shoes. They have had no new shirts or trousers for a long time. It is all right if they
are torn or have holes. Maybe you have some old clothes that you don’t need or
some that have become too small for your grandchildren. There is as much as
nothing to buy here, and we are not able to buy anything in the black market. Our
welfare group at church receives some nice things from America, but they must
first take care of the millions of refugees from the east who lost everything. Per-
haps you may include some thread or yarn because that is something we can’t get
here at all.”
Germany and its people recovered, and by 1960, much of Germany had been
rebuilt. Willi Grotelueschen was a Professor of Geography in his later years and
lived in Oldenburg, Germany, where they had a comfortable home. Their sons
Gerd (farmer on the original Grotelueschen farm place), Bernd (doctor), Eckhard
(teacher), and Helmut (doctor) grew up, married, and were each blessed with a
number of children.
Willi came to the U.S. to visit colleges and relatives in 1955. Eckhardt, his
son, came a few years later and traveled over much of the U.S. via a bus pass.
Both of them were well received. The bond of friendship was strengthened be-
tween the Grotelueschens in Germany and those in America. Willi passed away in
October, 1977. Willi’s son, Berndt, died a month later. In 1982, Renate, Willi’s
widow, moved into a smaller home on the same lot. Her son Eckhardt, a teacher,
and his family moved into Willi and Renate’s larger home.
The original farm home place is still being occupied by Grotelueschens at
this writing. Gerd, Willi’s oldest son, and his family live on this farm and farm the
land. In recent years a new house has been built on the home place. Part of the
farm has been crossed by a new modern highway. The farm is located near
Grossenknetten in the Bissel community, not a great distance from the city of
Oldenburg, West Germany.
Sons of Willi and Renate Grotelueschen
left to right: Bernd, Hildegard (wife of Gerd), Gerd, Eckhard, Helmut
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