Nördlingen Aerial View 1943 
Nördlingen Berger Tower c.1940 
Nördlingen Löpsinger Tower c.1940 
St. George Church c.1940 
Nördlingen Beet Market Square c.1940 
Nördlingen Rail Yard c.1940 
Nördlingen Rail Station Early 1940’s 
Rail Yard Locomotives and Turntable Early 1940’s 
1940’s Era Train Enroute to Nördlingen 
Parfomuk Forced Worker Registration 
Parfomuk Forced Worker Registration (back) 
Form 7 – Post-War Report Nördlingen
October 27, 1943 — After spending two weeks in a German processing facility where destinations were assigned, the Parfomuk family (except Mikolaj) finally arrived in Nördlingen, a small city in Bavaria (southern Germany) about 1,300 kilometers from Berezna. A beautiful, historic city, Nördlingen is one of only three cities in Germany completely enclosed in medieval walls. The German registration document above lists the family members and their date of arrival (zuzug).
The Parfomuks were assigned as forced laborers to the Nördlingen rail station outside the walls, with a marshalling yard (for separating and organizing railcars onto different tracks) as well as a service and repair depot. Nikifor worked with the railcars in the rail yard while the women in the family cleaned and serviced the interiors of passenger cars. Maria and Janina later worked as mail sorters on the traveling mail cars because they read and spoke German well. Mikolaj was initially separated from the family and assigned to work in a foundry in Velbert, in northwestern Germany. But he absconded to Nördlingen by train and rejoined the family in March of 1944, where he was permitted to remain.
The Parfomuks lived at the rail yard, but went into the city center regularly to shop, attend church, and conduct any business they may have had. Being the youngest, Władysław was usually the one to purchase food and other provisions that were available in the city markets. He often entered by way of the Löpsinger Tower, which was one of the entrances to the old city adjacent to the rail yard.
Walter Parfomak: An Immigrant Story 