River of Destiny E-Book

Hubertus Klink

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 387

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

This is the English translation of the German original 'Gratwanderung'. the story of my Moselle wine-making family. I try to tell German history - predominantly of the 19th and 20th century - by the example of one family in one village. Since the Moselle is a border region, there are a number of connections to other countries, namely France. Foreign readers may learn how and why the Nazi-ideology was able to gain support and to what sort of conflicts that lead, dividing whole families. Probably the most exciting part of the book is when I describe how my grandfather helped a shot down American airman and what consequenses that had for him. The story also allows deep insights into the rural life before WWI, when Germany was still a monarchy and one of my relatives was serving at the court of a local aristocrat. The personal stories are rounded up by some factual chapters, for example about the Roman heritage of the region, the fate of the small Jewish community, the role of the wine and some famous persons from the Moselle.

Leseprobe

From the German original ‘Gratwanderung’ (2018, Bod) translated by Maria Lydia Fontenele Reis and the author

Salve, magne parens frugumque virumque, Mosella!

For my five children and all wanderers and adventurers of this world

In memory of my rural ancestors from the Rhineland and Westphalia. Dedicated to my grandmother Aenne Quint, b. Franksmann-Tobergte (b. 1901 Altenhagen near Osnabrück, d. 1989 Wintrich/Mosel) with my love and appreciation.

Table of Contents

Prologue - A Fateful Encounter in Berlin

Preface

Wild Fellows - The Quints move to the Moselle

Matthias - A Man of No Half Measures

Wet Eights - Military Service in Metz

Adventures of the Railroad – The House on Korbel

Home Front - Gunner Quint in the Great War

Susanna - Prosperity without Bathtub

Wintrich - Otto meets Fulliautomatix and Unhygienix

Handsome Stranger - Heir and Heritage of the Soldiers of Rome

Georg - A Man on the Rise

The Kaiser in Lieser

Katharina - The Virtues of Domesticity

Salve Mosella! - Konstantin, Cusanus, Karl & Co.

Vinum Populum and Top Rieslings - Winemaking at the Moselle

The Grave of the Germans - Quints emigrate to the Banat

Aenne - The Power of a Great Woman

Eduard - Pride and Judgement I

Erbhof - Brothers in Misfortune in a Difficult Time

It was not us! - Jews in Wintrich

Matthew 25, 35

Rosa - Early Misfortune

St. Michael after the War - Pride and Judgement II

Hildegard - Love in Times of Banishment

Walter - It’s not easy Being a Son

Young Romans - The Twins Hiltrud and Hedwig

Erika - Bonjour Mademoiselle

Michael - The Curse of Icarus

Heinz - Yo, Mehn!

Beyond the Mountains the Sun! - Outlook

Where Have All the Flowers Gone - Impressions from a Lost World

Epilogue

Glossary

Bibliography

Soundtrack

Map

Prologue - Fateful Encounter in Berlin

Berlin-Lichterfelde, barracks of the Gardeschützen, autumn 1904

On the parade ground of the iconic red-bricked barracks (which still exist)1 are lined up the non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the 4th Company ready to be discharged.

The Guarde-Schützen-Bataillon (Guards Rifles) is unequaled in the huge army of the German Empire, an elite unit. Perhaps not as exclusive as the 1st Foot Guards or the Garde du Corps but in terms of its special tradition and proven track record on various battlefields there are few units in the glorious Prussian army that can compete with the "Noeffschandellers". Of course, the officer corps is 100% aristocratic and among the enlisted ranks the forestry professions predominant, as common within the Light Infantry. The 4th Company had earned special merit during the German War of 1866, when it had captured an Austrian battery in the Battle of Hradec Kralove (Königgrätz) while sustaining heavy losses. The scene was often depicted in battle paintings during the Empire, perhaps also because of their special uniform: the dressy green tunic and the black ‘Tschako’ (specially shaped leather helmet, later the headgear of the German police used until the 1960s) that was reserved exclusively for the few ‘Jägerbataillonen’ and just the Guards Rifles.

Due to their relatively freshly acquired glory, the 4th Company again enjoyed a special status; it was, so to speak, the 'elite of the elite'. On this day, not far from the soldiers, a very exclusive group of gentlemen is gathered on the parade grounds: representatives of the aristocracy and financial nobility, mainly from Prussia, but also from other states of the Empire. Men who have extensive land holdings and can afford a considerable number of employees. Naturally, such a court would have included ‘Leibjäger’, the gamekeepers to vast estates. The Leibjäger occupied a prominent position in the hierarchy of employees, since hunting had for centuries been an aristocratic privilege. The Leibjäger would remain in close contact with his lord while hunting, thus it was preferable to employ such personnel out personally. To this effect, the soldiers are lined up in three rows with three paces between them, so that the lords and gentlemen can march between the ranks.

