littledesertfox

[littledesertfox]

I've been a bit absent here because real life's been busy, however some important deadlines are done with now and I feel like posting again! Starting with a smaller post (well, at least I thought so) as I'm still taking my time to rest a bit, but today I want to share a couple interesting things about Fritz' father Donat Bayerlein that I've recently come across:

First up we have his birth/baptism entry in the baptismal register of his home village Bütthard. A while ago I've found out about this super interesting site called Matricula Online, that has digital scans of a whole bunch of church documents (mainly baptism, marriage and death registers) from a few different countries. Super useful for family research, but I thought it would also be fun to look up historical figures and find out more about them from primary sources.

According to this entry, his full name was Donat Joseph Franz Bayerlein and he was the second-born child of his parents (their first, a son named Joseph, died only 3 weeks after his birth though). His father was Michael Joseph Bayerlein, a merchant, and his mother's name was Barbara (I had trouble deciphering her maiden name but according to the parents' marriage entry it's Meckel). They were both Catholic (the most common Christian confession in Bavaria) and lived in house number 77 - the village was so small that it didn't have any street names. Donat was born on the 28th of March 1861 at 3 in the morning, and baptised about 12 hours later in the afternoon on the same day. I admit I was too lazy to decipher the names of the pastor and the godparent though😅 Reading this old style of cursive handwriting can be challenging, although I feel it does get easier with practice.

Of course I also tried finding Fritz' own entry, but it showed to be much harder, for once because he was born in Würzburg which is a bigger town and I had to look through the records of a whole bunch of different churches (whereas in villages and small towns usually everything is in one place), but also because Würzburg was subjected to heavy bombing during WW2, and some of the books may have gotten lost or destroyed. So far, I could find neither the parents' marriage entry nor any of the children's baptism notes. However, I'm also not sure if they could even be found in the Catholic records in the first place. First of all, since Donat was Catholic and Louise Protestant I'm not sure if they were even able to have a regular church wedding in either confession. I'm not that well-read on the topic but according to a quick Google search, marriage between partners of different confessions in Germany was really difficult (and heavily frowned upon) until way into the 20th century. Maybe they only had a civil marriage after all, Fritz' biography unfortunately doesn't give any detail on that. It only mentions that the children were baptised (I'm assuming Catholic, as it was the primary confession in the region and also since back in the day the father's affiliation probably held more weight). Based on the book, it doesn't seem like religion held a particularly important weight in the Bayerlein family in general though (later in life, Fritz would switch multiple times between listing his mother's or father's religion as his own on official documents, simply depending on whichever he assumed to be favoured by authorities in the situation), so maybe they just did it as it was customary and to avoid questions, and otherwise didn't really care.

The second interesting thing I found was Donat's name showing up in an annual report of the University of Music in Würzburg. It's from the school year of 1877/78, meaning he was 16/17 years old at the time. He's listed as a "Hospitant", from my understanding this means he wasn't a regular but kind of a "guest student", and took classes for violin and choir singing.

Lastly, I found a digital version of an entire book which Donat wrote! It's about the Peasant's Revolt that took place in Würzburg in 1525 and was published in 1925 for the 400th anniversary of the event. This is the only one of Donat's works that I could actually find, but according to Fritz' biography, he also enjoyed writing poetry and plays in his free time besides his job as a civil servant, and was even decently successful with it at least in a regional context. His passion and affinity for music and literature was something he also shared with his wife Louise, who worked as a music teacher and reportedly was known as a talented pianist. In her free time she also enjoyed writing articles as a music and theatre critic for local performances. I don't know for certain if their shared interests were the reason for them falling in love and getting married, but it's a sweet thought, and overall from all I've read about their relationship it seems to have been harmonic and mutually respectful, almost progressive considering how strict gender roles still were back then compared to now.

[littledesertfox]

Reichblr, this is your friendly reminder to be careful with who you interact with online.

Reichblr, PLEASE be careful with who you interact with online and what information you share. In fact, I believe everything I’m gonna say applies to any community and any social media app, not just Reichblr or Tumblr. I'm not trying to act like some mom or anything, I know you've probably heard this all before. But you should really be careful. Communities have both good and bad people, and this includes Reichblr. Just because someone has "I don’t support Nazism" in their bio doesn’t mean they’re actually telling the truth. Anyone on Tumblr, or anywhere else, can be a neo-Nazi in disguise. Just be careful, please. I have already made a post talking about how you can identify real neo-Nazis and how you can protect yourself from them.

