Project News

2-January-2008
This date marks a full year since the work on the book began - to all visitors who have expressed interest in our project, rest assured that we're still working away on the story! We'll release a few small details: the tentative title of the book will be "Triumph of the Cross," taken from the theme of Fr. Viktor's speech in May 1945 when the Miesberg monastery was re-consecrated. The story will begin with events surrounding the monastery confiscation by the Nazis in April 1941, and will end with the Monastery consecration ceremony in 1945.

In addition, Katherine published a third article in the Passionist Heritage Newsletter titled Stories From the Other Side: The Impact of Faith in a German Town During WWII, This essay focuses on stories of devout Catholics living in Schwarzenfeld during the war years, and describes how Fr. Viktor's influence helped guide them through the Nazi era. Many thanks to eyewitnesses and friends across the pond who helped us collect the research for this essay!

14-August-2006
Greetings to our visitors! Lately we have received numerous emails from people showing deep interest in Father Viktor's story, and several have contributed valuable pictures and stories. Our research is ongoing, though great progress is being made.

Last February the Koch family, accompanied by Passionist Archives Director Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., visited the National Archives and conducted research on the American side of Father Viktor's story. One of our primary goals during this visit was to learn the identity of the American commander who delivered the fateful 48-hour ultimatim. While searching through G-2 reports, we confirmed our belief that the 26th Infantry Division discovered the mass grave on April 23, 1945. Buried within the boxes we found a memo written by the 328th infantry regiment (an element of the 26th) - this is the first communication referencing the incident on the American side (click to view the memo). A quick Google search revealed that Col. Aloysius O'Flaherty, Jr. was the commanding officer of the 328th regiment during that time. It is unclear if Col. O'Flaherty is the commander we're looking for, and information is difficult to find at this point.

The miracle of the web has brought eyewitnesses to us before, and while we continue our efforts to uncover this elusive fragment of history, we invite anyone with information or suggestions to contact us.

In addition, we uncovered further details about the branch of the Berlin Technical University Center for Atomic Research, which was operating in the Miesberg between 1943 and 1945. According to documentation collected by the Americans, "Research conducted at the Schwarzenfeld branch of the Laboratorium für Elektronen -und Ionenlehre during 1944-1945 was primarily for the Reichsampt für Wirtschaftsaufbau; experiments were also conducted for the O.K.H. (gas prevention methods) and for the Luftwaffe (reaction of metals to electrical charges) ... The limited voltage and power supply available and the lack of space and equipment [in the building] tend to discount the possibility that experiments relating to splitting of atoms or the production of fissionable materials [were] conducted at the laboratory." Other sources have confirmed that atomic research was not being conducted at the Miesberg; it appears this was little more than a product of the local rumor mill. We have recently updated the story section to reflect this new information.

20-October-2005
At last, we have two long-awaited updates for our visitors. First and foremost, Gary will be delivering a presentation tonight for the Mercer County Genealogical Society in Sharon, P.A. Just in time for this event, Katherine has finished the revised narrative complete with a specially redesigned storyboard. We hope you find the essay both informative and inspiring! As always we enjoy receiving feedback from our site visitors, so make sure to send us a quick email or post a comment.

15-July-2005
It's official! We're repeat contributors to the Passionist Heritage. In early June, Katherine composed a follow-up to the July 2004 article titled, "From Pictures to Reality: Finding Father Viktor Koch, C.P." You can read the full text on the Passionist Heritage website. Many thanks to those who have recently posted comments on our board; we appreciate your support and interest in the story. Check back soon; Katherine is in the process of crafting a new essay to be posted on the web site's story section, which she'll finish in August (hopefully!).