The first rows of soldiers marches past Clemens August Michael Hubertus Antonius Aloysius Maria Freiherr von Schorlemer-Lieser – this was really his full name - ‘Oberpräsident’ (Chief President) on leave of the province of Silesia, appointed member of the Prussian House of Lords and elected member of the Rhenish Provincial Parliament, 50 years old. Of old Westphalian aristocracy, through skill and aptitude he managed to attain the aforementioned high positions, and through marriage secured significant wealth. Schorlemer is a tall grizzly figure with a meticulously groomed mustache and short gray hair, styled in the then obligatory dead center part. In appearance, he is not necessarily the cliché of the Prussian high officer or civil servant, rather more like an English lord. The man enjoys the Emperor's sympathy and trust, which at some point may even blossom into friendship. One could not hope to achieve more.

His Excellency scrutinizes the soldiers as he passes through. Many have undergone hunting or forestry training before their military service or had learned a related profession, such as gardening. Above all, these men had completed an excellent two-year military training, in which particular emphasize was given to marksmanship. The Guardsmen are indeed what one might call sharpshooters, or in today’s equivalent, snipers. Due to their particular combat style, a special way of conduct between officers and enlisted soldiers prevails within the Light Infantry: a less rigid, rather more egalitarian relationship than found in most other regiments. The Guards status is the icing on the cake; as a result, even the simple corporal holds quite the standing.

In short, there is no better reserve of Leibjäger in all of Germany.

In the first row, Schorlemer sees nothing of note, nor even in the second, does no man pique his interest. He turns his sights onto the left end of the last row. There stands the group leader, a strikingly young, handsome Corporal. Schorlemer stops. The man in front of him does not exactly have the size of a giant, which is why he is in the rearmost row, a military practice still in effect today.

Nevertheless, in his bolt upright, correct posture, the man does not seem to differ from his peers. The otherwise clean-shaven face is embellished with a handsome mustache, just as the one on his Majesty the Emperor wears one. However, this is not unusual for the time.

The brass buttons on the chest and the special "French" cuffs shine in the September sun. Then, something else dawned on the baron - these are the eyes of my great-granduncle! These particularly dark eyes that are so characteristic for his family. They look upon their counterpart in an amusing, challenging way, not military-rigid, stiff or even submissive. No, instead there is self-confidence in these eyes.

"Are you Catholic?"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"Rank? Name? Birthplace?"

"Oberjäger Georg Tobergte from Altenhagen, Osnabrück County!"

"What profession did you learn?"

"Gardener, Your Excellency!"

At this moment, Georg Tobergte’s fate would take a decisive turn. In a few short years, this son of a Westphalian farmer of rather modest background was to become Leibjäger to the baron and then a well-respected and wealthy winegrower on the Moselle River.

For one of George’s relatives, so too would this move to the south have far-reaching consequences and steer her life in a completely different direction than the one seemingly predetermined. It is here and at this moment that the story of the merger of two previously completely distant families begins and thereby also this story.

The ‘Gardeschützenkaserne’. The most beautiful barracks of Imperial Germany, contemporary photography from a souvenir album of G.T.

1 See glossary

A word in Advance

Family stories of non-fictional nature are likely to occupy one of the top spots in the long line of effective literary sleep aids. As a countermeasure, this book contains for good measure proper pinches of sex 'n drugs, crime' n violence and gossip from high to very high circles. Nevertheless - and I attach great importance to this – almost nothing is invented, but everything is historical or testified by witnesses.

This book expressly aimed at younger readers.

Wintrich, Upper Village, May 21st, 2017. 2:45 p.m.

In a few moments, I will enter the parish church of St. Stephanus for a four hour event. Leaning against a wall, I enjoy the warm sunshine. From way up a woman comes down Pützgasse. Usually, no tourists ever stray into this part of the village. I glance at her, thinking: funny, but there is at least a fifty-percent chance that I am related to this stranger. As if in greeting, she says, "One last time" and chuckles. It is the last day of the Passion Play performance in Wintrich. What the small village sets up every five years is simply sensational. Literally, half the village is directly involved - the choir alone has 88 members.

Railroad line, somewhere between Berlin and Frankfurt. May 20th, 2017

I am sitting in the Intercity Express Train on my way to the Moselle - and I write. I am compiling the story of my maternal family and have been doing so – without interruption - for about five weeks. Nearly 200 pages are already filled; the rough draft of the personal chapters nearing completition. Everything should have been finished almost 20 years ago, but one always shies away from such large-scale projects especially when one reason or another always tend to appear putting off a start.

Why did it suddenly all klick now? I do not know exactly myself. For the first time in after almost 25 years, I visited my aunt Hildegard in Freiburg, the 'Senior matriarch' of the family. My aunt knows a lot, and above all, she has the rare gift of giving very accurate information and pointing out decisively when she is not entirely certain about specific details. One can clearly discern her academic training.

