Daughter Born in 1946 Searching for Father

FAMILY NAME: TESLUK (Also spelt TESLIUK)

GIVEN NAME: Alexandra

BIRTH DATE: Sept 28th 1946

BIRTH PLACE: Hannover, Germany

FATHER: Andrej Andrey Andreas Andrew NN (used TESLUK in Germany after the war)

MOTHER: Olga TESLUK (1907 - 1986)

PATERNAL GRANDFATHER: NN NN

PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: NN NN

MATERNAL GRANDFATHER: Dinta TESLUK

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: Tekla TESLUK nee SCHNEIZECK (ca 1872 - 1965)

THE STORY

Andrej and Olga were DPs in Lyssenko and/or Moecken Camp in Hannover, Germany in 1946. They may have met in Camp Mannheim where Olga had been in 1945.

Because Andrej was of Ukrainian background, probably from what is now Eastern Ukraine and he was fearful of being sent back to Eastern Europe.

In order to cover his original identity, he used the more German version Andreas as his first name and Olga's family name TESLUK as his family name.

His original family name, his birthdate, birthplace and names of other family members are not known.

Andrej and Olga did not marry, but in September 1946 their daughter Alexandra was born in Hannover.

In 1948 Olga, little Alexandra and Olga's daughter Maria born in 1943, emigrated from Hannover to Canada.

Andrej NN / Andreas TESLUK did not come with them to Canada.

According to Alexandra’s godmother, Andrej went to an area near Bournemouth or Southhampton , England to look for work, fell ill and was hospitalized there. She is not quite sure if he later returned to Germany..

Did he stay in England?

Did he stay in Germany?

Did he go to any other country?

What happened to Alexandra’s father after 1948?

ANDREJ NN also known as ANDREAS ANDREW TESLUK

What do we know about Alexandra’s father?

We have three photos taken in Germany after the war.

Olga, pregnant, is shown with her eldest daughter Maria born 1943

On this first picture taken in Hannover in the spring of 1946, Olga, pregnant, is shown with her eldest daughter Maria born 1943.

Andrej, sitting next to her, has some missing fingers on his left hand and one missing finger on his right hand.

This can be clearly seen on this second photo taken on the same occassion. How did he lose those fingers?

How did he lose those fingers?

Alexandra’s godmother has also told that Andrej was a very nervous man,

and during a period with some unrest in the DP camp in Hannover,

he went into hiding.

What had happened to make him so afraid?

On this second photo, taken in Hannover in the spring of 1947, Andrej is holding his daughter Alexandra on his lap.

How old could Andrej be, based on these three photos?

He looks younger than Olga, who was born in 1907, but perhaps that is deceptive.

To make a very rough estimate, let us say he was born between 1900 – 1920.

If he was born around 1900 – 1915 he might possibly have married and had children before World War Two.

Could the reason he disappeared around 1948 be that he had been reunited with a wife and children he had from before the Second World War?

Alexandra’s godmother seems to remember he might have had a family of his own before the war.

If he was still a bachelor in 1948, could it be he started another family later?

Andrej belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Alexandra has tried to find out what happened to her father, but not knowing his original family name and his exact age makes this extremely difficult.

Can you help?

RESEARCH JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2008

Alexandra will present her book on the Canadian Book Festival The Word on the Street in Queen's Park Toronto on Sunday September 28th from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.