My grandfathern, 93 years of age, recently opened up about his experience at the eastern front. He remebers very little detail of his experience. However, he is often telling me about the day he lost hope "for the cause". As they stayed in some village he got sick and was brought into someones local house at the eastern front. As he was lying there helplessly, a young woman entered his room with a jar of milk. took a sip from it, (to indicate that it wasn't poisoned?) and placed it next to him at his bedside. He still is very touched by this moment. I really would like to get some more context about where he went and probably stayed during the war to get a better idea about his past.
Could Askhistory point me into the right direction here regarding the information I would need and the places to look for this?
Are there maybe photos of him in uniform? Any kind of documents? That would be a great start.
In addition, this FAQ page might help you (scroll down to "Germany"). Apparently, you (or actually he himself, since he's still alive) can request his official Wehrmacht (if that was where he served) records, if they haven't been lost. I hope this helps.
PS: looking at this post, I seem to be way too fond of parentheses.
If he served on the Eastern Front he was either Wehrmacht or WaffenSS. Air Force and Navy, for obvious reasons, didn’t serve there during WW2. At various times the front covered a wide area. Ask which Wehrmacht General he served under. But, and there’s no easier way of saying this, a soldier would normally remember his unit (regiment) and which Army (eg 2nd, 9th) he served in no matter what else he’d forget. Age might have dulled his memory, or it’s possible he doesn’t want to give too many details. Many German WW2 veterans didn’t like to say much after the war.