Bruno Kegler

More on Bruno Kegler and His Family in German

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 Bruno Kegler und Seine Familie

Chart II a – I, II, III, IV

Contributed by Dieter and Edda Barge

Wir möchten heute über Eddas Großeltern mütterlicherseits berichten. Eine Hilfe dabei sind die bereits genannten Ahnen-Unterlagen von Erich Engel und ein Fotoalbum, dass Oma Johanna für ihre Tochter Elisabeth (Eddas Mutti) gefertigt hat. Erich ist Johannas Cousin, man sieht beide auf folgendem Foto:

Bild 1

Bild 1

 Eddas Opa Bruno Kegler entstammte einer Pastorenfamilie. Er wurde am 14.8.1901 in Grünewald, Kreis Neustettin in Hinterpommern, als 6. Kind in der Ehe von Pastor Karl Kegler und seiner Ehefrau Elisabeth, geb. Maas, geboren. Erich Engel ermittelte als ältesten Vorfahren der Keglers einen Gottfried, der sich noch Kägeler schrieb. Gottfried wurde in Luchow bei Stettin geboren und starb am 12.Mai 1715. Hier die Eltern von Bruno:

Bild 2

Bild 2

 

Bruno 1906 und 1924:

Bild 3 und Bild 4

 Das nächste Bild zeigt die Eltern von Johanna, Oberschullehrer Ludwig Engel mit seiner Frau Margarete, geb. Janke, und der kleinen Johanna, die am 15.März 1907 in Bad Ziegenhals, Kreis Neiße geboren wurde und das einzige Kind blieb.

Bild 3

Bild 5

 Johanna verlebte eine glückliche, unbeschwerte Kindheit und wuchs in einem harmonischen, fröhlichen Elternhaus auf. Sie besuchte das Lyzeum und die Studienanstalt in Hirschberg, später die Frauenfachschule in Görlitz und von 1929 – 1931 das Lehrerseminar in Stettin. Bruno erhielt seinen ersten Unterricht in der Volksschule Grünewald bei seinem Vater, 1911 trat er in die Kadettenanstalt in Plön ein, ab 1915 in Berlin-Lichterfelde, 1919 bestand er das Abitur, der Tod seines Vaters am 15.Juni 1919 traf ihn hart. Er trat in den Grenzschutz ein und begann ein Medizinstudium in Tübingen, das er aber wegen Geldmangel aufgeben musste. Er trat in den Zolldienst ein. In Neustadt/Oberschlesien befreundete er sich mit Hans Becker. Später wurde er nach Stettin versetzt Bei einem Besuch bei den Beckers sah er ein Bild von Johanna Engel an der Wand hängen und die Frau von Hans Becker, Ruth sagte “das ist meine Cousine Johanna”. Bruno wollte unbedingt Grüße von Beckers an Johanna ausrichten und lernte sie am 10.8.1928 in Stettin kennen. Nun begann für Johanna die wunderschöne Zeit der ersten Liebe. Sie sahen sich oft und unternahmen gemeinsame Wanderungen und Dampferfahrten. Bruno hatte nach dem ersten Zusammentreffen mit Johanna den beiden Damen, bei denen er als “möblierter Herr” wohnte, spontan erklärt, dass er seine zukünftige Frau kennengelernt habe !!! Am 29.April 1930 schlossen beide in Hirschberg den Bund der Ehe. In ihren Ringen war der 10.8.1928 eingraviert.

Bruno und Johanna – Eine Glückliche Zeit
Bruno und Johanna – Liebe auf den Ersten Blick

 Bilder 6 – 9

Bild 9 zeigt beide mit den Beckers. Der Weg der Familie führte sie über Bad Landeck (ab Jan. 1935), Bitburg (ab Okt. 1937), Königsberg/Neumark (ab Okt. 1938) nach Oppeln (ab April 1940). In Stettin wurden Hartmut am 14.4.1931(Bild 10) und Elisabeth am 31.12.1933 (Bild 11) geboren.

 

Bild 10                                                                                                                    Bild 11

Von Bad Landeck die Bilder 12-16.

 

Bilder 12 – 16

 In Bitburg wurde am 20.3.1938 Jürgen geboren.

 

Bilder 17 – 19

 Bild 19 entstand bei einem Besuch der Großeltern Ludwig und Margarete. In Königsberg führt der stolze Großvater Ludwig die großen Enkel zum Schwimmunterricht, die nächsten Fotos zeigen Ferienbilder von Stolpmünde.

Bild 20

Bild 20

 

Bilder 21 – 24

 Auf den Bildern 21-24 sieht man Oma Elisabeth. Dann begann am 1.September 1939 der unsägliche Krieg. Bruno musste den Polenfeldzug vom 1.September bis zum 6.Oktober mitmachen. Bild 25 zeigt Bruno in Uniform, Bild 26 die Familie bei einem Urlaub im Januar 1940.

Bild 25                                                                                                                   Bild 26

 Am 18.6.1940 fiel Bruno in Kientzheim/Elsaß. Hanna schrieb im Album: Manchmal wollt’ ich fast verzagen, und ich dacht-ich trüg es nie. Und ich hab es doch getragen, aber fragt mich nur nicht -wie.-” Über diese schlimme Zeit berichtet Dieter in einem gesonderten Beitrag! Oma Hanna ging bald mit den Kindern nach Hirschberg zurück. Es schließt sich zeitlich der schon eröffentlichte Bericht von Hartmut über die Flucht nach Mellen an.