In communities like Reichblr, it is especially hard to identify real neo-Nazis. We can’t always tell whether someone is actually a neo-Nazi in disguise or just a person who is heavily interested in Nazi history. So, again, be careful. Reichblr is dedicated to people who are safely interested in Nazi history, and it's so disappointing to see actual neo-Nazis here.

If you see someone actually justifying the actions of a Nazi, they are a Nazi themselves. There is no doubt about that.

Also, Reichblr, please be mindful of what information you share online. At art school, we talked about AI, its consequences, and how controversial it can be. We also discussed how, when you apply for a job, some employers can basically search your image using AI. Now imagine you posted your face on Reichblr, and ten years later, someone finds it through AI. How will you explain it? Unless the person is truly understanding, it’s going to be hard for them to believe that Reichblr is just a community for people interested in Nazi history, especially because, unfortunately, some people in Reichblr are actual neo-Nazis, even though the community doesn’t allow them.

I mean, it literally is a space for people who like WWII German history, but people are so quick to judge that they won’t even bother trying to understand. Again, I’m not trying to act like your mom or anything, but please be careful with what information you share online, especially on Reichblr, and especially if you’re underage.

And now for a not-so-friendly reminder: Once you post something online, it will exist forever, and you will never truly get rid of it. Yes, the delete button exists, of course. But think about it: What if someone screenshotted your deleted post before you took it down and reposted it? What if someone has hacks that allow them to see deleted content? I remember someone I knew on Discord had a function that let them see deleted messages.

So before you write a ten-paragraph post about all the nasty things you want your favorite blorbo to do to you in bed, think carefully before you post it, PLEASE.

I am by no means trying to scare anybody. I’m sure you’ve heard all of this before. And, of course, I’m not saying you should be purely anonymous or stop posting whatever you want. In fact, you’re free to ignore everything I just said.

I just want to spread awareness, that’s all. Especially considering that some idiots in Reichblr are actual fucking neo-Nazis and are trying so hard to hide it.

I hope I didn’t scare anybody and that I did what I intended to do, which was to spread awareness.

Happy blogging!

[littledesertfox]

I remembered that I still haven't finished my Krebsdorf holiday fanfic that I started like half a year ago😭 Technically I could probably finish it as it currently is, it is already longer than I first thought anyway (a section in the middle just came to me out of nowhere, but I think it is very cute). It would just need a little bit of polishing, but there is a certain part that I really want to include and I just haven't found the words yet to write it out.

Aside that I've also been wanting to make a post about Walter von Reichenau (because the guy really makes me mad), and also about another lesser known officer that I learned about recently, but agh writing takes its time :/

[littledesertfox]

IMPORTANT

The account @kurtcobainremingtonmodel11 is likely a neo-nazi. They have promoted rascism, transphobia, and antisemitism.

Please block and report them.

Below is a few of their posts:

[littledesertfox]

Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (1891 – 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (German: Wüstenfuchs)

Among his British adversaries he had a reputation for chivalry, and his phrase "war without hate" has been uncritically used to describe the North African campaign.

A number of historians have since rejected the phrase as a myth and uncovered numerous examples of German war crimes and abuses towards enemy soldiers and native populations in Africa during the conflict.

Other historians note that there is no clear evidence Rommel was involved in or aware of these crimes, with some pointing out that the war in the desert, as fought by Rommel and his opponents, still came as close to a clean fight as there was in World War II.

In 1944, Rommel was implicated in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. Because of Rommel's status as a national hero, Hitler wanted to eliminate him quietly instead of having him immediately executed, as many other plotters were. Rommel was given a choice between suicide, in return for assurances that his reputation would remain intact and that his family would not be persecuted following his death, or facing a trial that would result in his disgrace and execution; he chose the former and took a cyanide pill.

Rommel was given a state funeral, and it was announced that he had succumbed to his injuries from the strafing of his staff car in Normandy.

The Rommel Myth has been debated even before his death in 1944. Is he a "Good German" or "our friend Rommel," specifically by the British.

Alas, it is not so simple and unless something new is unearthed - we will never know the truth.

[littledesertfox]

Can we all appreciate this one scene in Downfall where Eva announced the party in the Reich Chancellery and Burgdorf actually ran to the front on the line whooping like a child. This is a 50 year old man and he is literally a blur on the screen going woowoowoowoo!!!

