How To Actually Use The Strasser Roller Obituary Archive
I spent three years digging through Strasser Roller's internal records after my cousin's passing, and the system is worse than you think. Most people approach it like a normal search, which doesn't work at all. Here's how it actually functions. This isn't a public website with a nice interface. It's an internal memorial database that Strasser Roller maintains for employees who died during service. The records were originally paper-based, then digitized around 2018, but the scanning job was sloppy and they never fixed the metadata. I know because I filed a formal request to correct three entries that had wrong dates of service. The main problem people run into is the access tier system. You can't just look up anyone. The obituaries are divided into three categories: publicly searchable names (about 40% of records), family-only access (requires proof of relation), and restricted operational records (names withheld for active security reasons). When I tried to pull my cousin's file, the automated system rejected me twice before I sent a certified copy of our family registry directly to the HR liaison in Dresden.
Here's the workaround that actually works: skip the online portal entirely. Call the Strasser Roller employee memorial office at their direct line and ask for the documentation request form. It's a physical PDF they email within two business days. Fill it out with the full name, approximate employment period, and your relationship. Mail the original signed copy to their headquarters, not the digital submit button. The digital form has a 90% rejection rate because their verification system is still manual. Physical mail takes longer but has a nearly 100% approval rate. Once approved, you get access to what they call the Fallen Heroes Archive. The interface is from 2003. It looks like a hospital intranet site that nobody updated. Search functionality is broken if you use middle initials. Always search by employee ID number, which you'll find in the original request approval letter. Names alone are unreliable because five different records exist under misspelled variations of the same name from when clerks hand-transcribed the originals. The most useful section is the operational summary attached to each obituary. It contains the actual circumstances of death, not the sanitized version published in the company newsletter. My cousin's record showed he wasn't on active duty at the time of his heart attack, which mattered for the disability claim we were processing. That detail never appeared anywhere else. I had to cross-reference the date against the maintenance log to confirm he'd completed his shift earlier that morning.
There are significant gaps in the archive. Records from 1994 to 1997 are mostly missing, likely lost during a server migration that Strasser Roller never acknowledged. If the person you're looking for falls in that window, your options are limited to requesting the original paper file from their archive storage in Essen. That process takes six to eight weeks and requires a second form that only exists on their intranet, not their public site. Print it, sign it, include a notary stamp, and send it via tracked courier. Email submissions for that form get ignored. The tribute section is optional and user-generated. Families can upload photos and written memorials that get reviewed before publication. The review period is listed as five business days but runs closer to three weeks during peak seasons. I submitted my cousin's tribute in November and it went live in early January. The content restrictions are vague. They flagged one photo because a piece of company equipment was visible in the background and asked me to crop it, even though it was clearly a personal image from a family gathering. I complied and it published the next week. If you're looking for someone who died before 1990, the archive probably doesn't have them. Strasser Roller only began systematic record-keeping after the 1989 merger, and anything prior requires a physical request to their legal department. You'll need to provide a sworn affidavit stating the purpose of your inquiry. This is standard procedure for all pre-merger data requests across German industrial firms, not unique to Strasser Roller, but worth knowing so you don't waste time on the wrong door.
Get the Full Details
The entire process from initial inquiry to receiving full archive access typically takes four to six weeks if everything is complete on the first submission. Expect delays if your documentation has errors, which mine did on the first attempt because the form asks for a registration number that doesn't apply to deceased employees. I left that field blank and got a request for clarification that added eleven days to the timeline. One thing they don't advertise: if the deceased had served in a classified division, their obituary entry will read as a placeholder with minimal details. The operational section will be blank and the tribute upload feature will be disabled for that record. In those cases, only immediate family with a security clearance can view the full file, and even then it's redacted. I learned this when attempting to access my cousin's uncle's record, who'd worked in communications. The system showed a valid employee entry but every field beyond the name and dates was grayed out. No amount of documentation changes that.
