At last, the war is over! Inge and Hermann can finally enjoy their lives in New York, and they’re even planning to become naturalised. Now, they’re Americans—and they’re expecting children. Back home on Föhr, things are quite different: food is hard to come by and every home has to take refugees. The war still affects everyone. But Inge and Hermann start missing home. Eventually, they decide to go back. And they bring a special cocktail with them.
Key resources for this episode:
Hermann’s letters from his time in the US Army
Wilhelm Koops: “Wyker Gezeiten: 100 Jahre Auf und Ab in Wyk auf Föhr” (Husum-Verlag)
Reinhard Arfsten: “Chronik eines friesischen Dorfes – Süderende auf Föhr.” (self-published)
“Flucht und Vertreibung überschatten 1945 das Kriegsende”, https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/Flucht-und-Vertreibung-ueberschatten-1945-das-Kriegsende,vertreibung102.html
“Eisstraße” in Nordfrieslandlexikon, https://www.nordfriiskfutuur.eu/nordfrieslandlexikon/eisstrasse/
Fact Checking: Ute Maack, Yves Müller
A podcast by Ferring Stiftung and Honig&Gold.
This podcast is based on the German podcast “Föhr nach New York – Eine Auswanderergeschichte” (by Honig&Gold, NDR Schleswig-Holstein, and the Ferring Foundation of Föhr from the year 2024.
You can find the German and Frisian versions of this podcast on the ARD Mediathek.