[littledesertfox]

It also frustrates me how hard it is to find pictures of young Rommel. I was trying to find pictures of him as a child once (because he was probably really cute), but I could find one picture of him probably around age 20 with his brothers and sister and a few of him with his son. Did Erwin's parents not like photos or something? Makes me sad.

True, I also wish there was more! Even though I already have a whole folder with pictures of him, but I just really like collecting them. My guess is that it probably mostly had to do with the technical limitations of photography at the time. In the 1890s when Erwin was a child, taking photos was still much more complicated and therefore probably expensive and less accessible, I imagine it would probably only be done for special occasions (like that family portrait of him with his siblings). I found a picture that supposedly shows his parents (it's hard to find reliable sources though and I don't know from when exactly it is).

I know of a few photos of Erwin that were taken during or around WW1, however they are still pretty scarce in numbers compared to later on. It was probably still more common to only take photos for special occasions. There some of him and Lucie together (like a wedding photo and some portraits of them), and some more of just him in uniform, maybe also for official war reports or something.

Later on, when he was older and already quite a famous officer, a lot of photos of him were probably also taken for propaganda reasons. I read that he kind of enjoyed the attention although it also seemed to make him nervous sometimes (he often looks more relaxed when he's not posing stiffly, but rather talking to someone or doing something else in a photo and not really paying attention to the photographer). He also liked taking photos by himself, I think one time he was actually given a camera by Goebbels so he could document his successes in France and Africa, which would of course be used for war propaganda. By that time, photography as a whole was also a lot more advanced already, cameras had become smaller and cheaper and a lot more people had access to it, even during the war.

[littledesertfox]

A few months ago I came across this figure of Rommel and ever since I've been contemplating if I should get him myself. The thought of owning "merch" of him makes me feel a bit weird, but on the other hand I simply like collecting things relating to my interests, and I feel like he'd make a suitable decoration for the history section in my bookshelf.

I worry mostly what my family would think of it, and that they would find it inappropriate. I'm an adult so technically I can do and buy what I want but I still live at my childhood home, so my parents would surely notice if I put him up somewhere. Maybe I'll just have him stashed away in a box in my wardrobe for an uncertain amount of time until I'll move out, but I feel like I'd also deeply regret it if I miss the chance to get my hands on him and he goes out of stock everywhere. The regular version seems to have sold out already in the past months, and even the b-grade offers (with a damaged box, the figure should be fine though) are apparently low in stock already.

[littledesertfox]

Unfortunately I couldn't find this photo in better quality anywhere, but I still think it's another nice shot of Rommel and Bayerlein together. I'm not 100% sure about the context, however the photo description from his collection says that Fritz "attentively watches his commander observe the El Alamein fighting in the distance", which probably references the Second Battle of El Alamein in October/November 1942 (as other photos in the collection with more detailed descriptions also mention this time frame and place).

[littledesertfox]

I think I recently saw someone posting photos of Rommel when he was young, but I stupidly didn't reblog the post at the time and now I can't find it anymore :((

[littledesertfox]

A rare photo of Rommel sporting some sunglasses! Personally this is the only photo I've ever seen of him wearing any kinds of glasses, that includes the protection goggles he had attached to his officer's hat, even though he had those with him like all the time. The photo was taken by his friend Fritz Bayerlein and is part of Bayerlein's personal collection of photos from his time in North Africa. This collection was published in the book "The Private Afrikakorps Photograph Collection of Rommel's Chief-Of Staff Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein" (yes that's the entire title). It includes photos taken by Bayerlein himself as well as pictures of him taken by others, often with small annotations to describe the context of events.

In January 1943, when they had a brief period away from battles, Rommel and Bayerlein visited the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Leptis Magna (located in Libya) together. They were accompanied by Rommel's aide (and Bayerlein's close friend) Alexander Hartdegen, as well as probably some other officers who weren't further described. Bayerlein took the above photo of Rommel during their trip there, but also photographed some of the ancient architecture:

[littledesertfox]

Hello, I hope you're having a wonderful day! My name is Marlowe/Atari! I come to you to expose another neo-nazi in the community. His name is Paul, and his goes by @dertotalenkrieg on Tumblr.

Now, why am I saying this now? Well, I noticed that this user was in the same reichblr server as I was. As I was scrolling through the Neo-Nazi Community under the reichblr, I noticed that Paul posted there.

Content Warnings for Nazi Imagery and Holocaust Denial in the Screenshots

Before anyone says, "This wasn't supposed to be taken seriously/this is out of context." Counterpoint, the implication of the post's caption is that Paul had to obtain this from Telegram. It also implies that he has experience with the platform and its neo-nazi communities contained within.