14-June-2005
It's been quite a while since we last posted news, but rest assured that the Father Viktor Project researchers have been making progress behind the scenes. We recently returned from a research trip to Schwarzenfeld, Germany, which lasted from Monday May 9-16, 2005. Katherine's upcoming article in the Passionist Heritage's 2005 summer edition, "From Pictures to Reality: Finding Fr. Viktor Koch, C.P.," describes the moving emotional experiences that accompanied our research. In addition, pictures and a short writeup generously contributed by Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., will be appearing in the Passionist International News Bulletin (published in Rome). Keep checking our web site for hyperlinks and further details. In the meantime, we invite web visitors to view our new "Germany 2005" gallery, showing highlights from our trip.

Much has occurred since last September. Earlier this year we received invitations to visit Schwarzenfeld from Bürgermeister (Town Major) Manfred Rodde and Passionist German Foundation Provincial Fr. Gregor Lenzen, C.P. We accepted this wonderful opportunity to participate in the town celebration held every ten years in Fr. Viktor's honor, explore Passionist archival holdings in Germany, and conduct interviews with eyewitnesses who remember Father Viktor's heroic efforts to save Schwarzenfeld. Katherine delivered a speech to an audience of 300 at Schwarzenfeld's Catholic Youth Center, the Jugendheim, on May 12, during a history seminar organized by Third Mayor Peter Bartmann, and sponsored by the German Passionist Organization. On Friday May 13, the Koch family and other guests signed the town's "Golden Book," a register reserved for dignitaries and participants in honorary celebrations. During our weeklong trip, we collected remarkable personal stories from living witnesses to history, each of which contributed facts and details crucial to Father Viktor's incredible story. We will be updating the site's story section to reflect this new information.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Markt Schwarzenfeld and the Passionist German Foundation for their kindness and hospitality, making us feel at home in a far country. We also offer special thanks to Peter Bartmann, who scheduled interviews and organized each detail of this successful trip; to Fr. Gregor Lenzen, C.P., who kindly provided translation assistance throughout the week; to the Ehrenreich and Bartmann families, generous souls who helped us in more ways than words can express; to Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., our guiding light through this journey into history; and also to American Passionist Frs. Melvin Shorter C.P. and Joseph Jones C.P., who attended the celebration.

25-September-2004
Our recent investigation into finding the motion picture film taken by the American army in Schwarzenfeld has proven somewhat disappointing. Although we actually located 5 minutes of footage taken in April of 1945, its contents show the unearthing of dead prisoners from the ground. The film contained no information related to the burial ceremony itself.

We have submitted a list of questions to our friends in Germany who are collecting any stories or first hand accounts and we are anticipating this information arriving sometime in the October/November timeframe.

The project presentation which was scheduled for October has been rescheduled for May of 2005.

15-July-2004
We've successfully achieved publication! In the summer 2004 edition of the Passionist Heritage (Volume 11, Issue 3), Katherine's essay, "Reclaiming History; Researching the Untold WWII Story of Father Viktor Koch, C.P.," appears as the featured article. The piece describes Gary and Katherine's experiences and noteworthy discoveries while searching the German Foundation Archive holdings. Special thanks to the Passionist congregation for giving us this wonderful opportunity to spead word about the project.

We will soon mount an effort to publish an article in a nationally recognized magazine. We encourage those who are interested in our work to continue showing their support by posting comments on our board. Please visit our comments page and tell us what interests you about the project. In advance, we thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! You can view our comments board by clicking on the "View Messages" link, or by clicking here.

In other news, we're also mounting an effort to contact eyewitnesses in Schwarzenfeld, and hope to learn firsthand stories and details about Father Viktor's good works. Also in motion, we have tentatively planned a project presentation for the Sharon Historical Society in October, and hope this will generate interest throughout the Sharon community.

