Otto and Charlotte Leistikow

Otto and Charlotte Leistikow

Family of Otto and Charlotte Leistikow. Top row, from the left, Hans Jürgen, Gisela, Konrad, and Otto, their father. Bottom row, mother Charlotte, Otto Jr., and Andreas.

Otto Leistikow, son of Gustav and Anna Leistikow was born July 3, 1907, in the village of Labenz, County (Kreis) Scheifelbein located in an area of the country of Pomerania that is now part of Poland.

Charlotte Elfriede Katharina Knuth, daughter of Franz and Agnes (Rusch) Knuth, was born October 30, 1910, in Zützefitz. Otto and Charlotte were actually related, as Otto's grandfather was August Leistiko, via August's son Gustav, and Charlotte's great grandfather was also August Leistiko, via his daughter Emilie, and her daughter Agnes. Thus they were second cousins, once removed.

Otto married Charlotte on May 25, 1933, and they had six children.

Gisela Leistikow	Born in 1934 in Labenz. Gisela married Werner Felger in 1955. She died in 1975 in Lippstadt.
Konrad Leistikow	Born in 1936 in Labenz. Konrad married Hildegard Lubbe in 1959.
Andreas Georg Gottfried Leistikow	Born in 1938 in Labenz. Andreas married Siegrun Maidorn in 1962, and they have seven children.
Johannes Jurgen Leistikow	Born in 1940 in Labenz. Johannes married Karin Bitterberg in 1969.
Otto Leistikow	Born in 1942 in Labenz. Otto married Marlies Peters in 1963.
Christoph Leistikow	Born in 1950 in Labenz. Christoph married Gudrun Runge. They are now divorced.

Otto was drafted into the German army during World War II and served as a bridge engineer. When the Germany surrendered, Otto was taken to a detention camp. When he was released, he managed to find his family which had been evicted from the family farm, and were then located in a small village, Mühlstedt, in Saxony. Otto resisted the pressure to join a collective farm, having been a free peasant in Pomerania. When it was rumored that Otto might be arrested, he and the family managed to escape to the Federal Republic, under western control, and Otto found employment working on government forest land. Details of the family's experiences during and after the war were documented by his son Andreas in My Life as a Child.

Otto died in Labenz December 21, 1965. Charlotte died December 1, 1998.

Charlotte and Helene Kerl (right), a cousin of Otto.

Otto and an aunt (sister of his mother, Anna).

Home and barn of Otto Leistikow in Labenz. The family was evicted from the home after World War II, and finally settled in Nottuln. The little shed to the right of the house served many purposes. This was where the food was prepared for the animals, where bread and cakes were baked, and where the laundry was washed. Otto's son Andreas remembers jam being cooked in a 100 liter copper boiler. Everything to the left of the house is no longer there. The large barn was there, but is now gone.

First published February 3, 2002. Last revised February 18, 2015. If you have comments, corrections or additional information or pictures you would like to contribute, feel free to contact Dave Nims.