Harald Raamot

Harald immigrated to the US in 1949 as a Displaced Person (DP) at the age of 22 and after WWII. As was the case with many; he served involuntarily in the army, served time as a POW in Rosenberg Germany, courtroom guard during the Nuremburg (Nürnberg) trials and more. In the spring of 1949, after much paperwork and diligence on his part, he boarded the General CC Ballou to search out a new life in the US. This part of the journey led him to orange picking in CA, moving to the north to become a painter and eventually marrying my mother. His name: Harald Raamot (Ramot). He was born in the area of Tallinn with 2 brothers and that his father may have been sent to Siberia at some point.

My father was conscripted in 1944 likely to the 3rd Estonian Waffen-SS. At the conclusion of the war we was behind Russian lines in Czechoslovakia. Made his way carefully to US controlled areas in Germany, spent time in a POW camp here, was a guard at Nuremburg and then found passage to the US.

at war's end, my father was in Czechoslovakia. His brief recollection indicates that he was behind Russian lines and made his way to the American zone of Germany where he was placed in a POW camp for a time.

Below is a picture (I have several others) of my father and few others from the Nuremburg outfit. My father is top upper right. Maybe others look familiar to those of you with relatives with a similar background. I have a few other photos that I will upload and share. I have cousins in Tallin that I am connecting with tomorrow via Skype for the first time. We have communicated through email up until this point. I really am trying to find the path his life would have taken as a soldier, POW and his time in Germany.

The earliest document I think I have a physical copy of is from December 1946. It is an American Employee pass to access in Nuremburg. His picture is present and his name is listed as Harald Raamot,

Korea 1953:

• https://dea.digar.ee/page/vabaeestlane/1953/06/17/5

DP Camp 1949:

• https://collections-server.arolsen-archives.org/H/Child%20Tracing%2...
• https://collections-server.arolsen-archives.org/H/Child%20Tracing%2...
• https://collections-server.arolsen-archives.org/H/Child%20Tracing%2...

Death and Burial 1989 (Tahoma, Tacoma):

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16005964/harald-raamot