Our Family History -Dad's 92yrs grandfather left Konigsberg (modern day Kaliningrad) at the age of 3 to move to the Ukraine. Mutti thinks he died around the early 1930's at the age of 92. Dad said he still had boyhood memories of his grandfather. This would put the Tomtschik family's time of departure from Konigsberg around the early 1840's.
Gustav Tomtschik, Dad's father had a hops plantation and orchard in Federovka, Ukraine where the family lived. Gustav Tomtschik was born around 1877. Gustav Tomtschik married Amalia Konetzke in an arranged marriage in 1911 when he was 34 years old. Amalia is believed to have been 16 years old when she was married. Her father, as a dowry for the wedding, gave her 40 acres of land. Mutti thinks the family farm was a fairly large operation with many people working for Gustav Tomtschik. Gustav Tomtschik was also educated as an architect and built churches and other large buildings.
Dad went to school in a nearby town called Naindorf (unsure of spelling) and probably attended there through the age of 14. This was a Russian school. Lydia and Martha did not go to school.
Around 1920 Gustav Tomtschik and his family were sent to Astrakhan in Kazakhstan, near the Caspian Sea. Lydia remembers it being barren there with nothing but salt. Dad's sister Martha was born in Astrakhan. All the rest of Dad's siblings were born in Federovka, either before or after the time in Astrakhan.Dad's siblings are as follows: Gustav and Amalia Tomtschik first had twins who died at birth. Lydia was then born in January 1917 while still in Federovka. Martha was then born in 1920 in Astrakhan. After returning to Federovka, the rest of the children were born. Emma was born in January 1926, and later that year Olga was born. Dad was born on November 27, 1927. John Tucholke was born Oct 27, 1931. There were several other children that didn't survive. Amalia Tomtschik gave birth a total of 12 times.
Dad was about 2 years old when he was burned as his nightgown caught fire from a wood stove in his grandfather's house. His grandfather threw a pail of water on him to put the fire out, and then he was taken by horse and buggy to a hospital in Zhitomir. They thought he was going to die. He didn't walk again until he was over 3 years old.
Amalia Tomtschik's maiden name was Konetzke, originating from East Prussia. She was born in 1895.The family farm was signed over to Gustav Tomtschik by his father (Dad's grandfather). Gustav Tomtschik only had one sibling, a sister named Augusta. As part of the farm transaction Gustav had to pay Augusta 4000 Rubles, which he did. Later the money was changed and Augusta lost most of the value of her money, so she sued Gustav for another 4000 Rubles, but lost that suit and didn't get any extra money.
On April 5, 1928 Gustav Tomtschik was killed while coming back from market on his horse drawn wagon. Dad was only 4 months old at this time, so he never knew his father. There was a trial and two men were convicted of killing Gustav. One of the men hanged himself and the other was put to work building a church steeple, from which he fell off and killed himself. Oma Tomtschik always believed that Augusta had hired the two men who killed her husband Gustav.
After Gustav Tomtschik was killed, Amalia Tomtschik married a man named Tucholke. He was an abusive man and Amalia later divorced him and took back the name Tomtschik.The communists took the farm from the Tomtschik family in late 1929 or early 1930. After that they were forced to leave the land and move their house to a communal village. The peasants who used to work on the farm comprised the main manpower of the band that evicted them from the farm. When the communists came to take the land, Oma Tomtschik tried to run away from them through the orchard. They fired at her and told her to stop, and then they took all her money.
When the Germans came in and occupied that region, the land was given back to the Tomtschik family. This lasted for about one year and crops were planted again, but this was made difficult because of the large amounts of weeds that had infested the land.
The Tierev River ran near Federovka. Dad would go fishing there as a boy using a net made of cheesecloth. In the spring after the ice would go out they would catch a lot of eels, which probably came up the river from the Black Sea to spawn. Oma Tomtschik was always glad when he would come home with some fish since food was scarce after the communists took over.
Dad and his family left the Ukraine as part of a wagon train of returning Germans in October of 1943. His family followed the retreating German forces out of the Ukraine/Russia. They were still considered German citizens and were never Russian citizens.
