The tragic story behind some lost luggage

In its first sentence, a certificate issued by RAF Lübeck confirmed that the personal documents and luggage of the then ten-year-old Peter Zimmermann had burned in a plane crash. The full tragedy of this story does not, however, become apparent until the second sentence, which states that the boy’s mother and sister also lost their lives in the accident.

A Dakota belonging to the Royal Air Force lost altitude during bad weather on 24 January 1949, causing it to crash in a piece of woodland in the Soviet zone of occupation. There were eight fatalities: one crew member and seven German passengers. The pilot and several passengers, among them Peter Zimmermann, survived the accident.

In 1999, exactly 50 years after the crash, Peter Zimmermann, who at the time was a professor at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, gifted this original certificate to the Allied Museum.

The text of the certificate reads:
“It is hereby certified that the personal documents and luggage of PETER ZIMMERMANN were burned in the plane crash close to Schattin in the Russian Zone on 24 January 1949. Mrs. Zimmermann, Peter Zimmermann’s mother, and his sister Silvia were killed in this accident.”