Background on the Weinmann and Boettcher Families

(click on images to view larger versions)

Ruth's father Andreas Paul Weinmann was one of the five children of Andreas Weinmann and his wife Ida Louise Vogel. The elder Andreas was born in Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Vogels were from the southern German town of Plauen.  

Several of the children of Andreas and Ida were born at Plauen before the elder Andreas received a diplomatic appointment to Brazil.  The family lived for a number of years in Brazil, returning to Europe upon the outbreak of World War I when Andreas was appointed an officer in the Austrian army.  His son Andreas Paul, having been born in Germany, served in the German army.  

When the Weinmanns returned to Europe from Brazil, they settled at Bitterfeld, in eastern Germany about 77 miles southwest of  Berlin.  They later moved to the neighboring town of Wolfen.  Bitterfeld and Wolfen are so close together that they have been combined since 2007 as a single town called Bitterfeld-Wolfen.

Ruth's mother Bertha was one of the five children of Friedrich Boettcher and his wife Marie Louise Schrotsberger of Eisleben, Germany.  Eisleben is in the eastern part of Germany, a little over 100 southwest of Berlin.  In a direct line, the Boettcher home in Eisleben and the Weinmann home in Wolfen are less than 40 miles apart, with the larger city of Halle halfway between the two.  Here are some maps:

Eisleben is at the lower left and Wolfen is at the upper right

This shows where Berlin is located in relation to  Halle and surrounding towns

This map shows the location of Halle and surrounding towns in a larger view of Europe.