On the journey back to Germany they spent 9 months in Lodz Poland. The Germans planned to have them farm the conquered land in Poland, but then as the Russians were advancing, the family again had to evacuate. They arrived in Beienrode in October of 1944.
They left the Ukraine with two horses and a cow. Lydia had a nine-month-old son who died on the journey from pneumonia. They were always wet and cold and had no way to adequately dry the babies diapers. They had to leave the child somewhere along the way and were not able to bury him.
They had to kill their cow along the way for food. German soldiers took one of their two horses in exchange for a nearly dead horse, which died shortly after. One horse lived and they still had it in Beienrode. It's the horse Dad is sitting on in some of the pictures Mutti has.
On the return trip they went through Poland and spent about 9 months there. While there Dad worked in the German Arbeitsdienst starting when he was around 16 years old. He spent around two years in the Arbeitsdienst. He was issued a gun and spent a lot of time digging trenches.
While in Poland they kept hoping the Germans would win the war in Russia so they would be able to return to their home in the Ukraine. The Tomtschik family was sent to Beienrode by the Germans to work in the canning and sugar factories that were in the area. Uncles Otto and Julius Gaschke both served in the German Army during the war. Dad was drafted into the German Army in April 1945 and reported to Aachen for military processing, but the British forces already occupied that part of Germany and told him to go home.
Dad's cousin Waldemar Konetzke was in the Nazi SS (not willingly according to him) and therefore could not come to the United States. He still lives in Germany today.Dad's sister Martha was not able to come to the United States with the rest of the family. Either Martha or her husband Anton Artikov were found medically disqualified during 14 days of testing and immunization that the family had to endure in Hamburg prior to being allowed to immigrate. Martha died in Germany in the late 1950's under suspicious circumstances. It is believed someone killed her, but this has not been proven. Her grave is gone now as the Germans only keep a grave marker on the grave for 30 years.
Martha's husband Anton continued to live in Ochsendorf, Germany. Mutti was able to visit him during her trip to Germany in 1989. He died in the 1990s.
Mutti's father, Gustav Albert Michaelis, was born in Sufcpplingen on May 12, 1907 where his father, also named Gustav Michaelis, owned threshing machinery and would do custom work for other farms. Gustav Senior had some land of his own, but not very much. He mostly grew vegetables, which he would sell to restaurants and at market.
Gustav Albert Michaelis was killed in January 1944 in or near the city of Gomel, now in the present day Belarus. He was 36 years old when he died. He was killed as the Germans were already defeated in Russia and were retreating back to Germany. The town Burgermeister was responsible for delivering the death notice to the family.Gustav Albert Michaelis only had one sibling, a brother named Willy. Willy was also married and had several children, which were Mutti's cousins. Only one of her cousins from Willy's children is still believed to be alive, but neither Mutti nor Analiesa know where she lives.
Willy Michaelis was also killed in the war in 1942. Gustav Michaelis Senior took the death of his sons very hard. Mutti said he nearly went nuts afterwards. Gustav Michaelis Senior's house and land was some how signed over to the widow of Willy, even though it probably should have gone to Oma Michaelis since her husband Gustav was the oldest son. After this the family basically lost ties with Willy's widow, who might have taken advantage of Gustav Senior's distressed state after his son's death to obtain the house.
Mutti's grandfather, Gustav Michaelis Sr. lived for many years afterward. He was still alive when Mutti visited Germany in 1978. He was killed shortly after Mutti's visit when the bicycle he was riding was hit by a car. The accident occurred in Sufcpplingen. Mutti's grandfather Michaelis had a brother who owned and ran a bakery in Sufcpplingen. That bakery is still standing today. Werner, Mutti's brother, trained there for a time and was planning to become a baker himself.
Mutti's mother Emma Marie Michaelis (maiden name Rose) was born in Beienrode in 1908. Mutti was born in Beienrode too. Mutti's Grandfather Frederick Rose worked on a farm for the town baron and took care of cows until he was gored through the leg by a bull. After that he was lame in that leg and couldn't walk very well. He received some pension pay and couldn't work on the farm any more. He later got sick and died of cancer in 1947.
