Ich denke, ein paar Mitglieder hier sprechen Deutsch, obwohl keiner von uns einen besonderen Zugang oder Verbindungen zu US-Militärarchiven hat, soweit ich weiß. Ich kann jedoch eine englische Übersetzung Ihres Beitrags geben.

I think a couple of members here speak German although none of us have any particular access or links to US military archives as far as I know. I can however give an English translation of your post.

Essener - (in translation) wrote:

It is about an insignificant incident at the end of the Second World War in Essen. After the Battle of the Ruhr Basin, the US forces had occupied the Ruhr area, and the city of Essen was officially handed over on 11 April 1945. On that day, Sister Philippa Boening, who was employed in the Elisabeth Hospital, was shot dead by a drunken Ukrainian forced laborer, and two other employees were injured by gunfire. A monument in front of the hospital commemorates the death of Sr. Boening. (The essential details can be read in the discussion of the German-language Wikipedia article on the Elisabeth Hospital.)

The sources are meagre. My questions are: How is the nationality of the perpetrators known? The only way I can explain this is that they were seized and possibly punished. However, there are no sources for this in Essen archives. Given the situation, the incident should have been the responsibility of the US military judiciary.

I am posting this post here because there may be an American amateur historian who would like to search for more information about this incident in US military archives, if there are any documents at all.
Best regards!
Essener

Persönlich kann Ihnen nicht helfen, aber jemand anderes kann antworten. Viel Glück.
I personally can't help you but someone else may respond. Good luck.

Vielen Dank für die Übersetzung. (Many thanks for translation. I can read English, too.)

Ich ergänze der Einfachheit halber die aus den Quellen bekannten Informationen:

Elisabeth Boening wurde am 27.12.1894 in Langenberg geboren, folgte mit 25 Jahren ihrer Schwester, Ordensname Nothburga, ins Kloster und legte am 16.09.1921 ihr erstes Heiliges Gelübde ab. (Dort nahm sie dann wohl den Ordensnamen Schwester Philippa an.) Sie wurde ins Kindergärtnerinnen-Seminar nach Frankfurt geschickt und legte dort 1923 die Prüfung zur Kindergärtnerin ab. Anschließend war sie drei Jahre in Welper und dann sechs Jahre im Kindergarten an Mariä Himmelfahrt in Essen-West tätig. Nach weiteren Tätigkeiten u. a. in Mülheim und einem Jugendpflegekurs in Münster übernahm sie im April 1934 die Leitung der großen Schwesternschülerinnen-Abteilung am Elisabeth-Krankenhaus. Nach der amerikanischen Besetzung von Essen wurde die weibliche Belegschaft des Krankenhauses am 11. April 1945, einem schönen Frühlingstag, zu Aufräumarbeiten in den Garten des Krankenhauses geschickt. Schwester Philippa ging zusammen mit dem Hausmeister Römer und dem Obergärtner Wickl als erste an die angewiesene Stelle. Auf dem Weg begegneten ihnen einige angetrunkene Ukrainer, die nach kurzem Wortwechsel drei Schüsse abgaben. Die beiden Männer wurden leicht und Schwester Philippa tödlich verletzt. Am Ereignisort wurde ein Holzkreuz mit der Inschrift:

"Hier wurde am 11. April 1945 Schwester Philippa Boening erschossen."
"Wachet, denn ihr wisset weder den Tag noch die Stunde."

errichtet. (Quellen: Lt. Mitteilung von Contilia der "Elisabeth-Bote" 1939-1945 und das Buch "Die Genossenschaft der Barmherzigen Schwestern von der heiligen Elisabeth" von 1957)

("Contilia" ist der Name des jetzigen Betreiberunternehmens des Elisabeth-Krankenhauses.)

