The purpose of this website is to tell the story of the life and times of my Austrian grandfather, Josef Kolbe. Though some of the documentation went missing in the upheaval caused by two world wars and several house moves, my grandfather took great care in preserving his papers, books, certificates, photos, paintings, etc., so my thanks for making this website possible go firstly to Josef Kolbe himself. Thanks are no less due to the family members who brought the events behind the documentation to life and illustrated them with anecdotes, in particular to my mother Ilse Kolbe, my aunt Gerda Kolbe, their cousin Freya Englisch and my uncle Dr. Alfred Müllner. Several individuals who provided information and help are worthy of a particular mention:
– Jindřich Galda, former mayor of Třemešná (ex Röwersdorf) and his niece who kindly showed me around the town,
– Dr. Erich Rabl, former teacher at the Horner Gymnasium and local historian, who provided me with many documents from the Horn archives relating to Josef Kolbe,
– Antonio Brunello, my guide to the right flank of Monte Seluggio,
– the friendly Slovene who accompanied me up Monte San Gabriele,
– Christine Pennison and her colleagues at the Pisa Archives for the information on Calci,
– Bruna Battaglini for her information and photos on the Certosa di Pisa (and her home-made lemon liqueur),
– Antonella Gioli, researcher and lecturer in museum studies, University of Pisa,
– Anna Salvadorini, freelance researcher,
– Mariapina Di Simone, director of the reading room at the Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Rome, for dedicating half a day of her precious time to my research,
– Herta Schmudermayer for her books and information on Mödring,
– Günter Ofner for his vast knowledge of the Habsburg Empire and for introducing me to church registers of Austrian Silesia,
– Wilfried Gesierich, Ortsbetreuer für Johannesthal, for drawing up my first family tree and accompanying me to the Röwersdorf reunion of 2006,
– Dr. Hans Minderer for deciphering Josef Kolbe’s almost illegible handwriting,
– my Austrian cousins for entrusting me with most of the Kolbe documentation and photographs,
– my husband for chauffeuring me to most of the places mentioned on this site and for his patience.
The direct links for each chapter are mentioned at the foot of the relevant webpage. Some are repeated here, along with a number of others from which I have drawn information and/or which provide good background reading.
Austria:
Austro-Hungarian Army 1914-1918: http://austrianphilately.com/dixnut/index.htm
Österreich-Ungarns Letzter Krieg 1914-1918: http://honsi.org/literature/svejk/dokumenty/oulk
AustriaN Newspapers Online: http://anno.onb.ac.at
A rich source of information on the Habsburg Empire: http://familia-austria.at
Czech Republic / Sudetenland:
Třemešná (ex Röwersdorf) website: http://www.tremesna.cz
Röwersdorf (Třemešná) Parish Registers: http://vademecum.archives.cz
Many ancestors in common: http://www.users.on.net/~fsalzbor (see “Salzborn in Röwersdorf” at bottom of page)
Many ancestors in common: http://www.czakai.de/wordpress/genealogie/ahnenliste-czakai
Sudetenland forum: http://list.genealogy.net/mm/listinfo/sudeten.bms-l
Romania / Transylvania:
Austrian Timişoara (ex Temesvár) http://art-historia.blogspot.fr/2010/11/timisoara-austriaca.html
Archives of the Black Church, Kronstadt: http://www.honterus-archiv.ro
Transylvanian Institute:http://www.siebenbuergen-institut.de
Transylvanian Saxon association: http://www.siebenbuerger.de
Transylvania forum: http://list.genealogy.net/mm/listinfo/siebenbuergen-l
Slovenia:
Kobarid (ex Caporetto) Museum: http://www.kobariski-muzej.si/eng
Solkan (ex Sollingen) War Museum: http://www.potmiru.si/eng/vojni-muzej-solkan
Isonzo front through surround photography: http://www.burger.si/ww1_map_eng.html
Italy:
Rome Archives: http://www.acs.beniculturali.it
Archives of the History of the Army: http://www.esercito.difesa.it/storia/grande-guerra
Rovereto War Museum: http://www.italiamappe.it/arte_cultura/musei_mostre/14084__Museo-Storico-Italiano-della-Guerra
Pisa Archives: http://www.aspisa.beniculturali.it
Museum of the Certosa: https://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/opencms/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Luogo/MibacUnif/Luoghi-della-Cultura/visualizza_asset.html?id=154698&pagename=157031
Germany:
German Federal Archives: www.bundesarchiv.de
Information on members of the German armed forces: http://www.dd-wast.de
Hamburg Library: http://www.sub.uni-hamburg.de/startseite.html
Berlin Library: www.zlb.de
Antiquarian books clearing house: http://www.zvab.com
General:
English language wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org
German language wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org
Google maps and photos: https://maps.google.com
Google translate: http://translate.google.com
Military forum: http://list.genealogy.net/mm/listinfo/militaer-l
The photos that illustrate these pages are from the Kolbe family photo collection or by the author, unless otherwise stated or where linked to an outside source.