Mutti never knew her grandmother Rose who died giving birth to Hans Rose, Mutti's Uncle. Her grandfather Frederick Rose never remarried. Mutti never knew her real grandmother Michaelis either. Gustav Michaelis Senior had remarried and lived with his new wife, who Mutti knew as her Grandmother, before Mutti was born. Mutti didn't find out until she was older that this lady wasn't her real grandmother.
The lady Mutti knew as her grandmother Michaelis was diagnosed with diabetes and all the kids were worried they would get this hereditary disease too. After this, it was explained to Mutti that Gustav Senior's wife wasn't her real grandmother. Mutti is unsure of what happened to her real Grandmother Michaelis.
Mutti's siblings are as follows: Mutti is the oldest, born on May 26, 1927. Mutti had a brother born after her named Gunther who died around the age of one from whooping cough. Werner was born on April 12, 1931. Analiesa was born on February 9, 1936. Werner never married and was killed in a car accident in 1981. Analiesa married Gustav Dickmann and has two children, Barbel and Gert.
When Mutti was 11 years old she had scarlet fever.The war started in Germany in August 1939 when Mutti was 12 years old. She remembers following her Dad to where he had to report for army duty and wanted to go with him. He was taken away in an army truck and Mutti tried to follow the truck, but couldn't keep up and finally had to turn back. Her mother was very worried about her, as she didn't get back that day until after dark. Mutti was very close to her father.
Mutti's father, Gustav Albert Michaelis, was drafted into the German army in 1937 for two years of compulsory service. He was released from the army in May 1939. When the war started in August 1939 he was one of the first ones recalled to service. During his two-year conscription he was in Braunschweig. When he reentered the service for the war he was first sent to France. In the early war years he got to come home about once a year, but that didn't last for long. Later he was sent to Poland and Russia, where he was killed.
He was a Meldereiter (message courier) and always rode a horse to perform this duty. His final rank was Unterfeldwebel, a senior enlisted rank, after promotion from Unteroffizier. He only held the Unterfeldwebel rank for several months before he was killed.
Mutti went to school through the age of 14 at which point she had to go away from home for one year to Flichtjahr, a Nazi program. While there she was forced to work at a large farm milking cows and feeding animals. Work on the farm was hard and lasted all day. Despite this, she was also expected go to the Hitlerjugend meetings. She often missed the meetings because she was always tired from the hard work. She would get in trouble for this. Mutti was also called in for the Arbeitsdienst, but was not accepted. She doesn't know why she wasn't accepted, but her and her mother were both glad she wasn't.
Mutti went to school for a while to be a Kindergarten teacher. She went to class one day a week in Wolfenbufcttel. As part of her Kindergarten training Mutti worked as a nanny for an opera singer in Braunschweig. When Braunschweig was being bombed heavily, Mutti's mother made her quit that job and come home.
After Mutti's father was killed, Oma Michaelis had to get a job. She worked in a flower shop selling flowers. They got no soldier's pension or anything for the loss of Gustav at the time. Mutti also had a job at the time carrying mail in Ampleben. She would go down to the train station to pick up the town's mail and drop off the mail the town's people wanted sent. Allied aircraft often targeted the trains. Mutti remembers going to get the mail from the train station one day and the man in the mail car had been shot dead. She took the mail for Ampleben and dropped off her mail despite the dead man lying in the car.
Mutti lived in Ampleben until 1946 when her Grandfather Rose became ill and her family had to move back to Beienrode to take care of him. He later died of cancer in 1947.
After the war, Oma Michaelis did receive some money for Gustav's service to the German Army.Hans Rose, Mutti's uncle (her mother's youngest brother) is still alive and lives in Wolfsburg. He's 3 years older than Mutti. Mutti also had two cousins from her mother's side who were soldiers killed during the war.
In April 1945 the British occupation forces came to the Beienrode area. When the forces came everybody had to turn in their guns, which the forces then disposed of by dumping them in the local ponds. This was also the first time Mutti saw a black man. She was given a chocolate bar by one of the troops, but distrust was so high that she later buried the chocolate bar. They were glad though that the British troops came to their region and not the Russians as they had heard many horrifying stories of how the Russians were treating the Germans in the occupied territories, especially the women.
