Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Gustav Wehrs Collection
Date(s)
- 1943-2003 (Creation)
Extent
1 box
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gustav Wehrs was born December 29, 1915, in Nendorf, Germany. He had 5 brothers and 2 sisters, and was the 5th child born to his parents. His father was a farmer, and worked on a farm which had been in the family line for generations. He went to school in Nienberg, Germany, becoming a teacher after he graduated. He then taught school in Nienburg. In April of 1937, when Wehrs was 21 years old, he joined the Germany Army, because he could not avoid the compulsory signup any longer on the grounds of his profession. He was promoted to NCO in 1939, and promoted again to sergeant in 1942.
In 1943, he participated in the Battle of the Aegean, fighting in the battles for Kos and Leros before being captured by British soldiers. He spent the rest of the war in Egypt as a prisoner of war. He returned to Germany in 1947 or 1948, via ship. Four of his brothers had died in Russia during the war. Wehrs took over running the family farm after his father died on April 6, 1948, and also married in July of that year to his wife, Annemarie. They had two children, a son and daughter, and continued to live on the farm in Nendorf until 1958, when it was sold. The Wehrs then moved to Bremen, where Gustav got a job, and then later on to Hamburg, where he worked with electronics manufacturers.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains correspondence from Gustav Wehrs to David Chapman and Dr. Robert H. Carpenter, regarding the donation of his life's memories as part of the Military collection to Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M. Included is a translated account of his experiences during the Battle of the Aegean in 1943, and an account of the early years of his life he had typed in his native German language.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
These materials are stored offsite and require additional time for retrieval.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
- German
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Dr. Robert H. Carpenter, 2003.
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Authors: Lyndsey Raney.
Archivist's note
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