Our history When the winters were still cold
Ice winter on Juist: From mid-December to the beginning of March, the people on the North Sea island of Juist were cut off from the mainland in the winter of 1962/1963. Icy easterly winds caused the ice floes to grow metres thick on the North Sea and the ferries in the harbour to freeze. Shortly before Christmas, there was no end in sight to the permafrost and fuel and fresh milk slowly became scarce on the island. As a result, the German government dispatched the German army's air force. The transport helicopters took off from Rheine-Bentlage with fuel, milk, butter and flour. "The goods were often only loosely packed and not suitable for air transport. Everything was stuffed in, sometimes there was a bundle of hay and straw next to tablets. Sometimes heating oil leaked out!" recalls 85-year-old former helicopter pilot Dietrich Wessler. Even older islanders still remember this particular winter. "It was the event! I ran from the shop to the landing site, looked at what they had brought and helped to distribute it!" says 83-year-old Annemarie Rump from Juist. Her husband Martin remembers how they tricked the authorities. In principle, the pilots were only allowed to transport essential goods to the island. "We simply hid the beer between the coal sacks," laughs the 87-year-old Juister.
The "disaster winter" on Mönchgut: Special film and image documents show the disaster winter on Rügen: For example, DEFA, the GDR's state-owned film company, filmed in Groß Zicker in the legendary winter of 1978/1979 rather by chance. The people were snowed in themselves. And fisherman Wolfgang Görtz remembers this time together with his wife and a neighbour, as does shepherd Frank Westphal. The pack ice piled up at the Nonnenloch. A special spectacle that attracted photographer Volkmar Herre. He almost collapsed with his skis in the snowdrifts. Then probably no one would have found him. But he made it to the pack ice and brought back legendary photos.
The Holm fishermen's "Eiswade": the head of folklore at the Schleswig Holstein State Museum in Schleswig had not expected this. Arnold Lühning stands at the window as the Holm fishermen march towards the castle moat. In March 1965, the moat is covered in a thick layer of ice. The men drill holes in it and pull their net under the ice to catch fish. It was to be the last big "Eiswade" of the Holm fishermen. Arnold Lühning informs the photographer from the Schleswig-Holstein State Museum at the time. He grabs his film camera and together they run to the moat to film the event. The result is an authentic film document of ice fishing in Schleswig-Holstein. One of the fishermen also documents the event. This previously unknown report and the film by Arnold Lühning are special testimonies to the centuries-old tradition of the fishermen from the Holm.
Icebreaker "Wisent" near Lauenburg: They are called "Stier", "Steinbock" or "Widder". They are powered by powerful engines and have prevented many an accident on the Elbe: the icebreakers from Lauenburg. They not only free ships from ice barriers, but above all keep shipping moving in severe frost. Back in the 1960s, Helmut Venus travelled the Elbe as a helmsman on one of the icebreakers. He experienced the battle against the ice time and time again: with all the power of the engines and a lot of running-up, the small power packs smashed against the ice barriers to shatter them. In this way, the icebreakers prevented the ice from piling up and causing cracks in the dykes. It was exhausting, nerve-wracking work, but he also enjoyed it a lot, says Helmut Venus today. "Our Story" also shows how the West German fleet met up with the GDR icebreakers. And Helmut Venus tells us that things were very lively on the ships back then, even if the fear of Stasi spies was always present at the joint meetings.
Broadcasting on 12th of February 2024 at 10.00pm + on 14th of February 2024 at 01.00am on NDR/ARD
Music: POPVIRUS Library