Hildegard is almost 88 years old at the time of my visit. Time to talk with the children of Aenne and Eduard is inexorably running out. This was one reason. The other was a find that electrified me – the discovery of my grandfather’s Gestapo files. For decades, the files of the Gestapo headquarters in Trier had disappeared in a French military archive; they were rediscovered only in 2015 and were roughly recorded months before my (repeated) request at the University of Trier. Nevertheless, they quickly provided me comprehensive information, indicating the name of an American airman my grandfather had once helped during the war that I could do further research.

Later, I was even able to trace the denazification files of Georg and my Grandfather. Very exciting content!

The knowledge and the background of this book were accumulated in my head for over more than four decades, it had only still to be put down on paper. I used every minute of my vacations, spare time and travels (once to Africa) in the following weeks to this effort. On the one hand, I owe my wife and children a great debt of gratitude for their understanding; on the other hand, this work was written primarily for them.

For me, researching and writing was an unprecedented and incredible experience. So many things have become clear that had puzzled me for decades. When one puts oneself intensively in shoes of a person one has a depth of knowledge on, one begins to see things from a distinct perspective, and suddenly, untangled and deciphered. A fascinating experience that I can only encourage anyone to make.

Unless otherwise stated, the decades in this text always refer to the 20th century. Expressions in italic refer to the glossary for more in depth explanation. A pedigree at the very end might help you to orientate through the widely ramified family.

Very special contributions to this book concerning the Quint side of the family came from my two Aunts Hildegard Kling and Erika Moser and the 95-year-old neighbor Pauline Reis. As for the Tobergtes and Franksmanns side, I am indebted to my mother’s cousin Alex Himmermann (d. 2019) as well as my cousin Matthias Quint. Regarding the village of Wintrich and its history, I thank the input of Paul Jüngling (d. 2020). I also owe him greatly for help with the local Wintrich dialect. Mrs. Elisabeth Quint from Rastatt and Mr. Claus Quint from Wintrich gave me valuable information regarding the Quints who migrated to the Banat. Mr. Günter Kettern has helped a lot with his unique database on family books from the region. Mrs. Maria Lydia Fontenele Reis did a tremendous work in revising the English translation. Of course, many others contributed, not least my father and my siblings

Every family has a collective memory, but if it is not written down from time to time, much of it is irretrievably lost. In my family, there were remarkably many exceptionally strong figures, with all the positive and negative aspects of such personalities. I mention this because it affords the author the great advantage of finding authentic and distinctive characters as source material. I have endeavored to introduce my ancestors in the time and circumstances that shaped them. How one then personally judges them, I would like to leave to the reader.

Aber da draußen am Wegesrand, Dort bei dem König der Dornen, Klingen die Fiedeln im weiten Gebreit, Klagen dem Herrn unser Carmen. Und der Gekrönte sendet im Tau Tröstende Tränen herunter.

Out there at the wayside By the King of Thornes Fiddles Sound in his open country Lament to the Lord our Carmen And the Crowned sends down with the dew Tears of Consolation.

Fritz Sotke

Wild Fellows - The Quints move to the Moselle

My great-grandfather, the winemaker and farmer Matthias Quint was born on December 18th, 1873 in Wintrich, Mosel. His father's name was equally Matthias, born in 1835. At the time of his death, my greatgrandfather was 13 years old. Matthias the Elder was the son of Johann, who lived from 1807 - 1885. Johann was the son of Jakob (1774 - 1807), Jakob the son of Michael, who was in turn son of Gerlach, who was born in 1717.

In the 1830s, when infant mortality was particularly high, our Quint branch almost has not survived. Of the five children, Johann had with his wife Katharina Esselen, only Matthias the Elder survived. The marriage certificate of his father Jakob and mother Anna Eva (by the way an illiterate, who signed with “X”) is still preserved in the official records. Remarkably, it represents the first document of the French dominated period, issued by the then Mairie (town hall) de Lieser dated March 3rd, 1798.

Matthias’ mother was Anna Maria Kiemes, who also from Wintrich. Matthias was orphaned 10 days before his 16th. Common for the era, Grandfather Johann2 by this time was gone too; after all, people did not live as long as they do today in early-mid 19th century. Anna Maria died at 29. Matthias had five siblings: four sisters and one brother. Except for the sisters Elisabeth (Liz, b.1869) and Anna (b. 1875), all siblings did not really grow old. The brother named Johann (Hanni, b.1867) and the other two sisters Gret (b.1868) and Marie (b.1871) died early on. As recounted by Aunt Liz: “Se hunn sej-ich iwer de Bur gelocht.” (They lay down over the well); the idiom suggests that virulent tuberculosis was rampant in the family. Gret was the eldest sister and took charge of the family after the death of her parents. The siblings remained together and were not, as usual in such situations, distributed to other family members. The children secured their living quite successfully with the breeding of oxen. It must have been a very hard situation, but by no means was it something completely unusual at that time.

