Aug 2001

At the end of May, John Kostick and his sister, Judy made their third trip to research our ancestors who were born on the Island of Fehmarn. This year’s trip included a visit to Petersdorf for the Rapsblutenfest (Local Festival to celebrate the raps flowers), a tour of the Burg City Archives, and several meetings with a group touring the island from Midwest America. This Tour Group all had ancestors from Fehmarn, and John helped them research their family lines on the island at the Neustadt Church Archives. Read about these adventures and all the other things we did on our trip in the Daily Journal that Judy wrote. It’s posted on the website, complete with photographs from our trip.

Announcing the Grand-Opening of the Fehmarn Gift Shoppe. John has had several requests from visitors to his web site asking where to purchase books about Fehmarn. This year, while on our trip, we purchased a few items (books, flags, maps, etc.) in the local shops of Fehmarn that we thought you might be interested in. Have a look, and be sure to come back from time to time, as we will be adding new items occasionally.

A colorful expedition through 125 years on the island Fehmarn. Through the prism of the home newspaper from the anniversary date of 1982 through decades in retrospect each March respectively the newspaper reported in announcements and communiqué a colorful selection of reflected images. A mosaic of happenings and intellectual reasoning, concerning problems, expectations of people from the island Fehmarn during the last 125 years. A small chronicle of tranquility, or maybe for amusement.

In an announcement a firm Falck and Co. from Hamburg advertised: Shortest, quickest and least expensive emigration transportation to western North America. Information from the agent E. Mildenstein.

The paper reports about the last naval fight about the pirate Martin Pechlin from the island Fehmarn, who was spotted in Rysoe, Norway in 1526 and was killed near the coast, when his 3-mast bark was attacked by the north German merchant ships.

The drugstore 'Mindorf' announces: "Graszats" rat poison - "already 86 rats dead during one night! Not hazardous to humans or domestic animals".

The paper wrote: "For humor and laughter". Dear friend Albert; since our wedding is to be celebrated only to our restricted immediate family circle, we will invite only the most restricted relatives and friends, to whom you of course belong first of all..."

The FT reported: On saturday, the 21^st of march a general certificate of higher education was awarded during the graduation for the high school students, here are the names:

Boys: Walter Andersen, Wenkendorf (Lehrer), Peter Kröger, Burg (Electro-Ingenieur), Hans Mackeprang, Burg (now in the Reichsarbeitsdienst, merchant), Friedrich Mackeprang, Meeschendorf (farming), Friedrich Wilhelm Sähn, Petersdorf (volunteer for the Airforce), Jürgen-Anton Wiepert, Bisdorf (volunteer to the SS), Kurt Wiese, Burg (machin builder), Hans-Joachim von Woyna, Lensahner Hof (gardening).

The newspaper announced: the cinema "Marabu-Lichtspiele" advertised the film "Schütze Bumm in Nöten" 'private Bumm in trouble' and mentioned this to be "the heights of humor".

The FT on March 27^th reported: The mayor from Dänschendorf, Julius Detlef - at the age of 31 to be the youngest mayor "Gemeindeoberhaupt" on the island of Fehmarn. Otto Baasch writes from America in a reader's letter to Frau Lina Heydrich about the fenced in "Tiefe" peninsula:

This is Else Bügge-Wood. I married Thomas Eugene Wood in 1948 at: Post Chapel, Furth, Bavaria - in West-Germany. In the American occupational Zone. After World War two our country was occupied by the US, England, France and Russia. I had been working for the American Government in Bavaria and was so glad that the war was over. The years after the war were terrible, yet we managed to survive and deep down in our heart we were all glad that the killing had ended. I had to go through a lot of examinations and questioning before I finally got permission to marry. But Tom did all the paper work, but I had not gotten permission to stay in the US. For this I needed a VISA.

My husband had left for the USA and sent me this beautiful pair of shoes. He did not write me very often but he did send me some money in Dollars. He also made an effort to get a VISA for me. He had to pay for my [propeller airplane] flight from Munich to Shannon, Ireland and on to New York; because after January 1, 1950 the soldiers who married German citizens did not get free transportation 'for the war bride' to America

The plane circled for a long time over New York before it landed; no wonder this airport was mighty, mighty large. New York looked like a concrete manifesto from the air. At that time we were all very exited and when we landed it seemed that all the people on our plane suddenly disappeared. I had gone through all the motions of inspection and finally I also got the OK to go ahead. -

But I was very frightened, sat on my suitcase and cried; a black man kept looking me over. I really went all to pieces until the black man asked me if I was Mrs. Wood. He said: "Your husband is in the other room waiting to pick you up". What a relief, suddenly all my fear was gone. I went through the gate of inspection with the help of the black person. When I finally got through the inspection line and saw Tom for the first time, since we had to part in Bavaria, where he had to go ahead of me and fix up all the papers that were needed for me to receive a visa for my new home in OHIO.

Together we both walked the streets of New York. I really believe that Tom felt just as strange in this huge city as I did, he was raised on a farm in southern OHIO, while I was raised on a little island in the Baltic Sea, called Fehmarn. We were both still shy and regular country bumpkins, although I had seen the city life in a 'bombed to smitherings' city of Nuernberg and Fuerth in Bavaria.

New York was not anything like Germany, where all the cities were bombed and the people were still on ration cards. I remember, I gave mine away in Munich when I got ready to take the plane going from the old Munich airport to Shannon, Ireland.

Tom and I went around to find a room for the one night stay in the giant city. I chose the "New Yorker" high-rise hotel, I had never seen a sky scraper in my life, the people didn't look any different than they did in Europe. I felt right at home. We got a room on the 121^st floor, I remember looking out once, it made me dizzy. Next day we took the "Grayhound" bus and traveled toward Gallipolis, OHIO. The countryside was beautiful, many towns we passed along the way had German names. The grass was green already, while in Nuernberg they still had plenty of snow and ice, the temperature there was much colder, besides, not even one town was bombed like it was in Germany. To me it seemed like coming from Hell, entering into paradise. Until we arrived in the town of Gallipolis, situated right on the Ohio river. A small quaint little town. Only one main street with shops and one little movie theater. It had a large park right in the center of the town. The shops were all filled with goods. It was simply unbelievable. I had left Germany on Valentine's Day in 1950. Now this was going to be my new home and what could go wrong, because I felt that Tom loved me and I loved him. None of his relatives were there to meet us at the bus station.

Feudalism explains the order or leadership, which is tolerated by the state or other governing rulers and the lawful inheritance rights and the social legal rights of the worldly and priestly landowners compared to the other dependable masses (subjects, farmers, dependants, hirelings among others,) also mostly ruled by political superiority and specially privileged life styles: in different form; from autocratic discretion to patriarchal welfare dependency.

Since early capitalism the great manufacturers also belonged to the feudal system; as "Karl Marx" describes the modern capital-rich "Bourgeoisie" as a new form of feudalism.

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