When the Germans, like Dad, who had previously lived in Russia returned to Germany and arrived in Beienrode, Mutti says they were somewhat resented. The main reason was that each person was only allotted a specific amount of living space in a house. If your house had extra rooms, these rooms would be given to one of the returning families to live in. Mutti was 19 when she first met Dad. He already lived in Beienrode when Mutti moved back there from Ampleben. The house Mutti moved into in Beienrode was only two doors down from the house Dad lived in, on the same street. They were married when Mutti was 21 years old and Dad was 20, on June 5th, 1948. Mutti wanted to get married before she was 21, but at that time parents had to give permission for anything a child did prior to the age of 21. Mutti's mother refused to give this permission.
Prior to being married, Mutti and Dad also worked together on a large farm near Beienrode called the Rittergut. Mutti said it wasn't by her choice that she worked there, but her mother made her do it. They worked at planting crops and harvesting hay.
After the war there were no jobs to be found so Dad went on the black market selling things obtained from smugglers out of the East Zone. He exchanged West for East Marks and also bought and sold merchandise. Nylons were a popular item. Mutti sold a lot of the merchandise for Dad. She said Dad would pay 50 pfenig for a pair of nylons and she could easily sell them for 2.50 DM. Dad's cousin Waldemar Konetzke worked on the black market with him. This trade was illegal, but the police usually looked the other way. Mutti says the police were some of their best customers. Dad was reported once and was called in to the police station for questioning, but was then released.
The lack of jobs in Germany was a major reason for leaving and going to the United States. Before they came to the United States, Mutti and Dad had to go through 14 days of medical testing and immunizations before being allowed to immigrate. This testing was done in Hamburg from 16-30 August 1951. Mutti said they received a total of 16 shots each. Mutti said the processing was normally supposed to take only 12 days, but she kept passing out when they drew blood from her. After this processing, they returned to Beienrode for two weeks to prepare for their trip to the United States.
Mutti, Dad, Waldemar and Monika left Germany for the United States on September 17th, 1951 from Bremerhafen. Mutti recalls the name of the ship being the General Bladgeford or Blackford, a U.S. military transport ship. Truman was President when Dad and Mutti immigrated to the U.S. The journey to New York took seven days. Mutti recalls arriving on a Friday or Saturday, but since the processing offices at Ellis Island were not open on the weekend, they had to stay on the ship until Monday morning when the offices reopened. When processing, each person was allocated $6, so Dad and the family got $24. This was all the money they had, as they were not allowed to bring any from Germany. They had all their possessions in several large trunks, but Mutti said much of what they brought was useless anyway as most of her dishes had broken and the clothes they brought were not in style.
After processing through Ellis Island, they took a 11 day train trip to Milwaukee, arriving there on September 28, 1951.
Mutti and Dad were separated on the ship. Women with children younger than three got to stay in separate rooms on the ship, which is where Mutti stayed. She remembers staying in a room with an Italian woman. Dad was in a lower deck open room with about 50 other men. All the men had to work on the ship. Dad worked in the ship's laundry. Mutti was seasick the whole time. The U.S. government paid for the transport ship.
Each immigrant family had to have a sponsor in the United States. Dad's was John Bieber who lived on White Potato Lake near Pound, WI. John Bieber was a cousin of Dad's father (Dad's grandfather's sister was John Bieber's mother). The sponsors had to take care of the immigrants for 2 years and could send them back to Germany if they became a burden.
Many of the sponsors made the immigrant families work for them for a period of one year. John Bieber did not require this. He had a job arranged for Dad at the Harnishfeger factory in Milwaukee for a starting wage of $1.25 per hour. John Bieber also loaned Dad $500 so the family could rent a house and buy needed items.
Originally a Baptist church in Idaho was going to sponsor Dad and Mutti to come to the United States. Under this arrangement the family relatives would have been separated, with some going to Texas and other places across the States. Originally they thought this was no big deal. We can still visit each other on weekends, they said. One of their relatives who had already immigrated to America a year earlier, named Charnetzke, convinced them through letters that they did not want to do this as the distances in the U.S. were much greater than they were used to in Germany and they likely wouldn't see each other for years. Mr. Charnetzke was then able to convince all the other family relatives living in Wisconsin to sponsor the relatives in Germany, so the whole family was able to move to Wisconsin together.