Matthias’ ancestors can be traced quite a way back. Around the beginning of the 17th century, the first Quints appeared in the Hunsrück area (Hoxel). They came from outside of Germany, probably from a Romance language-speaking area, presumably Lombardy. The oldest Quints detectable on the Moselle operated a dishonest trade and settled there as vagrant tinkerers from the rough Hunsrück heights down to the lovely Moselle valley in the first quarter of the 18th century.

Thus my ancestors were 'princes in rags and loden, honourless to the core', as it is says in the beautiful song of the Wandervogel - they continued 'whirling on a dusty road' and 'knocking at the Veit’s and the Velten’s'…3 and from time to time, they will have fought like the tinkers...

“The Quint were and are also known for their irascibility.”4

The house where Matthias was born still exists. It is situated in the area called Thanischt and is consequently called in the Moselle diction: 'auf/on Tónischt' (Celtic: tanaoon; the oldest populated part of Wintrich). Actually, it is not a single coherent house but rather considerable hodgepodge of at least three quite different old parts of a building (the eldest part in the middle might well date back into the 15th century making it to one of the eldest constructions in the village). This is the typical product of a construction method where lack of space made for its mother and lack of funds its father. Here and there, something was added on, then altered, then added to again or moved elsewhere. Then successive inheritance issues caused bits to be separated or taken out entirely, ultimately resulting in an architectural Frankenstein, only much smaller and weaker. Due to the so-called Franconian system of inheritance division, also known as Realteilung (real division), building plots in Moselle villages looked exactly like the vineyards in the mountain: narrow, long strips, although the building plots were usually rather short.

The builder of the earliest part, the right wing of the house, was Matthias' grandfather Johann. Consequently, the initials on the lintel (which, along with the beautiful two sandstone windows of the middle section represent the only decoration of the house) reads: “J 18 + 85 Q” (find a photo on page 193). Once Johann had this wing built he took one look at the artisan’s bill, he fell dead on the spot. That was in February 1885, his grandson all but 11 years old, and five years later he would be orphaned. Such circumstances are certainly no fun today, but back then then it was pretty much hell.

The location of a house within a village says a lot about the social status of its inhabitants. There are the good and less desirable locations, and of course, the just plain bad. Due to the particular topography of the Moselle, (Ernst Jünger once described it with the apt adjective 'plastic') the situation in a typical village looks like this: the best locations are located along the main street and around the village square. The main road may be high enough to be free of floods, but at the same time not too high, that the inclination becomes too steep or result in an acute lack of space. This was the case in Wintrich, a happy exception, because in most Moselle villages the main road lies more or less directly on the river back due to a lack of level ground. Then follow the houses on a 'second row', but still level and as far from possible flooding ground as possible. The further up the hillside slope or lower towards the water (the latter applies explicitly only to Wintrich, where in many places the most beautiful houses stood by the water and one accepted the consequences), the worse the situation.

‘Auf Thanischt’ is located on a low to modest hillside, where a majority of houses in Wintrich are situated. As with a modern refractometer, used to measure the amount of natural sugar in grapes, we can use this classification to precisely determine the social status of the Quints: they were average, that is, they lived in modest but adequate conditions. By our modern standards, we would certainly consider them poor. In fact, they were also poor in comparison to rural conditions in other (but not all) parts of Germany at the time. Outsiders today tend to associate viticulture with peasant prosperity. At the time, that was definitely not the case in the Moselle. Until after the Second World War, one could find abject poverty in the Moselle villages. In Matthias’ times 40, rather 50 percent of his classmates would have come from more modest circumstances than he himself.

2 In a Moselle village, every family bears a house name. The house name of the Wintrich Quints is “Haanesen”, which derives from Johannes. There are competing theories about the origin. To me, the most plausible is that one Johann pronounced his name strikingly stretched: “Ei-esch sinn der Joha-anes”.

3 Veit and Velten: almost everybody

4 Notes of Eduard Quint, p. 117

Matthias - A Man of No Half Measures

On May 26th, 1904, Matthias married Susanna Kettern, who came from a comparatively wealthy family from a neighboring upstream Moselle village. For this story, Matthias is in a sense the starting point, the ‘progenitor’. When we think of the ancestral progenitors, what images do we conjure in our minds? Tall, venerable old men with baldheads and beards - something like that, right?

Well, that is precisely how we can envision our Matthias, only we would have to slightly adjust our imagination, replacing the beard a mustache, but a stately one. Towards the end of World War I, he actually did sport a carefully trimmed beard. Apropos, Matthias was a very imposing figure: his wedding picture show him tall and well build man, with the big hands of a farmer and actually, already at 30, quite a bald. This head is, a real character head - perfectly even in shape, with a straight nose, the two slightly cold condescending light eyes (the hallmark of all real Quints: the gray-blue eyes) and above, literally the crowning hallmark: a high and very broad forehead. The head of a free and proud man, the skull of someone who stubbornly and steadfastly follows the path of self-imposed goals.

