How many towns in Austria named 'AU' ?

[dpast32]

Hello Folks, I have a question that can probably only solved by one of our Austrian, and or Bavarian / Southern German Forum members. I've been attempting to determine the Austrian town or city that an American G.I. was stationed in just after, or just before WW2 ended, circa May - July 1945. I've been working on this project for quite a while now, and although I've made amazing progress, I just can't firmly pin down the actual town the Soldier was in. As some background information; The G.I. was a Sergeant, assigned to Battery B, U.S. Army's 733rd Field Artillery Battalion, 416th Field Artillery Group, U.S. XX Corps. ( Read that as '20 Corps ) The story concerns a German 7.65mm pistol ( F.N. M-1922 ) that he brought home to the U.S. upon his discharge, & I was fortunate enough to end up with it. Without going into extensive detail, suffice to say that he obtained the pistol while delivering supplies to an U.S. Army Hospital, or Medical Facility, while he & his unit were in Au, Austria. What I'd really like to know is; 1) Is there any locality named Au, anywhere in the Salburg area ? 2) Were there any U.S. Army Medical Facilities / Hospitals anywhere in that region during the time frame in question, May - July 1945 ? Over the course of my research, I have noted a few Austrian towns named Au, but all appear to be quite distant from where the U.S. XX Corps units were stationed at the time I'm interested in. If anyone thinks that they may be able to assist me in solving this persistent riddle, I will be extremely appreciative ! As I said, I've had this item since purchasing it back in the 1990's, but have yet to firmly determine exactly where he initially obtained it back in the Summer of 1945. THANK YOU

Best regards, Dom Pastore Jr. ( dpast32@aol.com )

[ManfredV]

There is Au which is a part of Hallein, close to Salzburg. But I don't more about this place.

[henryk]

https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp
JewishGen Gazetteer shows about 30 Au, including about 6 near Salzburg.
Enter Austria, select kilometers, enter coordinates, and select "sounds like--Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex", start the search.

[GregSingh]

Is there any locality named Au, anywhere in the Salburg area ?

Not sure why you are looking in Salzburg area?
US XX Corps was in the area of Linz and Enns River - that's 100km to the east.
With so many villages with that name, as per Henryk's post, we need more detailed information.

[dpast32]

Hello Gentlemen, Many THANKS for your kind replies !! As I sift through all my relevant data, I did forget to mention that on 08 June 1945, the 733rd Field Artillery's immediate parent command, the U.S. XX Corps Artillery HQ's is listed as being in Kolbermoor ( Bavaria ) Germany. Hopefully, that may help to narrow down the search area somewhat. As far as I'm aware, the individual Batteries of an F.A. Battalion tended to based in the surrounding towns of their parent commands. ( This is just an assumption on my part, but I imagine they were situated perhaps 25 KM or less from their overall HQ's. Unfortunately, Kolbermoor is that final location listed in the 733rd's unit history, which is in itself a very brief document. Another point of interest is that although he was based in a town called Au, he stated that the pistol was actually obtained when he stopped by a U.S. Medical Facility, which 'would / should' have been somewhere not too far from 'Au'. Another relevant point is that the facility would have been large enough to house patients in beds, as he stated that he witnessed a German Officer wounded in a bed. ( Perhaps it's time I related the story he told me via telephone, shortly after I purchased the pistol. As I said initially, the G.I. was given the gun shortly before or after the end of WW2. He had stopped by some kind of U.S. Hospital while he was based in Au, Austria for some unknown reason, he said he couldn't recall the actual cause for his visit. As he arrived there, he noted some confusion among the personnel there, & was informed that a German Officer had just shot himself in the head, & they were attempting to save his life. As he watched all the frantic goings on, a U.S. Medic, Orderly, Doctor, ( He couldn't recall exactly whom it was ? ) saw him standing, just watching the show. The Medic, or whatever approached him & removed a pistol from his pocket & asked if he would like it as a souvenir ? ( I can't recall whether he told me he knew the G.I. who gave him the gun from previous visits to the "Hospital', or the man was unknown to him ? I 'think' I remember him saying he knew the man, which would make much more sense than being offered the gun by a complete stranger. However, I'm going through all my old notes from the interview to see exactly what he said. ) So, after accepting the pistol, he immediately hid it under his shirt, and proceeded get out of the area. Again, I can't recall if he ever completed what he was supposed to do there, but perhaps that info. is also within my initial notes ? Well, he managed to hold on the gun & holster, & just prior to his departing the ETO for CONUS, he filled out all the required forms to retain the gun as he returned home. As you see, it does appear to be an interesting story, & I'd like nothing more than to determine the exact 'Au' he is referring to. I guess I could just take the story as it is, but I always strive to document my collection items as fully as possible, THANKS AGAIN Folks, & PLEASE, any assistance here will be very much appreciated.