29-May-2004
During a long anticipated trip to New York, we visited the Passionist Archives in Union City. N.J., where we found valuable information on Father Viktor. Many thanks to Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., and Anita Lewis, who provided this material. We've recently updated the photo gallery with pictures obtained during our two-day research session. The best finds included a "tin-type" photograph depicting Father Viktor's family, perhaps around 1880 (see photographic gallery, first picture). The tall, middle-aged, rather gaunt man standing on the right is Nikolaus Koch, Viktor's father, who died in April 1881; Viktor's mother Viktoria is seated on the far right. Over the past few months, we've attempted, without success, to discover the cause of Nikolaus' death. He was a coal miner by trade, which implies that he either perished in a mining accident or suffered from "black lung," more commonly known as lung cancer. Given Nikolaus' condition in this photo, we tend to believe that the latter disease claimed his life.

Katherine is also pleased to announce that the article writing has begun! We are most encouraged by the fact that WWII seems to be a topic of interest these days; June 2004 marks the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Hopefully the prospect of publishing an article commemorating the 60th anniversary of Father Viktor's heroism in Schwarzenfeld, Germany, will appeal to the major magazine editors out there! Keep tuning in from time to time, and we'll keep you posted on all major developments in our project.

18-March-2004
The story section and acknowledgements have been updated to reflect new information from Mrs. Rita Wittleben, the daughter of Schwarzenfeld's first pharmacist Emil Weiß. In her recent letter, she described Father Viktor's role in establishing the St.Nikolaus Apotheke. She writes, "We honor the memory of Father Provincial Viktor Koch, who is unforgotten in Schwarzenfeld, for rendering outstanding services to the community." Special thanks to Irmi Ehrenreich for her help in getting us in touch with Mrs. Wittleben.

17-March-2004
We've updated the story page to reflect recent information obtained from Peter and Elizabeth Bartmann, who are residents and historians in Schwarzenfeld. They helped us discover one remarkable piece of information. When the American commander ordered the townspeople to construct caskets, it is well-known that wood and nails were in short supply. Apparently, children of the town solved half of that problem. They knew that a local barn contained a large number of old horseshoes, each of which had nails. They quickly proceeded to extract the nails and hammer them back into shape. In addition, we've added new pictures of Father Viktor in the photographic gallery. section.

2-Feb-2004
We received a packet of information from Irmi Ehrenreich today. There are two interesting pieces of information, one related to Father Viktor's hiding places during the war, the other about 'Viktor Koch Street' in Schwarzenfeld. We have heard from sources that Father Viktor may have hid in a "cave in the ground" while hiding from the Nazis. This detail may be exaggerated; instead, we have learned that he "lived in a little cell of the cloister and the sacristy, because the whole monastery was used by the Nazis for other purposes." Also, 'Viktor Koch street' is not the path he used while confronting advancing American forces. Rather, this is a new street in the town, and is very important because the City Hall, town parish church, and cemetary is located there. Thank you, Irmi!

12-Jan-2004
With the help of Mrs. Wittleben from Schwarzenfeld Germany, we now have the names associated with all the correct pictures of the priests in the photographic gallery. Starting on the left and circling around Fr. Viktor are Fr. Edward Hennessy, Fr. Basil Stockmeyer, Fr. Ambrose Maquire, Fr. Roland Flaherty and Fr. John Patrick Moore.

4-Jan-2004
Thanks to input from Fr. Klemens Hayduck, Schwarzenfeld Germany, we believe we know the identities of the remaining priests standing around Fr. Viktor in the photographic gallery. They are Father Roland Flaherty (behind and right) Father Basil Stockmeyer, Fr. Ambrose Maguire (directly behind Fr. Victor), Fr. Edward Hennessy and Fr. John Patrick Moore. See second paragraph of Fr. Flaherty bio.

30-Dec-2003
We have discovered the identity of one of the five priests surrounding Fr. Viktor as being Fr. Roland Flaherty, thanks to Mr. Charles Werner. The photograph can be found in the Fr. Viktor gallery.

22-Dec-2003
Today is the official launch date for our web site, www.viktorkoch.com. While we have completed an English version, we do hope to eventually have a German version of the site for our friends and visitors across the pond. Keep checking this page for the latest developments on the Father Viktor project, as well as changes to this web site.