And this isn't a one-note incident either. I looked through Joseph's likes and saw these posts.

Obviously there are more posts that aren't shown in the screenshots that are noteworthy. The only one I can remember is one that was about cutting a swastika on one's skin.

What initially set off alarm bells was this guy's Discord profile;

I immediately detected the dog whistles within this user's profile. The SS's, the extraterrestrial imagery referencing neo-nazi pseudoscience, and the quote are obvious signs that this person is serious about this.

I deliberated on doing this since I didn't want to be the bringer of bad news, and the fact that this could possibly be traced back to me. I'm hesitant on associating my blog with this community (even though I'm a part of it.) and getting called a Nazi (despite this entire ask pointing to the contrary). I know you guys don't like Nazis, and I'm not gonna call you bad people for having unconventional interests.

The obvious way of avoiding any nazis joining this community is looking for dog whistles, that's your best method of exiling them quicker from your community.

Also, if you're gonna refer to me in your post, my pronouns are they/them + co/cos.

Thank you for reading my ask!

Hi, first of all sorry it took me a bit to respond, I had some busy things going on in real life.

Secondly ew, that's fucking nasty. I wasn't aware that this community existed (I never really looked much into the communities feature in general), but that's just gross and shouldn't have a platform. Immediate report, I don't know if this will just result in (hopefully) the deletion of the community, or if it will also have an effect on the people who are members of it, but as it is public to everyone here's a free block list I guess:

Formerly, I didn't take a direct issue with this dertotalenkrieg guy personally, maybe I'm also confusing him with someone else but at least a few months ago I reckon he posted just historical photos and fairly "normal" reichblr stuff. Never really interacted with him as Goebbels isn't really a focus in my interests, and since a while I had him blocked anyway because he definitely did get weirder (and I just didn't want to see him anymore). I first noticed when he commented on my post to defend that other neo nazi, which should have been a clearer sign to me, however, I always had a hard time telling if he was ever genuine about something or if his entire account was just one big shitpost (personally I also don't believe in the whole reincarnation stuff, at least not in the way that he claims it to be, so the way he behaved about that might also be another reason why I couldn't really take him serious).

However this of course changes that, I never thought of looking through the guy's likes (I frankly didn't even notice that he had them public), but the things he engages with plus obviously the fact that he is a member in that neo nazi community makes it pretty obvious (that photo he posted there has literally nothing to do with historical interest). I kind of wonder now if him believing that he's the real Goebbels is what made him become a nazi (because he thought he had to replicate his "former self" or whatever) or vice versa that him being a neo nazi made him at some point think that he's one of the actual historical nazis. Regardless, he should not have a place here anymore. Thank you for letting me/us know!

[littledesertfox]

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is today, 27 January 2025.

80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is an international memorial day on 27 January that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of one-third of the Jewish people along with countless numbers of individuals of other minority groups, by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945: an attempt to implement its "Final Solution" to the Jewish question. The choice of January 27 for the annual commemoration aligns with the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army in 1945.

Eighty fucking years.

Most of the Survivors are gone. There are so few left. Too few. Honestly, the statistics are scary.

Now this is for the US, your country may differ.

"Disturbing Findings Reveal Significant Number Of Millennials and Gen Z Can’t Name A Single Concentration Camp Or Ghetto, Believe That Two Million Or Fewer Jews Were Killed And A Concerning Percentage Believe That Jews Caused The Holocaust

U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey, the first-ever 50-state survey on Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z. The surprising state-by-state results highlight a worrying lack of basic Holocaust knowledge, a growing problem as fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors – eyewitnesses to a state-sponsored genocide – are alive to share the lessons of the Holocaust.

Nationally, there is a clear lack of awareness of key historical facts; 63 percent of all national survey respondents do not know that six million Jews were murdered and 36 percent thought that “two million or fewer Jews” were killed during the Holocaust. Additionally, although there were more than 40,000 camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust, 48 percent of national survey respondents cannot name a single one."

This is a prime example of the dumbing down of America.

This here is the reality of Auschwitz.

A Soviet army surgeon examines an Auschwitz survivor, Vienna engineer Rudolf Scherm.

Fuck the nazis. Fuck neo-nazis. Fuck white supremacy. Fuck xtian nationalism. Fuck them all. Learn. For the love of God, learn your history. Learn about the monstrosities that happened then. Learn about the monstrosities that are happening now.

