Sad News

By -
This blog schedule has been a bit disrupted of late. I normally try to have things pre-posted several weeks in advance but... circumstances sometimes intervene.

A few weeks ago, Josef's last surviving child, my father, Raymond Jakobs, passed away at the age of 86 on the west coast of Canada. My Dad lived a long, full life and was extremely excited about my book on Josef. Raymond was only 9 years old when Josef left on his espionage mission and never really knew what happened to him. We had hoped that my Dad might make it to May and see the book in print, but such was not to be.


Comments

LacoAcer said…
Very sorry to hear that, dear Giselle, please accept my condolences. I watched the documentary on Bella in Wych Elm on History Channel and got really fascinated by the story and the sad end of your grandfather, one of the senseless victims of that tragic war.
May God grant peace to you and your family. Thank you for the amazing blog and a really breathtaking story.
March 16, 2019 at 11:52 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clara Bauerle is Finally Laid to Rest

By -
Image
Clara Bauerle It has taken me a few years, pursuing many leads, but I can finally say that Clara Bauerle has been laid to rest. Clara did not die stuffed into a Wych Elm in England. She was not Bella in the Wych Elm. She was a German actress and singer who passed away in a Berlin hospital on December 16, 1942. A while ago, I ordered the birth registration for Clara, from the Standesamt in Ulm. That record gave her death registration number in Berlin. With that in hand, I wrote to the relevant Standesamt in Berlin and, after a lengthy wait, received her death registration in the mail last week. Translation follows below... Death Registration of Clara Bauerle The actress Hedwig Klara Bauerle, Protestant, living in Berlin, Bleibtreustrasse 32, did, on 16 December 1942 at 12:15 in Berlin-Oberschoneweide, Konigin-Elisabeth-Hospital, die. The deceased was born on 27 August 1905 in Ulm (Standesamt Ulm/Donau Nr.../...). Father - Fruitseller Adolf Bauerle, deceased, last
Read more

Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?

By -
Image
N.B. 2020 10 15 - I should note that the picture of the wych elm featured below is NOT the actual wych elm. And, the "police sketch" was first published in Donald McCormick's book, Murder by Witchcraft. That sketch does NOT occur in the police files.   Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? On 18 April 1943, near the town of Stourbridge, four young boys in search of bird nests in Hagley Wood found a hollow elm tree (a Wych Elm or Scots Elm). One boy climbed up and peered into the hollow trunk and found a human skull staring back at him. Despite a pact of silence, one boy, Tommy Willetts, told his father about their grisly discovery and the police were quickly called. The Wych Elm wherein the body of "Bella" was found. (From Brian Haughton's website ).   The Worcestershire County Police recovered a skeleton from the trunk, along with some fragments of clothing and finger bones scattered around the trunk. A pathologist concluded that the remains bel
Read more

The Truth about Clara Bauerle

By -
Image
Who was Clara Bauerle? What really happened to her? To begin with, we have to recognize that Clara Bauerle's name could be spelled in a variety of ways:      Claire/Cläre/Clära/Clara      Kläre/Klära/Klara      Bauerle/Bäuerle If one searches long and hard on the internet, one can find the following information on the singer/actress known as Clara Bauerle. Early Life & Movie Career Clara was born 27 August 1905 in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In 1932-1933, Clara had a small part in the movie Die Blume von Hawaii (The Flower of Hawaii) which was released on 21 March 1933. Poster for the movie "Die Blume von Hawaii" . In 1939-1940, she played a young lady at the ball in the movie Bal Paré which was released 22 May 1940. Poster for the mov ie " Bal Paré ". Singing Career Clara also had a music career and by piecing together her recordings, the following timeline emerges: 1940 September - Wenn die kleinen Veil
Read more