Professional Researchers Tracing YOUR Genealogy
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World War II Presentations
Kathy speaks locally and internationally on a variety of topics. A complete listing of all presentations and publications can be found at Timeline. Her bio page is at www.gentracer.com/ki00029.htm.
Her presentations on Holocaust Research include the following:
"Diversity of Rescuers of the Shoah, 1933-1945" The diversity of rescuers included people from every walk of life all over the world. This presentation expands from Yad Vashem recognition to include many more documented rescuers. They range from diplomats and heads of state to military units, rescue organizations and individuals. Sources and repositories described.
"Ferramonti Concentration Camp in Italy" Out of the 3823 prisoners, only fifty died. One Hundred Forty-One of these prisoners were Italian, the rest having fled from Europe before capture in Italy, Bengasi (Libya) and Rhodes (Greece). Most of the prisoners were Jewish and were able to observe that religion in the Camp. There were also non-Jewish people from China, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The cooperation between the camp staff, prisoners, and the local community enabled this situation in a dark time. Sources and repositories described.
"Italian Concentration Camps during World War II" The fifty-seven known locations of Concentration and Internment Camps run by Fascists in Italy, more or less in cooperation with the German Nazis are described. They ran a range from death camps to work camps to one camp recently described as the "anti-Auschwitz" camp because of the care given to Jewish prisoners there. Those prisoners were from Germany, Austria, France, Eastern Europe, Greece, Yugoslavia, China, and Italy. Most of the prisoners were Jewish, but also others. Sources and repositories described.
"The Vatican as Shoah Rescuer" Using the published research done in recently opened records of the Vatican, plus witness accounts and other research, this claim is well documented. They provided asylum, false identification, and emigration aid to Jews as well as speaking out against the "murder and mistreatment" of Jews from 1938. Sources and repositories described.
Her presentations on Military Research include the following:
"20th Century Canadian Burials in Military Cemeteries World-Wide" Canadian burials can be found in the listings of World War I and World War II military burials worldwide at www.CWGC.org. These listings include several Canadian War Cemeteries because most of the burials in them are Canadian. Not all burials in military cemeteries are military. Burials in military cemeteries include civilians, diplomats, medical personnel, and volunteer aid workers, including women. Most military cemeteries have monuments listing the missing as well as burials of the unknown. Some military burials are in civilian cemeteries.
"20th Century CWGC Burials" This database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) contains WWI and WWII military burials world-wide. Not all burials in CWGC cemeteries are military. Burials include civilians, diplomats, medical personnel, and volunteer aid workers, including women. Most CWGC cemeteries have burials of the unknown as well as Monuments listing the Missing. Some military burials in civilian cemeteries are in this database. Photos of headstones and lists of missing in several CWGC cemeteries are included with a handout with links to repositories.
"20th Century Military Burials in the US, Europe, and World-Wide" Not all burials in military cemeteries are military, they include civilians, diplomats, medical personnel, and volunteer aid workers, including women. Not all military burials served the countries maintaining their cemeteries, some include not only allies, but those they fought. Most military cemeteries have monuments listing the missing as well as burials of the unknown. Some military burials are in civilian cemeteries. Sources and repositories described with links.
"20th Century Polish Military Burials and Cemeteries World-Wide" Polish War Cemeteries are in Europe from WWI, the Polish-Soviet war, and WWII. Many Polish burials are found at www.CWGC.org in the listings of World War II military burials. Polish burials are in cemeteries of the armies in which they fought. Not all burials in military cemeteries are military. Most military cemeteries have monuments listing the missing as well as burials of the unknown. Some military burials are in civilian cemeteries. Chart of Polish burial locations with handout. Photos of Polish burials in several cemeteries in Europe are included.
"Polish Military During WWII" describes the many units of Polish military fighting with the Allies. Some were part of the Polish Government-in-Exile while some were part of the British Military, French Military, and Soviet Military. Others were conscripted into the Nazi German Army. Still more were immigrants or children of immigrants serving in the military of their new homes. Sources and repositories described.