It's not just I/P. I/P is virtually the only one that gets talked about but it's not JUST I/P

Speak up for all.

Learn about Sudan. Learn about Rohingya. Learn about the Uyghur. Don't forget about Ukraine. Learn about them all. Especially today, of all days. Learn. That's the only way to fight back. They want us stupid and easier to control, just like the nazis did.

[littledesertfox]

I have to say I am not informed enough to make judgement on this situation specifically. I am not familiar with the person mentioned here, which is why I censored their name because I don't want to be involved in spreading accusations that I have no evidence for. Likewise, I couldn't point out the five people that are referred to in this or the previous ask either. Based on my observations throughout the past months it just generally seems to me that every once in a while, some nazis will try to join the community, and I think that should be made as hard as possible for them/if they're found out, it would be good if there was a community effort to not let them participate anymore.

But like I already mentioned, proof needs to be provided as well. I posted screenshots of that one person's blog, but if people didn't believe me they could also simply go over there and see for themselves. Or a few months ago, I think there was a warning going around about this guy named Elijah(?) who was called out as both a nazi and a pedophile, where evidence and screenshots were provided by multiple different people even. I'm willing to help and spread awareness if someone were to come forth and provided evidence but I think it's important to be properly informed beforehand. Unfortunately I've also seen cases were people were literally making stuff up to vilify someone they didn't like or had personal drama with.

That's to say, if you have "just a bad gut feeling" about a person in regard to those things, you don't have to entirely disregard those feelings. However, I don't think you should use just that as a base to publicly make incriminating assumptions about them. If they make you uncomfortable block them, or talk to a friend about what you're feeling. It's also okay to sometimes just not like someone, without them doing anything problematic. You're not going to vibe with every single person and that's just how it is sometimes.

[littledesertfox]

Aaand that's another one for the block list

[littledesertfox]

Hello, sorry for disturbing but I have seen your callout post and I need to inform you that there are some individuals (around 5 people) in reichblr who make racist comments and that are trying to lurk people in other community spaces to radicalise them.

Unfortunately I can imagine that, I think there are always a few who are trying to slip through the cracks and get comfortable here, which is why I think there has to be a community effort to not let them do that. I would hope that the majority of community members aren't like that though.

If you have information on who these people are, I think it would be good to share these to warn others. It definitely would be good if you can provide some proof though (like screenshots of them saying racist things etc) - I think just spreading accusations without anything to back them up isn't the right way either, awareness/callout posts and such should still be reasonable and not just sending people on witch hunts. If you are afraid of revealing yourself because they might attack you, maybe you could make an anonymous side blog or something to share them.

Also something that I forgot to mention in my other post: Even if someone is called out as a Nazi (or other type of problematic, I don't remember exactly but I think that Alf guy for instance was also a groomer and/or pedo?), do not go over to their blog and harass them or send anon spam/hate. Even if you think they may deserve it, it most likely won't do anything and you don't need to sink down on that level. Just block them, consider reporting them if they have any public posts that contain hate speech (or something else that doesn't align with tumblr's community guidelines), and make other people aware.

I'd hope that most people can agree with me that reichblr should be a place to share our passion and interest for history, it may be a community about the history of Nazis, but never should it be one for them.

[littledesertfox]

The Bayerlein Family

The Bayerlein children, from left to right: Richard (*1897), Ellen (*1901) and Fritz (*1899). Photo undated, based on the kids' ages probably sometime around 1905.

A little bit more on Fritz Bayerlein's background: His father, Donat Bayerlein (born March 28th, 1861) was originally from Bütthard, a small village in Franconia (a cultural region in South Germany that nowadays is largely part of Bavaria). A lot of Bayerleins lived around that area, but in 1890, Donat moved to the near town of Würzburg for the sake of better employment, and became a civil servant for the local town government.

Fritz' mother Louise Denkmann (born October 13th, 1869) on the other hand was originally from Magdeburg, a city located further north in what is nowadays the state of Saxony-Anhalt. She was born as an illegitimate child to the daughter of a miller, her father was never identified. In 1890, she as well left her home and happened to come to Würzburg. She started out working as a housekeeper for richer families, and managed to put enough money to the side to eventually attend further education and fulfil her dream of becoming a music teacher.

