The House by the Lake

by Thomas Harding

  Groß Glienicke Carnival Club 283

  ‘Groß Glienicke du Meine alte Liebe’ 138

  Groß Glienicke Estate 11–15, 17–21, 22, 30–2, 33–5, 40–50, 61, 63–7, 69, 74, 83–6, 87–91, 93–5, 102–3, 107–9, 121, 122–5, 129–33, 134, 165–9, 343; beehives 88; brickworks 18; dairy 18, 31; farming 15, 17, 18, 22, 31, 32, 63, 88; Gatow airfield 90–1, 130, 132, 151, 155, 156, 161–2, 165, 184–7, 185, 190, 249, 259–61, 280; Korn production 88; labourers 14–15, 18, 25, 30, 66; and land reform 166, 175, 345; livestock 22, 88; military encampments 130; nursery 18; schloss (manor house) 14, 19, 20, 26, 35, 62, 63, 66, 83, 87, 91, 130, 137, 143, 152, 166–7, 186, 211; Uferpromenade 127; vineyard 2, 18, 34, 61; wheat 15, 18, 88; and World War I 25

  Groß Glienicke Lake 12–14, 18, 31, 34–5, 34, 40–50, 52, 55, 57, 58, 83, 90, 95, 99, 125, 137, 142, 152, 185, 208, 227–8, 230, 232, 234–7, 242, 262, 281, 283, 290, 296, 300, 306, 307, 324, 354–6, 356

  Groß Glienicke Nobleman’s Estate 13

  Groß Glienicke Regiment 253

  Groß Glienicker Kreis 331, 353

  Grotewohl, Otto 192

  Grunert, Chris 339–40

  Grunert, Susanne 337–40

  Grunert, Volker 337–40, 342

  gun assistants (Flakhelfer) 132

  Guntzberg, Dr 37

  H

  habeas corpus 28, 75

  Hagen 148

  Halbstarke (half-strengths) 213

  Halensee 60

  Hamburg 29, 135, 175, 188, 189

  ‘hamster trips’ 187–8

  Handelsorganisation 264–5, 273, 308

  Handley Page Hastings 186

  Hanover 67

  Harding, Elsie 5, 7, 33, 38, 39, 41, 47, 51, 53, 55–7, 59, 71–5, 77–85, 92–104, 109, 123, 169, 247, 311–16, 314, 349, 355–6

  1912 birth 38; 1917 birth of Hanns and Paul 39; 1927 enters lake house for first time 47; 1928 16th birthday at lake house 56; 1930 begins studying medicine at Friedrich Wilhelm University 70; 1931 moves to Heidelberg to study journalism 71–2; 1932 votes for Social Democrat Party in federal elections 72–3; 1933 publishes articles criticizing Nazi Party 75; returns to Berlin for Passover; boycott of Jewish businesses 77–80; faces discrimination at Heidelberg University 80–1; wedding of Bella and Harold 81–2; 1934 expelled from Heidelberg University 83; photographs SA marching in Berlin 84; celebrates Lucien Picard’s 79th birthday 92–3; invites friends to lake house; develops relationship with Rolf Gerber 93; discusses leaving Germany with Rolf; Rolf rejects marriage proposal 94; Bella returns to Groß Glienicke from London pregnant 95; volunteers for Cultural Association of German Jews 96–7; becomes engaged to Erich Hirschowitz 97; 1935 marries Erich Hirschowitz 97–8; faces discrimination in wake of Nuremberg Laws 99; 1936 makes arrangements to leave Germany 101; helps mother close up lake house 103; travels to London via Amsterdam 103–4; 1942 birth of Michael 169; 1981 death of Erich 312; 1990 resumes relationship with Rolf Gerber; moves to Cape Town 312–13; 1993 death of Rolf 313; visits lake house with children 5, 311–16, 347, 355–6

  Harding, Erich 97–8, 101, 103, 109, 169, 312

  Harding, Frank (father of author) 109, 205, 347, 348, 349, 350

  Harding, Michael 169

  Harding, Vivien 313

  Hartmann, Hanns 120–1, 135, 136, 140, 141, 146, 147–53, 147, 154–7, 169, 170–1, 173–5, 178–9, 180, 182, 189

  1922 meets Ottilie Schwartzkopf 147; 1927 marries Ottilie 148; 1933 Ottilie banned from public performances; dismissed from job 148; 1935 hired by Wilhelm Meisel 120, 149, 178; 1937 excluded from Reich Chamber of Culture 149; helped by Wilhelm Meisel to obtain ‘special permit’ from Chamber of Culture 150, 178, 180; 1943 Edition Meisel relocates to Groß Glienicke after Berlin evacuated 150; 1944 agrees to look after lake house for Wilhelm Meisel 146; moves into lake house 151, 182; warned by Burkhard Radtke about air raid 152; contracts shigellosis from drinking lake water 153; 1945 winter storm hits Groß Glienicke 153; Soviet troops capture Groß Glienicke 155–7; leaves Groß Glienicke to live in Berlin 167; receives Fragebogen 173; 1946 permitted to reopen the Edition Meisel by West Berlin council 170–1; asked by Soviets to rebuild Metropol Theater 171, 173; assists in denazification trial of Wilhelm Furtwängler 177; leaves Berlin for Cologne 173–5; 1948 sends statement to Wilhelm Meisel’s denazification trial 182

  Hartmann, Ottilie 146–7, 151, 152, 154–7, 169, 173–5, 178–9, 180, 181, 182

  Hasenclever, Walter 56

  Havel River 1, 33, 167, 185, 187, 258

  Hebrew 20, 46

  Hegel, Georg 16

  Heidelberg University 71–3, 80–1, 83, 93

  ‘Heil Hitler’ 133, 181

  Heraldry Office 23

  Hermann, First Lieutenant 219

  ‘Heroes’ 203

  heroin 335

  Hesse 197

  Heydrich, Reinhard 112, 134

  High Command, Berlin 25

  Hilm, Harry 116

  Himmler, Heinrich 134, 144, 349

  von Hindenburg, Paul 65, 73, 74, 75, 76–7, 95

  Hinkel, Hans 128–9, 144, 150, 177, 179, 188, 189

  Hiroshima, Japan 164

  Hirschowitz, Erich see Harding, Erich

  Hitler, Adolf 68, 73, 74, 75–7, 89, 90–1, 100, 102, 117–18, 127, 131, 136, 142, 154, 158, 163, 337, 349

  HO shops see Handelsorganisation

  Hoffmann, Heinz 289

  Hofgarten 107

  Holbein, Hans 16

  Holland see under Netherlands

  Holocaust 109–10, 128, 134–5, 166, 179; see also Jews, persecution and genocide

  homosexuality 115–16

  Honecker, Erich 292–3

  honey 88, 266

  Hook of Holland 104

  Hoppe, Herr 196

  Hungary 117, 135, 259, 293

  hyperinflation 30, 40, 65, 79, 81

  I

  ice-hockey 100, 126

  ‘Ignition Key’ 220, 221, 225–6, 229–30

  Illiard, Eliza see Meisel, Eliza

  ‘Ilona’ 114, 188

  inflation 30, 40, 65, 79, 81

  Information Control Unit 175

  Intershops 273, 276, 277

  Ireland 135

  Iron Cross 31, 39, 78, 86

  Isherwood, Christopher 58

  Israel 109

  Italy 4, 82, 98, 168, 303

  J

  Jacobi, Lotte 48, 57

  Jäger Casino, Berlin 114

  Jagowstrasse, Berlin 109

  Jakobi, Bella 33, 38, 39, 47, 51, 53, 56, 59, 71, 73–4, 81–2, 85, 92–3, 94, 95–6, 100, 247

  1911 birth 38; 1917 birth of Hanns and Paul 39; 1927 enters lake house for first time 47; 1928 17th birthday at lake house 56; 1932 becomes engaged to Harold Sussmann 73–4; 1933 marries Harold Sussmann 81–2; 1934 celebrates Lucien Picard’s birthday 92–3; returns to Groß Glienicke from London pregnant 95; birth of Peter 96; 1936 father visits her in London; decides to stay 100; Elsie and Henny arrive to stay in London 104; 1945 death of Harold 168

  Japan 136, 164

  Jaspers, Karl 72

  Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) 109, 204

  Jews, Judaism 3, 5, 20, 35, 38, 39, 46, 52, 93, 115, 117, 331; Passover 77; Rosh Hashanah 52; synagogues 35, 52, 81, 128, 313; ‘Three-Days-a-Year Jews’ 52; Torah 81; Yom Kippur 52

  Jews, persecution and genocide 67, 77–86, 93–4, 96, 98–104, 108–10, 117, 120, 121, 127–33, 134–5, 146, 148–51, 153, 172, 173, 178–83, 204–5, 233, 333, 349, 355–6

  1916 German military conducts count of Jews in ranks 67; 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses 77–80, 77, 100; Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service 80, 96, 148; law restricting numbers of Jewish students passed 80; Joseph Goebbels declares intent to remove all Jews from German culture 117; Law for the Revocation of Citizenship 133; law barring Jews from journalism passed 83; 1935 Nuremberg Laws 98–100, 149–50, 181; Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour 98; Reich Citizenship Law 98; 1936 Germans who marry Jews threatened with dismiss
al from jobs 111; decree forbids Jewish teachers from tutoring Aryan children 111; last Jewish department store ‘aryanised’ 111; 1937 Jewish-owned employment agencies shut down 111–12; Reinhard Heydrich ordered to speed up Jewish emigration 112; 1938 Kristallnacht 127–8, 179; 1939 Ausbürgerungslisten published; Jewish properties seized 129–30; 1942 Wannsee Conference; ‘Final Solution’ begins 134–5; 1943 SS deport Jewish factory workers in Berlin for extermination 109–10;; Herbert Würzburg and Harry Waldau transported to Auschwitz 179; 1945 Belsen Trial 172; Nuremberg Trials 164, 172

  Johannistal Film Studios 118

  John, Elton 303

  journalism 71, 83, 84, 192, 194–6

  ‘Judenknecht’ 178

  Judenzählung 67

  Jugendweihe 211

  Jungfernsee, Potsdam 163

  K

  K5 department 218

  Kahn, Julius 37

  Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin 16

  Kaiser Reich 29, 64

  Kaiserallee, Berlin 38, 40, 77, 97, 98

  Kalashnikov rifles 265

  Kalter, Sabine 56

  Kaminski, Peter 294–5, 297, 310

  Kant, Immanuel 71

  Kapp Putsch (1920) 29

  Kapp, Wolfgang 29

  Karlsbader Straße, Berlin 109

  Karlsruhe 73

  Kennedy, John Fitzgerald 249

  Kensington, London 104

  Ketschendorf 160

  Khrushchev, Nikita 232

  ‘killing zone’ 234–5, 296, 298, 306

  Kladow, Berlin 31, 165, 211, 298, 338

  KLF 227

  knighthood 22–3, 29

  Koch, Erwin 49, 84

  Königin einer Nacht 140, 143–4, 145

  Königstuhl Mountains 72

  Konsum Shops 264, 273, 308

  Korn 88, 270–1

  Köthener Straße, Berlin 203

  Krakow, Poland 131

  Kramer, Josef 172

  Krampnitz 194, 295

  Krause, Herr 89

  Kreis 331, 353

  Krenz, Egon 293

  Krieg lights 235, 241

  Kristallnacht (1938) 127–8, 179

  Kroll Opera House, Berlin 77

  Krone, Hermann 138

  Kühne, Bernd 228, 230, 234, 241, 242, 245–6, 251, 252–7, 262–3, 266–8, 270, 272, 273–82, 283–90, 320–2, 335, 349

  1959 birth 228; 1961 crawls under border fence and into lake 234; 1965 Fuhrmanns move out of lake house 241, 242; begins attending ‘School Number 2’ 252; 1967 attends Groß Glienicke’s seven hundredth anniversary celebrations 257; 1970 Wißgott’s (formerly Munk’s) house burns down 266–7; 1973 inducted into Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) 267–8; Ursula comes to visit 270; 1975 trains to attend Sports Academy 273–5; 1977 injured in moped crash 275–6, 320; 1978 starts work as a truck driver 276; 1979 starts dating Gaby 276–7; 1980 moves into Drei Linden with Gaby 278; 1981 marries Gaby 278–9; birth of Michelle 279; 1982 moves to Seepromenade house; starts military service 279–80; 1983 declines job offer from Stasi 280–2; resumes work as a truck driver 283; 1986 reported to be ‘reliable’ by Stasi 284; 1987 birth of Christian 287; 1989 climbs over Berlin Wall; visits Ludwig’s Restaurant 290; knocks hole in Berlin Wall 298–9; 1999 death of father from stroke 320; suffers kidney failure 321; attempts to lodge claim for lake house 321–2; 2014 interviewed by author 245–6

  Kühne, Christian 287, 299

  Kühne, Gabriella ‘Gaby’ 276–9, 283, 287

  Kühne, Hartmut 216, 230, 320

  Kühne, Ingeborg 285–7, 293–4, 299, 303, 314, 314, 316, 320–1, 322, 323

  Kühne, Irene 216–17, 221–4, 227, 228, 233–4, 240–1, 251, 263, 264, 265–8, 269–72, 274, 278, 283–4, 293–4

  1955 marries Wolfgang 217; 1958 Wolfgang applies to join border patrol regiment 217–18; 1958 arrives to share lake house with Fuhrmanns 216, 221–2; 1959 becomes pregnant 227; birth of Bernd 228; 1961 construction of Berlin Wall begins 233–4; 1963 birth of Marita 240–1; 1965 Fuhrmanns move out of lake house 241; Wolfgang starts drinking heavily 270–1; listens to coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s visit on RIAS 251; 1970 Wißgott’s (formerly Munk’s) house burns down 266–7; 1973 Ursula comes to visit 269–70; starts working at post office 271–2; 1977 Bernd injured in moped crash 275; 1980 Bernd moves out of lake house with Gaby 278; 1986 divorced from Wolfgang 283–4

  Kühne, Marita 240–1, 263, 278, 320

  Kühne, Michelle 279, 283

  Kühne, Rosita 216, 230, 263, 278, 320

  Kühne, Wolfgang 216–21, 218, 222–3, 225–30, 240, 241–2, 245, 251, 265–8, 270–2, 274, 278, 283–4, 285–7, 293, 295–7, 303, 305, 314, 319–20, 323, 340, 342, 347

  1955 marries Irene 217; 1958 applies to join border patrol regiment 217–18; becomes secret informant for Stasi 219–21; 1959 meets with Stasi handler 225–6; Irene becomes pregnant 227; birth of Bernd 228; 1961 contract with Stasi terminated 229–30; construction of Berlin Wall begins 231–4; 1963 gives Lothar and Sieglinde lift to wedding ceremony 240; birth of Marita 240–1; 1965 Fuhrmanns move out of lake house 241; starts drinking heavily 270–1; listens to coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s visit on RIAS 251; 1970 involved in drunken incident in border security zone 265; Wißgott’s (formerly Munk’s) house burns down 266–7, 305; 1973 Ursula comes to visit 270; fired from refuse department for drinking on job 271–2; 1980 Bernd moves out of lake house with Gaby 278; 1986 divorced from Irene 283–4; 1987 marries Ingeborg Rachuy 285; 1989 Günter Schabowski announces easing of DDR travel restrictions 293–4; knocks hole in Berlin Wall with Roland 295–7; border crossing opens at Groß Glienicke; suffers with liver disease 299–300; Peter Meisel visits; lays claim to lake house property 303; 1991 Cordula Munk visits to view former property 305; demolition of Berlin Wall section at Groß Glienicke 306; 1993 Elsie Harding visits lake house with children 311–16, 347; 1999 death from stroke 320

  Kunow, Ewald 49, 156, 157, 158, 277

  Kurfürstendamm, Berlin 38, 49, 60, 98, 112, 163, 177

  Kurt-Fischer-Straße, Groß Glienicke 317

  Küstrinerstraße, Berlin 60, 61

  Kyritz 212

  L

  labour camps 166, 197

  Labour Day 117

  labourers 14–15, 18, 25, 30, 66

  Lachner, Wilhelm 181

  Lada car 281

  lake house 2, 9, 48, 105, 124, 201, 226, 243, 307, 319, 327, 334, 341, 348

  1927 construction of house by Alexander family 42–6; Alexander family enter for first time 47; 1928 Alexander children celebrate birthdays 56; Lotte Jacobi take series of photos 57; 1934 Elsie Alexander invites friends to stay 93; 1936 Alexander family leave for London 103; 1937 leased by Wilhelm Meisel 112, 121, 122–6, 179, 180; 1938 Alfred Alexander rejects Wilhelm Meisel’s offer to buy house 126; 1939 seized by Gestapo from Alexander family 129–30; 1940 purchased from Gestapo by Wilhelm Meisel 133, 180, 302; 1941 Meisels secretly listen to BBC radio 136; 1942 ownership transferred to Edition Meisel 139; 1943 Wilhelm Meisel, Ernst Nebhut and Just Scheu write Königin einer Nacht 139–40; becomes Edition Meisel’s headquarters after Berlin evacuated 141; 1944 Meisels move out; Hanns Hartmann moves in 146, 151, 152, 182; Allied bombing raids 152–3; 1945 winter storm hits 153; Battle of Berlin; Soviet occupation 154–60; Soviets offer Wilhelm Meisel option of buying land 166; 1946 Hanns Alexander makes visit 168–9; Meisels move back in 174; 1948 Wilhelm Meisel makes visit on ‘hamster trip’ 187; 1952 Henny Alexander petitions for compensation for loss of house 108–9; Fuhrmann family moves in 199, 207–10; 1957 thirtieth anniversary 214–15; 1958 Kühne family moves in 216, 221–4; 1960 Henny Alexander attends court hearing on loss of house 109; 1961 winter storm hits 230; construction of Berlin Wall 231–7; 1963 Lothar and Sieglinde Fuhrmann hold wedding party 239–40, 347; Sieglinde moves into lake house 240; 1965 Fuhrmanns move out 241–2; Wilhelm Meisel makes compensation claim 302; 1973 Ursula comes to visit Kühnes 270; 1980 Bernd Kühne moves out 278; 1986 Irene Kühne moves out 283–4; 1987 Inge Kühne and Roland Schmidt move in 285–7; 1
989 Peter Meisel visits; lays claim to house 303; 1992 JCC submits claim on behalf of Alexander family 204; 1993 Elsie Harding visits lake house with children 5, 311–16, 347, 355–6; 1999 death of Wolfgang Kühne; Inge moves out 319–20, 322; Bernd Kühne attempts to lodge claim for house 321–2; Marcel Adam moves in with Roland Schmidt 322–5; 2000 Marcel Adam moves out 325–6; 2003 Roland Schmidt evicted 326; squatters move in 333–5, 339; 2004 boarded up by city of Potsdam 335–6; neo-Nazis hold party 337–9; Grunert family build race circuit in garden 339–40; foxes and raccoons move in 340; 2012 compensation paid out to Alexander family 205; Meisels claim to land rejected 345; Bebauungsplan approved; demolition planned 345; 2013 author visits on research trip 1–7, 107–10, 203–5 ; 2014 author visits on research trip 245–8, 329–31; application for Denkmal rejected 330–1; ‘Clean-up Day’ 331, 346–51, 348; Potsdam legislature makes resolution on preservation 350–1; receives Denkmal status 353–4, 354

  lake house, rooms and grounds: bathroom 44, 45, 47, 222, 223, 323, 334; bedrooms 44, 45, 47–8, 222, 242, 315, 322, 347; beehives 266, 271, 286, 321; birthdays 56, 92, 138, 325; Blue Room 47, 55, 123, 141, 207, 210, 239, 241, 242, 278, 322, 347; caretaker’s house 126; ceiling window 334; cellar 43, 44, 271, 240, 340, 342; cesspit 44; chauffeur’s annexe 44, 45, 48, 123, 222, 242, 322; chicken shed 320; chimneys 222–3, 242, 267, 286, 323, 324, 342; climbing frame 142; décor 47, 54–5, 123, 314; Delft tiles 55, 123, 223, 286, 287, 314–15; demolition, planned 6, 203, 247, 330, 345; doors 45, 311; extension 223; fireplaces 47, 55, 111, 223, 271, 286, 314; French windows 48, 222, 319; furnishing 54–5, 122–3, 214, 314, 321, 323; games room 322–3; garage 126, 271, 286, 340; garden 124, 208, 227, 241, 265, 307, 347; greenhouse 53–4, 126; gutters 46, 357; heating system 45, 210, 222; insulation 45, 209, 222; jetty 52, 55, 111, 307, 355; kitchen 44, 45, 47, 208, 210, 214, 222, 241, 242, 262–3, 315–16, 321, 322, 334–5, 347, 348; knick-knacks 314, 323; living room 44, 45, 52, 55, 122, 208, 209–10, 222, 242, 286, 321, 322, 335, 347; maid’s room 47, 123, 207; master bedroom 45, 47–8, 222, 223, 242, 321; mezuzah 46, 124; music studio 123, 141, 207, 210; outbuildings 46, 126; path 123; piano 123, 236; pond 307, 325; pump house 46, 103, 124, 126, 152, 155, 156, 157, 234, 307; Richtfest (‘topping out’) ceremony 44; roof 2, 44, 46, 111, 214, 321, 324, 342, 357; spare room 123, 207; telephone 245, 272; tennis court 46, 53, 93, 103, 142, 208, 234, 302, 307; toilet 44, 48, 222, 242; tongue-and-groove pine 45; vegetable garden 53, 103, 153, 207, 265, 286, 320; veranda 46, 52, 111, 140, 208, 214, 222, 315; windows 45–6, 48, 152, 204, 207, 208, 215, 222, 319, 341; Wintergarten 320; wooden duck 142