoners were executed by musketry at the Master Interrogation Center, Henri Chapelle, Belgium, These prisoners had entered our lines dressed in the uniform of the American Army with the dual mission of committing acts of sabotage and obtaining information which would he useful to the enemy:
Oberfaehnrich Guenther Billing,
Unit Stielau, Headquarters Solar
Obergefreiter Wilhelm Schmidt,
Unit Stielau, Headquarters Solar
Unteroffizier Manfred Pernass,
Unit Stielau, Headquarters Solar
Leutnant Charles William Wiesenfeld,
Einheit Stielau, Stab Solar,
150th Panzer Brigade, German Army
Feltwebel Manfred Bronny,
Einheit Stielau, Stab Solar,
150th Panzer Brigade, German Army
Stabsgefreiter Hans Reich,
Einheit Stielau, Stab Solar,
150th Panzer Brigade, German Army
Leutnant Arno Krause,
alias Private Josef Kinsey
Leutnant Zur See Guenther Schilz,
alias Corporal John Weller
Unteroffizier Erhard Miegel,
alias Private James Smith
Obermaschinemaat Horst Göerlich,
alias Private Walter Verge
Obergefreiter Robert Pollack,
alias Second Lieutenant Charly Holtzman
Obergefreiter Rolf Benjamin Meyer,
alias Second Lieutenant Sammy Rosner
Obergefreiter Hans Wittsack,
alias Private Alfred Rozanski
Federal Archives Department PA, formerly Deutsche Dienststelle Berlin (WASt)
The index card*, of the central personnel file, of Erhard Miegel was inspected by me in March 2021. On 27.03.1945 it was noted that Erhard Miegel, according to the troop loss report, has been missing in the Malmedy area since 23.12.1944. The relatives were said to have been informed of this on 22.01.1945. On 03.01.1948 it became known that Erhard Miegel had been executed on 30.12.1944 in Henri-Chapelle; the Death Certificate is cited. The death certificate was forwarded to Paul Miegel.
*_{Signature see source reference.}

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Information from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva
(International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC)
The death certificate of Erhard Miegel, RAD 93341, is still in the family’s possession. Therefore one can say with certainty that such a certificate which passed through the Red Cross was indeed provided with a RAD number.
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American death certificate. Source: Family possession

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German War Cemetery Lommel, Belgium. Photo: © Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers.

The spelling of the surname was already raised by the family decades ago with the German War Graves Commission (Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge), as one can see, without success.