Matthias had actually reached his first important goal at the moment of his wedding photo: through marriage to Susanna, the young man with the modest background and a difficult childhood had come into prosperity. From that moment on, he belonged to the small “upper class” of poor Wintrich.5

I fear that this man, who was always extremely rational and focused on extreme efficiency and thrift, did not show a hint of romantic feelings later in his marriage. A drastic example illustrates this: within a year of the marriage, as desired, a boy (Eduard, my grandfather) was born; after Matthias literally disassembled the conjugal bed the 'marriage operation' once complete discontinued. The ‘heir’ had been born. Each additional sibling would have only reduced Eduard’s inheritance and thus diminished Matthias’ legacy of transforming the Quint-property (which was still named Quint-Kettern Hof) into a great estate. In order not to be tempted, Susanna soon had to move into a roper room in the attic. When Matthias did something, there were no half measures.

In this context, one should know how Matthias set his priorities early on and then followed them through consistently throughout his life: first came his winery. Then nothing came for a long time. Then came his wife and two children, and finally the Church. That's it.

No people, no kingdom nor empire or leader at all, whether he was called Wilhelm, Friedrich or Adolf.

A Digression on Inheritance Law:

The ‘Franconian’ division of estate inheritance (commonly known as Realteilung or ‘Real Partition’), which prevailed in the Moselle, appears at first glance, to be fair and modern. In reality, it often led to a situation where the small farms were being reduced below the limit of economic sustainability. My grandfather Eduard would remark in the local patois 'Sei hunn se-ich dootgedehlt’ – “People have literally divided themselves to death.” This rather exacerbated the general poverty. The other model, the Germanic or Saxon inheritance partition (Anerbenrecht) prevailing in areas such as Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Saxony, the Black Forest, Upper Bavaria, and Tyrol favored a single heir. This objectively disadvantaged the other siblings but ensured the survival of the farms within the same family often over centuries. In turn, the ‘Hoferbe’ (heir) could not refuse to support his siblings for practical and moral reasons, should they find themselves in distress. Matthias was clearly a staunch opponent of the ‘Real Partition’, or more precisely expressed: he wanted to keep his winery in full size for as long as possible. That was his vision of life.

Back to our Matti: His ancestors had never faced the 'problem' of a rich legacy; Matthias was the first to have to have to consider this, and hence act accordingly. He did this in his own consistent and unwavering manner.

Later in history, another ‘great chairman’ recognized the 'one-child-policy' as progressive and correspondingly copied it in a world region far away. However, within the ordinary winegrowing families of the Moselle, where at the time you had at least four children on average, this was something completely unusual. Nine years later, an 'accident' occurred. Its result was the little sister Rosa Christiane, who was born in February 1914.

So who was this Matthias Quint? And what do we know of Haanessen-Mattes?

At first glance, he does not differ in any way from the majority of his contemporaries in Wintrich and in the Middle Moselle. He hailed from a comparatively poor winemaking family. As we have seen this was most probably true for 80 – 90 percent of his peers. Certainly there were many representatives of other various trades (bakers, butchers, carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, cobblers, coopers, etc.), but they were usually not wealthier than the peasants themselves. Only millers were often able to achieve a more or less modest level of prosperity. For that, they first had to make substantial investments (as was the case with the brewers, for example).

Matthias grew up on 'Auf Thanischt' (Tónischt). The street lies on the then southern edge of Wintrich, on a gentle slope not far from the cemetery. Due to the specific topographical conditions in the Moselle villages, a pressing and burdening narrowness almost everywhere (the river in front, the mountain in the back). When handling and maneuvering with the sometimes quite large vehicles and equipment of a winemaker’s business, permanent neighborhood disputes about obstruction of passage, drainage of rainwater or even manure are inevitable. As the access to the stables on Thanischt was common, there was always trouble. Matthias desperately wanted to escape this oppressive narrowness, the miserable poverty, which quelled any development. However, Matthias lacked almost all prerequisites to put his intentions into action. He had no financial means, his education was average at best (having attended 8-year village school), and he had no rich relatives or other benefactors.

Regarding my great-grandfather’s political views: Matthias was a Catholic Rhinelander. This already says a lot about his political position in the empire at the turn of the century, much more than one would assume today. For centuries, the Moselle valley, like the majority of the territories on the left bank of the Rhine, was mainly ruled by prince-bishops (Wintrich belonged to the Electorate of Trier). The Church’s rule was generally somewhat less oppressive than in the secular territories (hence, the saying ‘Unterm Krummstab lässt es sich gut leben’ - It is good to live under the crosier). This comparatively liberal regime was further strengthened when the French occupied the entire left bank territories and incorporated it to France at the end of the 18th century. Although the French military and administration were by no means popular (partly due to diligently collected taxes) the positive aspects initially outweighed the negative: political freedom and a modern legal system. All privileges for individuals or certain groups were abolished, and for the first time everyone was equal before the law.

