RARE 1945 WWII German Document Soviet Russian POW Soldier Killed in Air Raid! Death Record – Iwan Demerenko

Original WWII German “Nachweis über Sterbefall eines Kriegsgefangenen” — official record concerning the death of a prisoner of war — documenting Russian/Soviet POW Iwan Demerenko, who was killed at Rodalben in January 1945.

This is an especially interesting POW document because, unlike many surviving death certificates that record disease, Demerenko’s stated cause of death appears to read:

“Tod durch Fliegerangriff” — “Death due to air attack / air raid.”

The document records that he died at Rodalben on January 16, 1945 at approximately 12:00 noon, during the final months of WWII.

Detailed Translation & Information

Document heading:
Nachweis über Sterbefall eines Kriegsgefangenen
Translation: Record concerning the death of a prisoner of war

Nationality: Russe — Russian

Surname: Demerenko
First name: Iwan (Ivan)

Rank: Soldat — Soldier

Birthplace: Appears to read Petropawlowska / Petropavlovskaya

Year of birth: 1911 — another year appears to have been crossed out/corrected on the original form.

Next of kin: The handwritten family information appears to identify Marta Demerenko, with the address noted as unknown (unbekannt). Additional geographical references appear to include Krasni, Temrjukskij and Krasnodar, placing his home information in the Krasnodar region of the Soviet Union.

Last military unit: Not entered.

POW / identification number: 27013

Cause of Death

The handwritten entry under “Todesursache” (cause of death) appears to read:

“Tod durch Fliegerangriff”

Translation:

“Death due to air attack.”

The document records:

Date of death: January 16, 1945
Time: approximately 12:00 noon
Place: Rodalben

The sections for illness, accident and suicide are essentially marked as not applicable, consistent with the separately recorded death from an air attack.

Demerenko would have been approximately 33–34 years old when he was killed.

Burial Information

Place: Rodalben
Province: Westmark

Cemetery: The handwriting appears to read Gemeinschaftsfriedhof in Rodalben — community/municipal cemetery at Rodalben.

Burial date: January 17, 1945
Burial time: 2:00 PM

Thus, according to the document, Demerenko was buried the day after his death.

Signatures & Official Stamp

The bottom of the document carries original handwritten authorization/signatures as well as an official circular German wartime ink stamp.

The printed fields include:

“Arzt-Unterschrift” — Doctor’s signature

and

“Lagerarzt” — Camp doctor

A handwritten doctor’s signature is present.

The lower left also contains the printed designation “Fw. u. Kreiskontroll-Offz.”, together with another handwritten signature.

These administrative markings add considerably to the historical character of the document.

Historical Context

By January 1945 the Western Front had reached the wider Saar-Palatinate region and Allied air activity was extensive. Rodalben lies in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, southwest Germany.

This document is particularly noteworthy because it records a Soviet prisoner of war apparently killed during an air attack while still in German custody.

Rather than merely documenting a death from illness, it connects an individually identified Soviet POW directly with the aerial warfare taking place over Germany during the closing months of WWII.

Demerenko’s death occurred only a few months before Germany’s surrender.

The document should also be viewed within the wider history of Soviet POWs in German captivity. Millions of Red Army personnel became German prisoners during the war, and Soviet POWs experienced exceptionally severe conditions including forced labor, inadequate nutrition, disease and high mortality.

In this particular case, however, the document specifically attributes Demerenko’s death to an air attack, and that is the cause stated in the listing rather than assuming any additional circumstances not established by the document.

Condition

Original period document showing expected age toning, handling/storage wear, punched filing holes, corner and edge wear, small marks and general age-related wear. Original blue handwritten entries, signatures and official ink stamp remain visible.

The reverse is an unrelated reused/printed administrative form, an interesting example of wartime paper use.

Please examine all photographs carefully for exact condition, handwriting and details.

Item is sold exactly as shown.

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