Romania Research - HENSEL- Advice Please

[miwb]

Hi all,

I am trying to find out more information about my partner's grandfather Helmut HENSEL.

I know his date of birth (14 November 1918) and his father's name (Michael HENSEL) and that they were both mechanics.

On his death certificate it states that Helmut was born in Romania but gives no further location.

He moved to England sometime before or during 1949. He married and settled in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to find out more about him ? There are unfortunately no family members that can help with information.

Would there of been records kept of his arrival in England  ?

Any help or advice gratefully received.

[Peonie]

Hello miwb and welcome to RootsChat,

Many Germans migrated to the Banat in Romania. You can google  - Banat Hensel or Donauschwaben and you will find a lot. You can find the history of Banat here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banat.

You may find naturalization papers at the National Archives and perhaps find out a bit more.

Good luck, Peonie

added: another good place to look  -  http://www.dvhh.org/research/ds_research.htm

[miwb]

Hello miwb and welcome to RootsChat,

Many Germans migrated to the Banat in Romania. You can google  - Banat Hensel or Donauschwaben and you will find a lot. You can find the history of Banat here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banat.

You may find naturalization papers at the National Archives and perhaps find out a bit more.

Good luck, Peonie

added: another good place to look  -  http://www.dvhh.org/research/ds_research.htm

Thanks for the reply Peonie, I'll give it a try.

[Bluebird Research]

To expand upon what Peonie wrote...

i) It sounds as though Mr Hensel was a UN-registered Displaced Person who was resettled here after WW2. Records do exist for DPs but can be minimal - however, if nothing else, they usually give place of birth, which is essential for the next step (record keeping for Romania being decentralised).

ii) True, there were many Germans in the Banat (now divided between Serbia and Romania) but there were many others elsewhere in Romania, not least in Transylvania. Those in Banat were generally described as Swabians; the Transylvanians as Saxons. There were other pockets in Satu Mare (known as Sathmar Germans), Bukovina and Dobruja on the Black Sea coast. This is why it is vital to find out where Mr Hensel came from to have any real prospects of success.

I see he was naturalised as a British subject on 22 December 1954. I believe naturalisation records of that date are closed documents but you could make a Freedom of Information application to the Home Office to obtain a copy. This is their email address FOIRequests@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk 

[miwb]

To expand upon what Peonie wrote...

i) It sounds as though Mr Hensel was a UN-registered Displaced Person who was resettled here after WW2. Records do exist for DPs but can be minimal - however, if nothing else, they usually give place of birth, which is essential for the next step (record keeping for Romania being decentralised).

ii) True, there were many Germans in the Banat (now divided between Serbia and Romania) but there were many others elsewhere in Romania, not least in Transylvania. Those in Banat were generally described as Swabians; the Transylvanians as Saxons. There were other pockets in Satu Mare (known as Sathmar Germans), Bukovina and Dobruja on the Black Sea coast. This is why it is vital to find out where Mr Hensel came from to have any real prospects of success.

I see he was naturalised as a British subject on 22 December 1954. I believe naturalisation records of that date are closed documents but you could make a Freedom of Information application to the Home Office to obtain a copy. This is their email address FOIRequests@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk 

Many thanks for that.

Is it possible to obtain Displaced Person records and if so how?

I will try a FOIR request. What information would I need to provide?

Thanks again.

[Bluebird Research]

re the DPs, only in person, I think, in Germany, Israel or USA at the moment.

Best to try naturalisation first. The FOI application should be in the name of your partner, as the grandson: I am sure the application will be successful.

This TNA Research Guide gives more information: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=242&j=1

Good luck!

[carinthiangirl]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvanian_Saxons
http://www.flaggenlexikon.de/fsiebenb.htm
http://www.herzovision.de/hans-werner.krempels/HW-saxon.htm

there was a Friedrich Hensel of Kronstadt, Siebenbürgen, Romania:
http://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/verschiedenes/9187-friedrich-hensel-ein-siebenbuergischer.html

also to find a writer Klaus Hensel from Kronstadt:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Hensel

http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaEthno/maps/burzenland.htm
http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaHistory/minority-saxons.htm
http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/fortified,siebenb%C3%BCrgen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb48EZCN0ls

[carinthiangirl]

it´s stated that Hensel Transylvanian Saxons once came from BADEN (Durlach) in Germany at 1748 to Deutschpien/Pianu de Jos, Romania:
http://members.aon.at/fresh/namensemantik.htm
orgin of Hensel-name comes about the firstname Johannes (John).

Durlach is east of Karlsruhe:
http://maps.google.at/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&channel=s&hl=de&q=Durlach&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durlach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden
http://www.siebenbuerger.de/ortschaften/deutschpien/

this person possible has Hensel from Romania in his familytree:
http://visitenkarten.genealogy.net/_vkt_page.php?lng=xx&p=@D%FCrr&t=188