PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: My Parents Wedding Photo

Henry Soszynski — Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:58 pm

Author: Henry Soszynski

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:58 pm

TedMack wrote:

ziggy53 wrote:

Taken on their wedding day, not sure of exact day. Jozef and Zofia Filipiak, sometime between 1945 and 1947 in a Polish labor camp in Germany.

G'day Ziggy

I spent many months writing to various Parishes in Germany trying to obtain a copy of my Parents Marriage Certificate with no luck - they all advised there was no record. I was able to obtain a copy of the German Civil Marriage record which happened some 18 months later. I ended up finding a copy of the Church marriage certificate at my Brothers in documents he had stored away. My Father and his Brothers were in the same Camps and married just after the war ended.

This is my Aunt's recollection as told to my cousin (just before she passed away late last year) of the marriages in the DP Camps: "The young Polish couples in the displaced camp were all married as a big large wedding group in a chapel near where their labour camp was. Mum said there were 200 people married at the same time because priests were rare and did not frequent their village. The priest that married them was an army chaplain and he had a motorbike and he was travelling from one place to another hence the multiple weddings. She can’t remember the priest’s name.
Each couple had to say their vows to the priest independently, Mum said that the priest must have lost his voice repeating vows over and over for so many couples. The priest just said the one Mass for the large group, but each pair had to perform their vows with him independently. Their wedding rings were fabricated from tin sheeting, probably food cans. The second civil wedding was performed in another town, and they did this because the immigration officers did not recognise the church wedding and hence, they had to marry again at an official registry office in order to validate their wedding certificate."

Thought you may wish to know some background.

Greetings,
Thanks for posting this, as it explains why my parents had two weddings, one in 1945 and the second in 1949 prior to their emigration. Regretfully I don't think I've got a photo of either wedding, though I'm not certain of this, since they may have been in 'civvies' and not in bridal clothes. A closer look is warranted.

Cheers,
Henry

Re: My Parents Wedding Photo

TedMack — Thu Nov 04, 2021 5:04 am

Author: TedMack

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2021 5:04 am

ziggy53 wrote:

Taken on their wedding day, not sure of exact day. Jozef and Zofia Filipiak, sometime between 1945 and 1947 in a Polish labor camp in Germany.

G'day Ziggy

I spent many months writing to various Parishes in Germany trying to obtain a copy of my Parents Marriage Certificate with no luck - they all advised there was no record. I was able to obtain a copy of the German Civil Marriage record which happened some 18 months later. I ended up finding a copy of the Church marriage certificate at my Brothers in documents he had stored away. My Father and his Brothers were in the same Camps and married just after the war ended.

This is my Aunt's recollection as told to my cousin (just before she passed away late last year) of the marriages in the DP Camps:
"The young Polish couples in the displaced camp were all married as a big large wedding group in a chapel near where their labour camp was.
Mum said there were 200 people married at the same time because priests were rare and did not frequent their village.
The priest that married them was an army chaplain and he had a motorbike and he was travelling from one place to another hence the multiple weddings.
She can’t remember the priest’s name.
Each couple had to say their vows to the priest independently, Mum said that the priest must have lost his voice repeating vows over and over for so many couples.
The priest just said the one Mass for the large group, but each pair had to perform their vows with him independently.
Their wedding rings were fabricated from tin sheeting, probably food cans.
The second civil wedding was performed in another town, and they did this because the immigration officers did not recognise the church wedding and hence, they had to marry again at an official registry office in order to validate their wedding certificate."

Thought you may wish to know some background.

My Parents Wedding Photo

ziggy53 — Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:05 pm

Author: ziggy53

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:05 pm

Taken on their wedding day, not sure of exact day. Jozef and Zofia Filipiak, sometime between 1945 and 1947 in a Polish labor camp in Germany.