Thank you Charlie for this information. I knew this book as it is consultable at the CDHF in Guebwiller, and also because is was accessible on the site of the town Hochfelden, Bas- Rhin. Unfortunately I just noticed that it has been removed from this site. Is there a website somewhere where "old" site contents have been saved? The soldiers listed in this book are called "Malgré-nous" (difficult to translate in English). It refers to the men from annexed Alsace and Moselle who were forced during WW2 by the Nazis to act as German soldiers against their will. Because the Nazis didn't trust them, they sent them mostly to the East front, where many of them died. Many came back after months or years of captivity in Russian camps, especially in Tambov. See <http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malgré-nous> and <http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambov > (in French). As to "SP", I would suggest but without enthusiasm "secteur postal" = the localization of the regiment/company at the date of death/missing. What is KIA:MIA? Etienne PS Charlie: received your scans, thanks. Pretty difficult to read! > Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:16:09 -0400 > From: "Charlie" <csherida@tampabay.rr.com> > > Hi, > > Thanks to a friend in France I just received the hard to acquire > oversized paper-bound 1948 - used 2 volume edition "Recueil > Photographique des Disparus du Bas-Rhin - Victimes de la > Conscription Allemande de 1942-1945". These volumes list over 6600 > Alsatians from Bas-Rhin who never returned home after WWII. I > believe that these men (and several women) were either KIA/MIA. > > Everything is written in French and German and these volumes are not > all inclusive as I know of a couple of cousins who were not included. > > The names are listed in alphabetical order and give birth dates and > villages and I believe the place where they died or went missing > along with a photo when available (over 90% have a photo most of > which are portrait). I estimate that 50% of those photos show the > man in uniform. Most appear to be soldiers although there are some > sailors. I can't tell if any were airmen. Also included in some of > the details for many of the men is a SP with a number (example: SP > 19402). Does anyone know the meaning of that code > > I'll do a look up for researchers seeking relatives from that time > period, and from BAS-RHIN Only. I'll need the name and birth > village. > > REMEMBER this is WWII and almost all the men were born in the 20th > century. > > Charlie > csherida@tampabay.r.com