The Fighting Life of Ferdinand Ankenbrand

Americans know all too well the horrors of the World War II era. The reign of Hitler caused great destruction and a senseless genocide of Jewish people. As Americans, many of us had family members who fought for the Allied forces...but what would the war look like from the other side? My great grandfather, or große Opa, got to see what life was like fighting for the German Army during World War II.



Ferdinand Ankenbrand was born on 26 July 1913, right before World War I began in Europe. As a child growing up in the post World War I era, the war lasted from 1914-1918, my great grandfather did not have much. In fact, stories of his childhood are pretty much lost as it was turbulent and he chose not to talk about them with my Oma, his daughter.

From what I do know, Ferdinand was an orphan by the age of 11; his father most likely fought for the German Army in World War I and I have no idea what caused his mother to pass away while he was so young. No one in my family knows anything else beyond these few facts about Ferdinand's parents, everyone who knew them is either deceased or I have never met because they live in Germany. It's common for that side of the family to not talk about ancestors or anything pertaining to family life  really for that matter.

My great-grandfather and some of the men he fought with.

He is pictured top row, left.

As a German citizen, you are required to sign up for a draft much like the one we practice in America. This is what happened with my great grandfather, during World War II Germany issued a draft calling all the men to come to war; Ferdinand was drafted in 1938. He answered the call to avoid repercussions to his wife, Pauline. Ferdinand excelled in the German Army eventually becoming a sergeant. I want to clear something up, in no way did he work in concentration camps or any job that dealt with them; he merely was a fighting solider on the fields.  

In July of 1945, Ferdinand was fighting in Italy when American troops captured him and he became a prisoner of war and was transported to America first going to Alabama then landing at Camp McCain in Mississippi. During his stay at Camp McCain, he had quite the unusual experience.

The German POW's at Camp McCain, were "treated like friends," he said during an interview when he later came back to visit. They did not have to do extremely hard labor or have unusual punishment because they were part of the German Army. As a POW, he picked cotton and did other work in the fields of nearby farmers who would return them to camp at the end of the day. He was also allowed to keep somewhat of a higher positon because of his sergeant status; he was the "commander" of  the around 30 men in his barrack.

Through all of this, my great grandmother Pauline had no clue where her husband was. She was first told that Ferdinand was only missing-in-action, or MIA; she later just assumed his was killed-in-action because she never received the POW information card the American government was supposed to send. She waited quite some time to be reunited with him, but eventually, in October of 1947 they were finally together again.

Little is known about why it took so long after the war ended for them to be together again but we do know Ferdinand spent some time in England working in shipyards after being released from Camp McCain in 1946 right after the war ended.

This is my great grandfather and his wife, Pauline.

This was at their home in Gochsiem, Germany.

Two years later they would have a daughter, their only child and my Oma, Renate. She has never really talked about growing up in a post-war reconstructing country so I do not know much about how her childhood was different from her fathers'.

Ferdinand and Pauline would later return to Camp McCain while visiting family here in America. That event was quite big for the camp as many of the POW's returned at some point because they did not have feelings of bitterness and hatred for the American soldiers there.

Not much more is known from their by any of my family that are willing to reminisce about ancestors. My mother, who was born in Germany, was able to visit only a couple of times when she was very young and does not remember much.

The only photo of my great grandfathers burial place. He's urn is placed in the

first spot on the left of the second row.

My great-grandfather passed away at the age of 82 on 3 December 1995 in Gochshiem, Germany
his hometown. He perished due to natural causes along with the complications from diabetes; he had several amputations in his later years which eventually shocked his system so terribly he never made a recovery. He was cremated and placed into the only cemetery of the city, because this is so, the cemetery is unnamed and impossible to find online.

Not much more of him is ever talked about. I think it would have been very interesting to meet him when I travelled to Germany. The German part of my heritage has always intrigued me. maybe one day I can explore more of my family tree and visit again.

Exciting Historian Shares Knowledge at College of Charleston

You may be "crazy" about a favorite band, activity, or hobby; well, Ms. Ruth Miller has the dead running trough her head. She came to share her extensive knowledge thanks to Professor Harwood.

Ms. Ruth Miller, established Charleston historian and expert for over 30 years, shared her immense knowledge with the FYE Beyond the Grave. While Ms. Miller is revered as a historian for all of Charleston, her favorite places to speak about are where Charleston's deceased lie.