A not inconsiderable part of the appeal of French rule at all times and in all places was their melodious language, which was able to lend an air of elegance and exclusivity to even the most profane things. Thus, my great-great-great-great-grandfather Jakob turned from ‘Bauer’ (farmer) to ‘Jacques’, the ‘cultivateur’, as stated on the birth certificate of his son Johann – pardon - Jean, drawn up on March 1807 at the Mairie de Lieser, Département de Sarre. Nevertheless, Rhenish peasants would only enjoy their chic new title for a brief twenty-year period. After 1815, the Prussians reverted them back into simple ‘Ackerer’ (farmer, but now with a slightly negative connotation). Quel dommage - what a downfall!

When the Rhineland was awarded to anti-liberal Prussia at the Vienna Congress, this must have had a very sobering effect on its inhabitants, like the proverbial cold shower. In short: the Prussians were not popular in the Rhineland and that remained the case in many Rhenish families for generations. Until well into the 19th century, the Prussian military had considerable problems enlisting Rhenish recruits. The long and heavy Prussian military service was very unpopular and countless young men sought to dodge it either by fleeing or short-term emigration. Even if one succeeded in putting a Rhinelander in the 'blue tunic', he was generally considered an unreliable soldier and annoying inquisitor. The pronounced anti-Catholic attitude and policy of the Prussian Prime Minister and later Reich Chancellor Bismarck during many years of his rule had significantly contributed to the widespread anti-Prussian sentiment and further alienation.

Matthias had nothing in mind with the Prussians, with one major exception: their proverbial austerity and their sense of order and organization, which my great-grandfather unrestrainedly admired for his entire life. Stories like the one of Soldier King (Friedrich Wilhelm I, father of Frederick the Great) in which he did not buy his own bathtub but borrowed one from his neighbor (at least for a certain period of time this is historically proven) or that of ‘Old Fritz’ (popular name of Frederick II., the Great) where he had to have his uniform mended five times rather than buy a new one, were passed down from one Quint-generation to the other as shining examples of exemplary living.

Otherwise, the Prussian administration, though correct and frugal, was considered brutal. Even with my mother, I could clearly feel that everything that lay east of the Elbe was perceived as deeply backward, if not primitive. Matthias was shocked about the fact that East Elbian Agrarians still beat their farm workers up until the onset of WWI, as one soldier told him at the beginning of the war.

A popular saying in the Rhineland:

"What did the Prussians bring us? Die Flöh, the flea (the poverty) die Schandarm, the Gendarme (violence) den kalten Wind, the cold wind (east)”

5 Already few years after his marriage and Matthias had made it to the wealthiest winemaker in Wintrich.

Wet Eights: - “We stood on the Moselle Bank, in Defense of the Fatherland”: Military Service in Metz

From 1895 - 1897 Matthias did his compulsory two-year military service at the 8th Rheinische Fußartillerieregiment (Rhenish Foot Artillery Regiment) in Metz. In principle, he only had to travel exactly 160 km up the Moselle.

Metz was a so-called first class fortress provided with an almost gigantic garrison (this concentrated military power served to protect the western border of the Empire, it could also be said that it was directed against France). Otherwise, the city on the Moselle was an important administrative center (capital of Lorraine), bishop’s residence and center of industry (dominated by tanneries and leather processing plants). In the 1890s, Metz had about 60,000 inhabitants, a huge city from the perspective of a winegrower's boy from the Middle Moselle. By comparison, Trier only had a good 36,000 inhabitants at the same time. A large part of the Metz city population, even more so the surrounding rural population, was French-speaking, like the entire west of Lorraine, which had been annexed by the German Reich in 1871, after the victory against France, as part of the ‘Imperial Lands of Elsass – Lothringen’.

All in all, the Metz garrison comprised around 20,000 men, making it one of the largest of the German army (there was no Imperial Army, and according to the constitution of the German Empire, all army units were subordinate to their respective Reich States. There was, however, an Imperial Navy). One special feature deserves mention: the 'colourful mix' of troops from all imperial states which was by no means normal in the rest of the empire but rather an unique attribute of the Alsace-Lorraine garrisons, which were supplied by all the constituent states to underline the character of the 'Reichsland'.

In the Empire, the heavy artillery was called Fußartillerie (Foot Artillery), which in contrast to the (light) Field Artillery was too cumbersome to follow the fighting troops directly. We remember: Clemens August Schorlemer did his military service in the Field Artillery regiment. He was indeed an aristocrat, but only ‘Booty-Prussian’6 and - God be with us - Catholic! (you had to be Protestant in Prussia, if you wanted to reach very high positions).7 “Off to the Gunners!” A true East Elbian Junker would never have served there.

The 8th Rhenish Foot Artillery Regiment was formed on June 16th, 1864. Some companies have some older traditions, dating back to the wars of liberation. The regiment received its baptism of fire in the storming of the Düppel Barricades in 1864 during the war against Denmark, where it played a prominent role. The wars of 1866 and 1870/71 also saw the regiment in action.