Bruno and Johanna Kegler

/ Peter Klopp / 3 Comments

A Touching Love Story

Contributed by Anke Schubert

Chart II a – II & IV

My grandmother Johanna attended a teacher’s college in Stettin. Her hometown was Hirschberg in the Giant Mountains. Her father, the headteacher Ludwig Engel, had chosen this institute of higher learning, because in contrast to all the others only female students were educated here. Now it so happened that a young customs officer by the name of Bruno Kegler was a guest at her cousin’s place. On the wall of the apartment hung Johanna’s picture, and Bruno curiously asked who she was. He was being informed, and he in turn asked if he could pass on a greeting to the cousin. He was permitted to do so. When Johanna during her semester break was at home in Hirschberg, she received one day a letter with a strange handwriting with the even stranger address, “Dear honorable Miss!” She laughed and showed the lines to her parents. She read out that the writer had requested a meeting with her so he could pass on her cousin’s greeting. Father Ludwig immediately said, “You will write that there will be no such meeting, because you happened to be in Hirschberg just now.” Johanna sat down at once and wrote her refusal on a tiny little letter card. The envelope landed into the mailbox, while her father was overseeing it from the balcony, and Johanna contentedly spent the rest of her vacation.

When she was back again in Stettin, Bruno wrote another letter to Hirschberg, The letter was opened, but at least was forwarded to Johanna in Stettin. It contained the repeated request to pass on the greetings. Johanna showed the message to her classmates, who warned her about the forceful handwriting. Nevertheless she responded to the letter and gave a time and place, a café, for the date. All her classmates wanted to come along!

As a sign for recognition Bruno had indicated that he would wear a gray suit with a white carnation in the buttonhole. Johanna wanted to wear a white dress and a white scarf.

When she showed up at the appointed time in the café, she saw … two gentlemen in gray suits, and nobody had a white carnation in the buttonhole! But one of them rose, walked up to her and introduced himself – and it was like if they had known each other for years.

For Johanna a wonderful time now began. They saw each other as often as they could; they went on hikes together and enjoyed steamboat excursions.

To the two old ladies, from whom he was renting furnished accommodation, Bruno said already after their first date that he had just got acquainted with his future wife. Without saying anything to Johanna he wrote to her parents, described his economic status and his family and asked to pay them a visit. That being granted, they met and got to know each other, and on April 29th, 1930, Johanna and Bruno got married. They were a very happy couple and consolidated their happiness with the births of their children Hartmut, Elisabeth and Jürgen.

Bruno and Family

The Incredible Story of the Fall of the Iron Curtain

/ Peter Klopp / 2 Comments

The Dieter and Edda Barge Report (Chart II a – IV)

Contributed be Dieter Barge

Bruno Kegler

Bruno Kegler 1901 – 1940

Edda’s grandparents on her mother’s side of the family were Bruno and Johanna Kegler. We called Johanna Hanna. She was a kindhearted woman. She too had to endure many hardships. Truly she had earned her last beautiful years together with her mother and Aunt Maria at Tulpen Street in Gießen. Her maiden name was Engel (Angel in English).

One of her cousins was Erich Engel, who lived after the war with his wife Berty in Hanover and served in the courts as Attorney General. For many years Erich immersed himself in family research and of course also explored the ancestry of the Keglers. Edda and I maintained an active correspondence with the Engels. So it comes as no surprise that Erich had also written much about our family. Unfortunately he passed away a few years before Gemany’s reunification. Thus, we never met in person. On the occasion of our first visit to the ‘West’ – I believe it was in 1987, I got to know his wife Berty. We had dinner with her together with Jürgen and Inge Kegler. Out of this emerged a long friendship with her. She passed away at the age of 94.

On November 9th, 1989, the Berlin Wall had come down. Günter Schabowski, the Regime’s spokesman made the fateful announcement that East Germans would be allowed to cross the border. When asked how soon, not being completely informed he replied, “As far as I know, effective immediately.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQiriTompdY

On the same evening tens of thousands of GDR citizens were in West Berlin, and on Saturday November 11th, 1989 our family traveled to Berty’s place in Hanover. We started out at six in the morning and arrived in Hanover at 8 p.m. From the moment we entered the autobahn, we slowly drove in the notorious stop-go pattern of a horrendous traffic jam. We will never forget this trip! Today you can cover the distance in an hour and a half.

Rejoicing at the Border
Border Crossing at Helmstedt

There was rejoicing everywhere. Right after the border crossing at Marienborn there was even a party going on. Berty looked at us. She had no idea that we were coming and said, “… and I have nothing at all to eat for you!”

On Sunday on our return trip there were a hundred people standing on every overpass waving at the Trabis and Wartburgs (East German cars). Later on I often went to the ‘Four Border Point’, where Berty lived, and helped a little in her apartment, whenever there was something to do. Often we had a couple of Jever beers and Doornkaat schnaps. Together we also went to Wilhelmshaven, where Erich came from. His father was employed there as senior foreman at the shipyard.

Back to Erich, he had put together about six thick volumes of more than 1000 pages, of which we have a copy. The huge family had several Engel-Reunions, besides others also the one in Weipoldtshausen at Jürgen and Inge Kegler’s. In volume five, Erich recounts a little story of a reunion in 1973 at Tulpen Street in Gießen. Jürgen and his 6-year old son Michael dropped in to see us. Michael looked at the backs of all the participants and said to his dad (Recall that the name Engel means Angel in English), “These are not angels at all. I looked at them very closely. They have no wings!”

Kegler Family Reunion in Hungary

Kegler Family Reunion in Hungary