Karl Drerup: The family of his cousin Therese Köster, née Steffens

Another photograph from 1904: Eugen Köster as a proud seaman.

Front row, middle:
Eugen Köster in about 1910 in the South Pacific, probably on German New Guinea.

Eugen Köster (third from left) probably in about 1912 on board of SMS Gneisenau.

Happy New Year 1913!
Eugen Köster (red dot) on board of SMS Gneisenau in East Asia.

Eugen Köster as a member of the 'SMS König' ('HMS King') on the 21th of September 1915 in Wilhelmshaven. His ship led the German line in the battle of Jutland 1916 and suffered heavy fire. He had to jump overboard and was salvaged by his comrades.

Eugen Köster (first row, sitting, middle) as POW in Park Hall/Oswestry after his fleet was scuttled in Scapa Flow 1919.
My grandfather served at this time on the battleship 'Baden'.

Decades aged: A second picture of Eugen Köster as POW in Invergordon.

Eugen Köster (somewhere in the background) with a sarcastic remark:
"As a friendly reminder of Scapa Flow in May 1919".

Any confidence has left his face: Eugen Köster after the war back in Gummersbach.

Life goes on:
Eugen Köster's wedding with Therese Steffens 1933 on 3rd of June 1933 in Euskirchen.

In the 1940s in Paris: Eugen Köster (second from left) with Karl Dönitz (right) and Erich Raeder (third from right).Two Nazi bigwigs and grandpa doesn't seem to be very impressed.
No finger-pointing, no downplaying: As every other soldier Eugen Köster was part of the Hitler regime.

Eugen Köster during a furlough with his daugther Magdalene ('Marlene') on 25th of July 1941 in Kamp-Bornhofen.

A broken man returns back home: Eugen Köster in August 1948 after being released from English captivity.

To the memory of 'Lilburne': He was a member of the Irish Guards that were deployed to Gummersbach after World War II.
Although it was strictly prohibited he shared his meal with my mother.

Gummersbach 1945, infront of the grammar school: Another member of the Irish Guards who gave my mother tea and cookies.
It seems that war sometimes turns the best out of men.

A postcard from Tsingtau that
Eugen Köster sent to his parents on May the 7th 1912.
It shows the building of the mining management.

Eugen Köster's military ID card of the Reichsmarine,
the German navy of the Weimar Republic.
My grandfather was enlisted 1907.

Excerpt from
Eugen Köster's military ID card.
Item 10, ('campaigns and wounds'):
War years 1914/1918
(5 war years).
Battle of Jutland,
31 May 1916.

Item 11:
The list of ships on which Eugen Köster served.

During World War II Eugen Köster served in the Navy Group Command West in Paris. A plan of the metro network from October the 12th 1942.