---

As you can read English I advise you to try and post in that language. This is an English-language site although there are regular contributors for whom English is not their first language and certainly at least a few that can understand written German. The rules of this site specify that English is the usual language to he used here although in practice we've always been tolerant of lapses into other languages - whether that's to illustrate an ancient aphorism in the original demotic Greek; to quote from texts in Latin, Old English, Medieval Italian, or modern French; as an in-joke between fellow compatriots; or just so some of us can briefly show off at our linguistic skills (or lack of). However in practical terms if you stick to English I think you are more likely to get a response to your post, especially as the information you desire is likely to come from the US. But might I ask what has prompted your questions about the death of Philippa Boening - is it a matter of family history perhaps?

Aber wie gesagt, willkommen und viel Glück bei Ihrer Suche.

Hello Essener - here are some additional pointers.

Essen was entered on 11 April by the 313th and 315th Infantry Regiments of the 79th Division of the US Ninth Army. Their regimental histories, therefore, might be the ones worth pursuing. At that time some escaped foreign forced labourers survived in feral groups awaiting the arrival of the Allies. Considered to be organised crime gangs by the German police but no doubt as self-preservation societies by themselves, they were several in the Rhineland and the Ruhr. It’s possible that Sister Boening’s killer may have been from among those.

I’m not sure if you’ve read the following books, but they should be available in a public library in Essen and might throw some light on the story or at least offer further pointers:

Überleben im Krieg: Kriegserfahrungen in einer Industrieregion 1939 - 1945 by Ulrich Borsdorf and Mathilde Jamin (1989)

Essen Stunde Null: Die letzten Tage März/April 1945 by Hans G. Kösters (1982)

I hope those help.

Thanks for the helpful advices. I do not have any family relations to the Boenings, it is only an historical interest on that incident. The inscription on the monument can be missunderstood. As I read it first, I assumed she may be killed by German soldiers or SS men for unknown reasons, but when I realized it was after the occupation by the US army, I asked for that. The answer was as quoted before. Remaining the question about the knowledge on the nationality of the perpetrators and some more circumstances.

(Sorry for my poor English.)

Have not been able to find anything about this incident apart from what has already been posted.

From a bicycle tour about 1 year ago:

https://www.komoot.com/tour/339004653

Essener, just a thought. That memorial looks fairly recent. It may be worth checking the local newspaper, ( Neue Ruhr Zeitung ?)  archives for information on it.

"Neue Ruhr Zeitung (abbreviated NRZ) is a regional newspaper based in Essen, Germany. The paper was first published by Ruhr-Verlag, G.m.b.H., on 13 July 1946." There was no newspaper in April 1945. (Who should have edited it? The  Nazis or the US Army?)

Hallo Essener (entschuldigung mein schlechtlich Deutsch)

Was Triceratops (Trike) hat schreibt ist das aussehen von diesem denkmal ist ein bisschen 'neue' - und vielleicht das archiv von NRZ hat ein bericht auf sein vorstellen.

Also - in 2017 der historiker Dr Bernhard Frings an der Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster hat ein geschichte von die Essener Elisabeth-Schwestern von 1843 bis 2017 geschrieben. Eine gute quelle?


(English translation)

 Hello Essener (excuse my poor German)

What Triceratops (Trike) wrote was that the appearance of the memorial was a bit 'new' - and that the archive of NRZ might include an article about its unveiling.

Also - in 2017 the historian Dr Bernhard Frings of the University of Münster wrote a history of the Elisabeth Sisters of Essen from 1843 to 2017. A good resource?

Precisely Vizzer, to my eyes there is very little weathering on the monument which would suggest it is very recent.

I do not understand: Maybe the memorial was re-newed - so what? It existed for a longer time before.

I asked the General Vicariate Diocese of Essen (Generalvikariat Bistum Essen) for information. The answer was (in translation):

"Unfortunately, the holdings of our house do not contain any references that could help to clarify the circumstances in question. Only the death certificate of Sr. Philippa Boening is available. We enclose this below.


It is beyond our knowledge which local or military archives might have corresponding archive material."