Martin Mittelacher manuscript

Collection — Container: Single Folder Collections - 2005 Box 3 (05.0062-05.0100), Folder: 05.0081 - Folder 1

Identifier: 05.0081

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This is an interview transcript of Martin Mittelacher who was in a German Luftwaffe as an aircrew member during World War II.

Dates

1936-1954
Other: Majority of material found within 1936-1945
Other: Date acquired: 05/17/2005
Other: Date accessioned: 2020-05-27

Creator

Mittelacher, Martin (Person)
Oldson, William O. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Martin Mittelacher was born in Essen on February 28, 1924, and grew up in Wiesbaden, which is near Frankfurt. He was a Lance Corporal in the Luftwaffe in 1942, and trained as a radio operator, navigator, and aerial gunner. He attended high school in Wiesbaden, and studied English and American Literature at university after the war. Mittelacher was stationed in Maubeuge, France, which is in Northern France, then transferred to central Germany after three months at an air base near Magdeburg, called “Wolf.” From there he was transferred to Rüder, near Berlin for the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) course. In 1944, his mother was killed in an allied bombing raid, and he was tasked with helping the Gestapo to identify the dead bodies of his town. At the end of the war, he made his way to surrender to the Americans. Based on testimony from a doctor, he was labeled “unfit for being a POW” for a problem with his heart. He was later tasked with interviewing returnees from the Soviet Union. After returning to university, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Jacksonville, Florida. Mittelacher passsed away on March 19, 2018.

Extent

1 folders

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

This collection was donated by Martin Mittelacher. The collection was acquired by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience on May 17, 2005.

Custodial History

Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.

Related Materials

Leni Mittelacher Collection 05.0080

http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_05_0080

Subjects

Bombing, Aerial Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Bombing, Aerial--Germany Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Civil defense Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Essen (Germany) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Germany -- Geheime Staatspolizei
Germany. Luftwaffe
Hitler Jugend
Maubeuge (France) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Wiesbaden (Germany) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
World War, 1939-1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings