Wójtowo (Voigtsdorf) is located between Lutry (Lautern) and Reszel (Rösel) in the Polish part of former East Prussia (Ostpreussen). A few plots of land in this small agricultural settlement was enough to be relatively wealthy. And it was not too much to be executed on the spot as land owner when the Red Army moved in, back in 1945. Who knows the truth after all these years only captured by oral history? I was there today for the first time, to see my mother's birthplace. I took many photos that may trigger her memories: the buildings, school, garden and just the fields across the road. She never came back. I also talked to people. There are stories of violence, betrayal, and death, but also those of bravery and humanity. I decided not to write in public about what I heard. It's too easily misunderstood in the rough world of social media and there are radical views on this chapter of history. And honestly, I can't even talk about it without loosing my voice.
All that counts for me today is that I am happy to see my mother's birthplace. Now a wonderful Polish family is living in the house. It is still as a farm. I even saw some Trakehner horses. They maintain it by the means they can earn from the land. That's not easy. It never was.
The exit of Wójtowo (formerly Voigtsdorf)
This view remined me of Andrew Wyeth' painting "Christina's World"
Poppy flowers everywhere
Farm house near Lautern
I was always wondering why my grandfather liked these cherries called "Schattenmorelle". In his garden in West Germany he had many trees of these and they are not really common in the Rhine area.
Formerly the farm of Anton Siegmund, my grandfather
The smith's workshop beside Maria Gebriel's former home, my grandmother
The former school of Voigtsdorf / Wójtowo
Still some horse breeding
Corn flowers in the field
Center of Voigtsdorf / Wójtowo
The mill on the way to Reszel (Rösel)
Nameless graves on the cemetary in Lutry / Lautern