Ms. Miller credits her love for all things graveyard to "a group of morticians who stopped [her] at St. Michael’s Church and taught [her] about the grave sites." Since that tour of "over five graveyards in just two hours," she has delved into the stories of Charleston's past residents.

The greeting sign in front of St. Micheal's, the site that started it all.

She is a part of the highly acclaimed Association of Gravestone Studies which has members from all walks of life including historians, genealogists, stone cutters, and many more professions that tend to deal with the other side of life. This group often "believes graves are important to everyone" and they aim to preserve and document many of the sites around the country which hold great historical value.

Among her numerous achievements throughout her life including graduating from Duke University, becoming a social studies teacher, and established author on several articles, she has published a collection of pamphlets on the eleven 17th and 18th Century graveyards around downtown Charleston. They include anecdotes and photographs of the beautiful grounds in a portable format.

Ms. Miller and Professor Harwood exchanging books at the end of her lecture.

Throughout her visit to The College, she opened our eyes to many facts dealing with the historical statistics of Charleston’s beloved graveyards. Our city houses two 17^th Century sites with the other nine being from the 18^th century. Among these eleven grounds, Charleston is said to have “best collection of 18^th century tombstones in the United States.” Although this fact is comical due to the fact that the Lowcountry is lacking heavily in the main component of tombstones; we have no stone! She cites the success of Lowcountry stone cutters immaculate work being so because they ordered the finest stone from northern areas and hand carved them once they reached South Carolina.

During her lecture, she also was able to tell stories of a few of her favorite grave sites that can be found in her publications about them. She pointed out St. Mary’s Roman Catholic, Circular Congregational Church, Unitarian Church, and St. Micheal’s as some of her favorites from around the city.

The story I loved most came from the Unitarian Church where the “most widely read woman at the turn of the Civil War” is buried. Carolina Gilman is inside it's graveyard but is often unspoken of because she and her husband owned slaves during their time and the Unitarian Church does not condone slavery so they more or less “swept them under” and erased them from their church.

Circular Conventional Church and its graveyard. Looking forward to visiting this one most.

In all, Ms. Miller’s visit was extremely informational yet interesting as she shared her love for all things grave to our class. We thank her very much for taking the time to teach us about one of the most historical places in our great city. Stay tuned for future posts where I explore some sites talked about in this post and others around the city!

“The wealthiest place on earth is the cemetery. There lies buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”
                        -Myles Munroe  

Photo Citations:
St. Micheal's Churchyard.  Hunt, Chris. 2009. Photo. U.S. Web Archives. <http://www.usgwarchives.net/sc/charleston/photos/tombstones/stmichaels/stmichae123nph.jpg> 

Ms. Miller and Professor Harwood. Personal Archives. 

Circular Church Graveyard: Friel, Thomas. 15 April 2016. Photo. Flickr. <https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1602/26520156556_de82252906_b.jpg>

A Look Into My Life

Hi y'all! For anyone who does not know, my name is Montana. I was born in Summerville, South Carolina, where most of my family still lives, but relocated to Bessemer City, North Carolina when I was very young so my dad could follow work.

I have always considered South Carolina as my home and could not be happier to attend College of Charleston. I plan to study Business Administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship, and if time allows a minor in sociology.

Personal picture of how I revealed my college of choice.

I went to an unconventional high school called Gaston Early College; this school offers a college education along with normal high school courses. At GECHS I was part of our BETA Club chapter as President and Secretary in different years, I was Business Manager for our Yearbook staff where I made business ads and had to be in embarrassing promotional videos, I was also a part of the Student Ambassadors which helped bring upcoming freshman into the school.

My school was a big part of my life for five years and I miss it so very much along with the friends I left behind in North Carolina.


In North Carolina, I worked as a bakery assistant for the wonderful Cake Me Away Bakery where I did everything under the sun. I became assistant cupcake baker, head customer service, and head bar and cookie maker in the company. As stressful as all of it sounds, I would not give up the experience for anything. The lessons I have learned at the bakery have shaped my adult life to make me a harder worker, determined to see my successes, and more patient with people. I also cook a variety of savory foods which benefited the restaurant the company owns as well.

A picture of an event the bakery has done that I delivered and set up.

I want to own a dessert based food truck with my best friend. We both worked at the bakery and study business administration; our partnership was destined. I look forward to making so many new friends here at The College, including my new roommate from Japan!

There is so much more about me that just would not fit into this blog post; if I have left anything out please ask me in person! I love to meet new people!