The regimental motto of the 8th Foot Artillery Regiment, in addition to the “Zu-gleich!”8 still valid for all artillerymen today, was “Treu Metz alle Wege!” (Always and ever Metz) from 1877.

The nickname for the members of the regiment was Nasse Achter - Wet Eights. An allusion to the drinking capabilities of the Rhenish artillerymen. In addition, beer was cheaper in Alsace-Lorraine than anywhere else in the German Empire. (So now we know why the Bavarians provided the second largest contingent of troops in Metz).

An amusing incident occurred right at the beginning of Matthias' time in Metz. After he had duly reported to his barracks on October 1st (a Tuesday) to take up service with his unit, he would receive his uniform the following day. Therein a problem arose. According to the entry in his military service report, which I keep like a precious jewel, Matthias’ boot size was listed as 30.5 cm, which corresponds to a current shoe size of 48. The quartermaster of the La Ronde Barracks simply did not have such unusually large boots in stock, not a single pair. Two pairs were specially commissioned, but by the time they were done, at least 2 weeks would have gone by. Surprisingly obliging, the Prussians released our Matthias to return home for this intermediary time. Due to his oversized feet, he did not start his military service until the October 17th (as sustained on his military service record) which was certainly a rare exception.

A little less than a year after his enlistment, another incident occurred. Matthias had fallen out with a corporal over something, an argument ensued, and the corporal finally got physical. Now, as is well known, the Prussian military was by no means a girl’s boarding school. Training was tough and the atmosphere almost always rough, especially in the border garrisons, where due to close proximity with the enemy, one did not want to allow for any laxity or permissiveness. There were strict rules to be followed by everyone.

The Prussian army had aspects that were far ahead for their time. While the Prussian army had already observed the right to appeal, in 1918 it instituted a system of representatives at company level to serve as a liaison between enlisted and regimental leadership. This was a complete innovation in world military. Severe corporal punishments had already been abolished by Old Fritz, but also any other form of violence or assault had also been strictly prohibited for some time.

Matthias filed a written complaint the same evening of the incident. The complaint was dealt with very next day and the corporal was sent to the brig for a full week. Notwithstanding, Gunner Quint was also punished with one day of arrest. Had the court recognized complicity and wanted to punish both parties? No. Matthias had fallen short of the prescribed deadline for filing the complaint. According to the regulations, the complainant should 'sleep on' the matter for at least one night before submitting his complaint. A very wise regulation conditioned by much life experience, which was still in use in my own soldiering days 90 years later and certainly still apply. The somewhat hotheaded Matthias did not have this patience, he had violated the rule and for that, he was allowed to cool his temper in the brig.

A junior officer who had probably listened to both soldiers and was not disgruntled with Matthias and his actions called him after serving the brief sentence and made him his Bursche. In the short term, Matthias was out of the line of fire, which was probably the main intention of the well-meaning supervisor. In the long term, the remaining stay in Metz was significantly improved.

6 German expression for the many Germans from other former sovereign states and areas, that were incorporated into Prussia in the course of the 19th century

7 As a point of interest, Karl Marx´s father, being an aspiring lawyer originating from a Rabbinic dynasty, did not convert to Catholicism, as it would have been prudent in this environment, but rather to Protestantism, right to the dominion of the new masters, quite clever on his part!

8 ‘Zu-gleich!‘/All together! is the battle cry of all gunners in the German speaking countries. At the artillery, the gunners had to handle with heavy equipment from the beginnings. Therefore, the men had to use their muscle power often together and in a coordinated manner. For example, when a gun was placed in position or when using the wiper rod to clean a pipe. Details of foot artillery regiment 8 from Wikipedia, retrieved on 18. and 19.04.2017

The House on Korbel

Matthias had taken his first step to rising up in life with his marriage in 1904. The second, and more incisive step, would follow four years later, Matthias builds a new house. The choice of the building site required almost strategic considerations. Space was needed, at the same time the new farmhouse should be close to the vineyards ("I do not pay my workers to go out for a walks"), the better ones were mainly brought in by Susanna, that is why they were situated in or towards Piesport. Therefore, the house had to be on the southernmost edge of the village, an area called Korbel, where new building plots had just been allotted. Between 1907 and 1919 a total of six new properties, five of them farmhouses of various sizes, were built along the road to Niederemmel.

The houses on Korbel lay just outside the village, about 300 meters away from the nearest houses. There was not much space there, but certainly much more than in the narrow streets of the village. Matthias built an impressive house: large and of simple clarity with balanced proportions. It looked like when children paint a house: rectangular floor plan, two floors, tent roof with high gables on both sides.

The building decoration is impressive: the house is built entirely of slate (with walls about 70 centimeter thick!), not unusual at the time, but not everyone could afford it. All windows and doors were finished with beautifully crafted red sandstone lintels. The large barn door was made of oak, as well as the richly carved entrance door. On the lintel, the initials of the two builders and the year of construction are carved in a sweeping script (M.Q. + 1908 + S.K.).

