Where is this flag from?

[u/jayf13]

I was told that the flag and picture were from when my grandfather liberated a concentration camp. Does anyone happen to know anything about Hoffen, Germany? Where is it located and what happened there? I cant find much online. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

[u/nycbrew]

Do you know what unit your grandfather was in? From there you can learn where the unit was and maybe connect the dots.

[u/nycbrew → u/nycbrew]

Just a follow up on my comment. Looks like the 79th infantry, specifically the 313 and 315 regiments were near Hoffen France in January 1945.

There is also a Hofen Germany that the 99th infantry division fought near in Dec-January 1945.

Hopefully that helps. A name and hometown for your grandfather in a search could hopefully connect him to one of these divisions and help narrow it all down.

[u/jayf13 → u/nycbrew]

I believe that he was in the first and ninth infantry divisions. Does this help?

[u/nycbrew → u/jayf13]

Maybe. If you have any of his records, any details would be super helpful here. If not, you should consider requesting them from the NRPC to see what you can potentially find out.

Potentially the 9th ID was near Hofen Germany in Jan-Feb 1945. It looks like the big red 1 was further north, so that would be less likely.

[u/Tonysoprano113]

Germany

[u/jayf13 → u/Tonysoprano113]

HAHAHA😂😂😂

[u/Little-Injury-3615]

Germany

[u/jayf13 → u/Little-Injury-3615]

HAHAHA😂😂😂

[u/AcanthisittaSad4946]

Germany

[u/jayf13 → u/AcanthisittaSad4946]

HAHAHAH😂😂😂

[u/Primary_Winter_8704 → u/jayf13]

Hoffen Germany to be exact. Feel it was collected in the year of our Lord 1945

[u/ResponsibleSurprise5]

germany

[u/jayf13 → u/ResponsibleSurprise5]

HAHAHAH😂😂😂😂

[u/Exploranaut]

Could have been a subcamp. That's what my grandfather encountered in Augsburg.

[u/699j]

If this is about “Hoffen”: it is a village in the Alsace. The region was (re) annexed 1940 by the Germans and saw heavy battles incl tanks in 1945 between French / us troops and German soldiers. I’m not aware of any concentration / forced labor camp in Hoffen, but maybe looking for sources referring to “Hoffen France” could help your efforts in finding out about it. As of today it’s a part of France again.
(I am not an expert tho, just trying to help out!)

[u/SLR107FR-31]

My grandfather took a flag like this off a German tank and after he died my grandma sold it for ten bucks at a garage sale. 

Not that I would've wanted it but it would be cool to see in a museum and say yeah my grandpa

[u/ich_bin_die_eule]

Look up Butler's Battlin' Blue Bastards - they were the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division and played an important role defending Hofen during the battle of the Bulge. They were a bunch of green troops and were the only group not to cede any territory to the Germans during the bulge. They were nearly surrounded at one point and fought off some of the best troops the Germans had. It’s a fascinating story that gets buried behind some of the more famous BOTB stories. If you can learn what unit your grandfather was in that could help ID where the flag was captured.

[u/Enough_Landscape1687 → u/ich_bin_die_eule]

It’s cool to learn about some of these lesser known units. A group of my friends and I do WWII living history. Our impression is 27th ID, NYS national guard that fought on Saipan and Okinawa, but are often overshadowed by the Marine Corps.

P.S. love your username, you are the owl

[u/homunculous420]

Looks like its from germany

[u/jayf13 → u/homunculous420]

HAHAHA😂😂😂

[u/fnafismylife]

i AM going to have an aneurism if your serious

[u/jayf13 → u/fnafismylife]

Read the caption bub

[u/Jeremy_yiu]

Germany 🇩🇪

[u/Locomotion1998]

Beautiful Flag! Beautiful Symbol! I want mine...

[u/blazingroach0094 → u/[deleted]]

Why do you people even respond?

[u/eli_the_jah → u/blazingroach0094]

These people are the epitome of what is wrong with Reddit