"Polish Military in the Liberation of Italy from the Nazis" After the German and Soviet Invasions of Poland in 1939, soldiers in the Polish Army and civilians were sent to camps in the USSR. Other Poles were conscripted into the German Army. Polish soldiers served in the armies of Germany, the US, Britain (including Palestine), as well as those freed from the USSR who fought alongside the the Allies to Liberate Italy and in the Mediterranean. Sources and repositories described.
"American Military Burials, Cemeteries and Monuments in the US and Around the World" describes American military burials, cemeteries and monuments world-wide. Foreign nationals can be found in American military cemeteries (in the US and abroad) while Americans can also be found in Allied and private cemeteries. Burials in American military cemeteries include civilians. Monuments listing the missing as well as burials of the unknown are also located in these cemeteries. Includes a description of efforts to identify those buried as unknown, as well as more recently discovered remains, using DNA.
Her presentations on Prisoner of War Research include the following:
"20th Century POW Locations and Records in the US, Europe, and World-Wide" Prisoners of War held in the US and other locations were sometimes documented during WWII in records later sent to their respective military services. They included other nationalities who served in those armies. Visits to POW camps world-wide by the Red Cross and the Vatican resulted in records now at those institutions, including lists of prisoners as well as camp conditions. Burials of POWs world-wide resulted in records in some of the above countries and institutions. More information on POWs is also found in other locations and publications. Descriptions of all of the above records and institutions, both online and onsite, are presented in the handout with links.
"20th Century Prisoner of War Camps Across America" Nine WWI POW camps led to 1210 POW WWII camps, hospitals and cemeteries in America, housing over 371,000 Germans, 51,000 Italians, and 5000 Japanese military. They not only gave those prisoners a glimpse of American life, but enabled interaction with Americans leading to friendships and even marriage. These camps were located in every state except Vermont. Sources and repositories described.
"Italian Prisoners of War in the US During WWII" During World War II there were 1,210 POW camps, hospitals and cemeteries for German, Italian and Japanese soldiers in the United States. Among those POWs were 51,000 Italian military. The camps not only gave the Italian prisoners a glimpse of American life, but enabled interaction with Americans and family, leading to friendships and even marriage. About two-thirds of Italian prisoners chose to become Allies and served in Italian Service Units here and as part of the Allied push to liberate Italy. This presentation discusses camp life, work, death, and post-war activities.
Other topics include the following:
"Displaced Persons during WWII, 1938-1970" From Europe to Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and more. They found refuge in camps run by the UN, religious groups, and others around the world. Sources and repositories described.
"Displaced Persons Finding Refuge in America, 1938-1952" About 11 million people in Europe were DPs in 1945, another 40,000 were in UN run camps world-wide. The 1.5 Million remaining in Europe in 1946 increased with another 250,000 by 1948 with those from the expanded Soviet Union. Most Displaced Persons were sheltered in camps run by the UN from 1943. A camp run by the War Refugee Board was in New York from 1944. Another facility run by Quakers was in Iowa from 1940, and camps in Tehran were run by SHAEF from 1942. Polish Resettlement Camps were established in the UK in 1946. From 1944, The Central Tracing Bureau worked to help refugees locate other relatives who survived. More settled in the US than in any other of the 113 countries who offered homes to DPs.
"Enemy Alien Camps Across America" From WWI through WWII, a variety of records reveals the different levels of removal and restriction of Enemy Aliens in the US during wartime. Internees included not only enemy aliens living in the US, but also diplomats of enemy countries and cruise ship crews removed from locations in the US and other countries in South and Central America who sent them to the US. Sources and repositories described.
"The Polish Moses, General Wladyslaw Anders" Transporting the Polish Army from Siberia to Palestine, he started with 70,000 people. Gathering Polish orphans and recruits with families from across USSR, there were 120,000 people upon arrival there, including 5000 Jews. 3000 soldiers left to stay in Palestine while others joined the Polish 2nd Corps to fight in Italy. Sources and repositories described.
Presentations on family history topics are listed at www.gentracer.com/presentations. Follow this link for Kathy's 2025 schedule.
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© Kathy Kirkpatrick 1997-2025