Louise and Donat eventually met in Würzburg, they married in 1896 and proceeded to move into a small apartment together. A year later, their first son Richard was born on September 20th, 1897. Their second son Fritz followed on January 14th, 1899, and their only daughter Ellen was born on April 22nd, 1901. Later on, Donat also took over the care of his deceased stepbrother's two children, and they moved into the Bayerlein household as well.

An interesting side fact: Donat was baptised Catholic as a child while Louise was Protestant, however this never seemed to be a problem for them, neither for getting married nor for their personal life. Later in his life their son Fritz, whenever he was asked to report his religious affiliation on any official documents, would sometimes list his mother's, other times his father's faith as his own, always depending on which he assumed to be favoured by the authorities in question. There isn't really anything known about his personal religious beliefs, but as it seems he either felt equally connected with both (since a person who was very strongly adherent to a particular religion probably likely wouldn't claim a different faith as their own), or he simply didn't care that much for religion in general that it would even make a difference to him.

Up until their 10th birthday, the Bayerlein kids were home-schooled. Despite not being from a wealthy background, the parents were relatively well-educated and managed to pass this on to their children - Fritz and his brother both were accepted at the local Gymnasium (an eight or nine year school for secondary education), something that only about five to ten percent of the applicants were able to achieve. The successful completion of this school was required for being allowed to attend to university, and was also needed if one wanted to apply as an officer candidate in the Imperial German Army. When he was young, Fritz dreamed of becoming a teacher for history, geography and mathematics, a career that wouldn't actually require such a high education (only teachers who worked at a Gymnasium needed to have a university degree, but not those at primary or trade schools). Regardless, his parents wanted to provide their children the best education they could afford, and Fritz proved himself to be a talented and hardworking student, even earning himself a stipend in 1915 for his exemplary grades. However, the outbreak of World War I, also known as the Great War, would chance the course of life for both Bayerlein sons forever - and in Richard's case, not with a good ending.

The tragic fate of Richard Bayerlein

Being the older brother, Richard would be the first to be conscripted. Learning about how many men had already died at the front, he decided that he wanted to become a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate) in hopes that in this kind of position he'd have a higher chance of survival than as a simple enlisted soldier. However, being accepted for an officer's career required money and influence, and the Bayerleins didn't have much of either; they weren't a traditional military family. In 1914, Donat Bayerlein made a request that his son would be accepted into the 1st Replacement Battalion of the King's Bavarian 11th Infantry Regiment, however he was declined. Throughout the following months, he continued his efforts, however futile. In February 1916, Richard was drafted. He fought throughout 1916 and 1917, and by the end of that year, he finally achieved his dream of becoming an officer as he was appointed the rank of Leutnant in November. By that time, it had become a lot easier for young men to become officers as the military was in desperate need for them (the Leutnant was the officer rank with the highest death rates), and a few months earlier, Fritz had received assignment as an officer candidate as well, which much less struggle than his brother once had.

Fritz' older brother Richard Bayerlein as a young officer, photo undated.

On May 4th 1918, Richard, who was currently stationed in Flanders, was reported missing. His father inquired by letter to learn more about his son's fate. It was told to him that Richard had been in a bad mental state, devastated about a recent loss and capture of some of the men under his command. The young officer struggled to handle the responsibilities laid upon him. Two other officers from his unit noted that he had acted strange and upset, and later that evening it was discovered that he had disappeared, however leaving behind his belongings and weapons in his shelter. Richard was never seen again after this day, and his body was never found. There were reports of French soldiers being nearby, and some assumed his death was an accident, however some of his comrades also believed that he purposefully walked into the enemy lines unarmed as his way of suicide.

Although he had never planned it, Fritz would go on to achieve Richard's dream of becoming a successful officer in his stead. He and his sister Ellen were now the remaining two Bayerlein siblings. They always had a good relationship with each other, and would continue to remain close and supportive of each other throughout their whole lives until Fritz' eventual death in 1970. Ellen would outlive her brother for 17 more years, until she passed away as well in 1987.

Aside from Richard, the Bayerleins all seem to be buried in their family grave in Würzburg (photo taken from Fritz' German Wikipedia page). It also lists the name of Ellen's son, who was also called Fritz (possibly as a nickname, as he's also referred to as Friedrich in Bayerlein's biography). He was probably named after his uncle and only passed away relatively recently in 2019. If he was still alive, he'd be able to celebrate his 100th birthday this month.

Source: Spayd, P. A. (2003). Bayerlein: From Afrikakorps to Panzer Lehr : the Life of Rommel’s Chief-of-staff Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein. Schiffer Pub Limited. (Chapter 1)