Korbel in 1965

These initials were also found on the keystone above the barn door. The windows on both floors were painted white and decorated on both sides with green painted shutters. The door was known to be the calling card feature of a house. The builders choose an ornately carved, double-winged oak door, with windows in the upper half, used only by wealthy homeowners of that time. The open entrance area in front of it, about 50 cm deep, is decorated on the right and left with 4 pictorial representations each, including several scenes of people working in the vineyard, binding, harvesting (the Muselmen’s women all wore headscarves at that time) or pressing wine. On the top left a wine drinker in a beautiful Moselle landscape is depicted, on the top right a pious worshipper under the crucifix. In the middle of the southern gable was a niche that contained an additional and most valuable ornamentation, a figure of Saint Michael, carved from gray sandstone. Mathias would later baptize this estate with the saint’s namesake.

The house had cost 32.000 RM (at that time a worker earned about 1,500 RM per year); the St. Michael alone cost 300 RM, as much as half a cartload of wine.

Why Saint Michael? It can be safely ruled out that a man like Matthias wouldn’t have given this a second thought.

From a political perspective, Saint Michael was after all the patron saint of the German Empire. He had been so since the victory of Otto the Great (who was, among others, a Wintrich farm owner and therefore a colleague of sorts - for better understanding, refer to the Wintrich chapter) over the Hungarians in 955 on the Lechfeld. From an ecclesiastical perspective, Saint Michael was the highest-ranking archangel and the patron saint of the ‘martial’ church - the so-called ‘ecclesiae militans’.

Matthias had a national attitude and voted accordingly, he was a faithful follower of his church,

He was also ‘militant’.

It all fit neatly.

The house was divided in the middle: to the left living quarters, to the right barn and stables for the two plow horses and the 4-5 dairy cows. Everything was laid in a straightforward fashion: simple and well balanced. The windows on the upper floor of the service wing behind the hayloft were effectively unnecessary but gave continuity to the design of the living quarters. This gave the house a more uniform and spacious appearance. To the right of the house, a sloping cobblestoned driveway leads to a courtyard behind the house and to the entrance of the wine cellar.

At the top of the barn house gable there was a large hatch for the haystack (with draw crane). Below it, there was the entrance to the stable with the manure heap in front. The obligatory outhouse for all residents was located adjacent. Beneath both outhouse and manure heap was the ‘Meastepoulskaul’, the cesspit.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the house was the wine cellar. For a large house, a complete basement would have been expensive and not necessary for the economic conditions of 1908 (annual wine production would have been maybe 7 barrels). The construction was conceived with a cellar Matthias could not have possibly fully used in his own lifetime. However, his successors would be grateful to him. From the beginning, Matthias had planned an extension, but for the sake of sound management (he only incurred debts in small doses, if at all) he only proceeded with this plan in 1921 attaching a generous press house and new stable to the left of the living wing. The new wing is adapted to the older part down to the last detail. As a result, the house was now largely symmetrical and spacious. Flanking the living quarters now stood improved areas dedicated to economic activity, both with identical gateways. There are probably few contemporary farmhouses on the long Moselle bank that surpass the house Matthias and Susanna’s in good taste and beauty.

The house was initially not fire insured. "What if lightning strikes and it burns down?" the builder was once asked. "Then I will build a new one!" answered Matthias.

The external appearance of the stately home should not deceive anyone: no great prosperity had befallen the Quint family. Even if that had been the case, Matthias would not have changed his traditional lifestyle, if only out of sheer stubbornness. Inside, the new house was ultimately a simple farmhouse:

Through the beautiful oak front door, one reached a hallway with terrazzo floor, inlaid with a large fleur-de-lis and a black decorative border. From here, two doors, to the left and right, led to two large rooms facing the street. On the right was the 'good room', simply ornamented with only a beautiful oak wall cabinet embedded in a large frontal niche. Here was the master's 'grandfather's chair', where he enjoyed a pipe after mass on Sundays. Across, in the left room, was Susanna's kingdom. It was used for various home works - with its spinning wheels, the butter churn and other equipment given the room a rather more workshop character than living room. Both rooms were floored with pitch pine; a high-quality wood had to be imported from overseas. This flooring was a point of great pride for Matthias, and is still in set in place today.

The hallway led straight ahead to a wooden staircase, before, you could turn left into the 'everyday room', and today you would say the living room. On the right side of the stairs, one reached an oak door, which was not inferior in beauty to the front door. I emphasize that because I find it remarkable that the Matthias made no aesthetic compromises, even with this back door leading to the courtyard.

To the right of the stairs was the most important room, the kitchen- the most utilized room in the house, from dawn ‘till dusk, meaning that at least one person was always in it throughout the day. The kitchen was clearly the heart of the house; here all meals were prepared and taken. It was correspondingly large, I estimate about 5 by 6 meters. The kitchen floor, laid with a 1.5m black and white terrazzo border framed solid oak planks in the center.