Best, Dpast32

[history1]

https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp
JewishGen Gazetteer shows about 30 Au, including about 6 near Salzburg.
Enter Austria, select kilometers, enter coordinates, and select "sounds like--Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex", start the search.

And what you get is a list of horrible fails. Including churches in random villages considered an "au", sand pits, etc... Even when on specifies the search system with "sounds exact like" the results are still better to avoid!

[history1]

There is Au which is a part of Hallein, close to Salzburg. But I don't more about this place.

Might be the right place. I found out that Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim, the last commanderof the German airforce, did commit suicid on May 25th 1945 in a reserve field hospital in Salzburg, located in the seminary. The reason was that he become aware about that the US authorities wanted to hand im over to the Soviets.
That´s what the city chronicle of Salzburg tells, the English wikipedia article claims that he commited suicid in a prison, and a day earlier. To be honest, I believe the chronicle.
Source: https://www.stadt-salzburg.at/pdf/stadt ... s_1955.pdf
But, they say that he used poison which he got handed out by Hitler in the Führerbunker in Berlin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ritter_von_Greim

https://www.google.de/maps/place/47%C2% ... d13.064759

[henryk]

https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp
JewishGen Gazetteer shows about 30 Au, including about 6 near Salzburg.
Enter Austria, select kilometers, enter coordinates, and select "sounds like--Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex", start the search.

And what you get is a list of horrible fails. Including churches in random villages considered an "au", sand pits, etc... Even when on specifies the search system with "sounds exact like" the results are still better to avoid!

You are too harsh. The full list identifies the populated places and other sites. Using coordinates, there will only be a small number of results, which can be quickly scanned to pick a place.

[history1]

Too harsh? Sure not. Please explain in which way this location is an "au":
http://data.jewishgen.org/maps/mapdist8 ... ng=14.6333
What is the "au" in this house in Hohenems?:
http://data.jewishgen.org/maps/mapdist8 ... ong=9.6000
And so on and on....

[ManfredV]

When searching for a place in Austria - why not using austrian and german sources f.e. roadmaps, lists of municipalities etc.?
German word "Au" or "Aue" means a humid or fertile area near a river oder lake; meadows and woods at a river or lake; a town, village or single farm there; and it is also name of rivers. There are many places named "Au" in Austria, Swiss and Southern parts of Germany. Many more places have "Au" as part of their name like Passau, Hallau, Braunau, Auenwald, Auenheim, "In der Au", "Grüne Au" and many more.
There are several "Au" in Austria. But only a few are near Salzburg, like Au (Hallein) or Au (Lofer), Au (Abtenau), Au (Obertrum), Au (St. Georgen).
Then you have to look "are these towns or only small villages"? Whats possible? Or contact local administration.
Hope you'll find the right one. Good luck!

[henryk]

history1.
If you zoom both maps you will find that AU is a region on the maps.
So the application is not perfect! The thing is by entering coordinates you will find Au(s) in the area.

[history1]

Thanks Henryk! Those markings did totally confuse me!
But what about my findings above?
Manfred is right with his explanation about the term "Au", though it´s very often the name wich remanined.
Here an existing Au close to me (and further infos to the term): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube-Auen_National_Park

[ManfredV]

@dpast32:
did you find out more?
What about a search for "Heimatmuseum", "Heimatforscher" etc. of these several Au? Or you might contact Stadtverwaltung/Gemeindeverwaltung?
Many german and austrian municipalities and villages have museums and other data about their history.

[dpast32]

Yes, Just today I received an old 'XX Corps Artillery in WW2' Pub. in the mail which luckily included a large fold out map. The furthest position they were based in during the time I'm interested in was the town / city of STERNBERG, Austria. I haven't had time yet to delve into that zrea, but hopefully it just may be the locals I'm seeking. THANKS for your interest, I truly appreciate it !

Best, dpast32

[GregSingh]

Just today I received an old 'XX Corps Artillery ... STERNBERG, Austria.

Well, did you read my earlier post?
I already checked that source, that's why I suggested area of Linz rather than Salzburg.

The town is called Strengberg, not STERNBERG.