Farewell to Yesterday

Our visit to Hamburg ends sadly and wistfully. On the day of our departure, Schnuppi is chased by an unleashed German Shepherd until she collapses dead. Schnuppi is an old female cat, but she could have had several peaceful years ahead. However, the barking, snapping, gigantic mutt and the wild chase over 20 meters seem to be too much for her.

For nearly 20 years, Schnuppi has been living in the vicinity of Lotti Thiele in the Diekmoor II allotment garden association in Hamburg Langenhorn. There is mostly a distant relationship during this time. The gray tiger appears daily in garden 109 and disappears immediately as soon as someone makes a sound or appears. Eventually, Lotti puts out water and cat food, and eventually it is accepted. But as soon as visitors arrive, the cat is gone.

Over the years, we become closer, even the gigantic black dog Merlin, who occasionally lives here, is accepted, but Schnuppi never becomes a proper house cat. Her habitat remains the garden and her warm corners near the house. She probably had other humans to open cans for her on the premises before, but for the past five years, Lotti and her husband, Martin Dehnert, have been the only ones living here permanently.

After Martin, my father, dies in 2014, Schnuppi often comes into the house. In recent months, she sleeps at Lotti's feet.

When we come to the garden for our farewell visit, the dog owner has just buried the cat in the garden and left. Lotti is inconsolable and sees the tragedy as part of the decay around her. She thinks it's time for her to move.

That also means that this is our last visit to Lotti's place. The Diekmoor II allotment garden association has been her home for 60 years. Martin Dehnert, my father, lived here with her since 1992. For all of us, it is a place with many memories.

The Dehnert family, Martin, Eva-Marie and Jürgen, lived four plots away from here from 1959 to 1964. Their cottage from back then is still standing, only it was blue and white at that time. In the early 1960s, about 300 people permanently lived in the 'Koppel' and tried to lead a somewhat civilized life without running water and sewage. My father had a good job at Lufthansa and managed the warehouse for Boeing spare parts. Nevertheless, a 'proper' apartment was out of the question. It would have cost 8,000 DM for construction support and 300 DM for rent. With just under 600 DM net per month, it was unthinkable. That was the reality for many in the allotment garden association. Nevertheless, everyone tried to get out of there as soon as possible.

Lotti and my mother became friends, and the two families helped each other. After five years, my father found a job in Koblenz and we moved away. My mother died in 1989, and in 1992, my father returned to the 'Koppel' and lived with Lotti, as my mother had wished.

Even my grandparents, Georg and Gertrud Neumann, lived in the allotment garden association. Grandpa Neumann worked as a painter in a small Hamburg craftsmanship company. At some point in 1966, he had just entered the hall of the Langenhorn-Nord subway station when he heard the train heading towards the city center. He hurried up the long staircase to catch the train. He made it. He felt sick in the train and was taken to Eppendorf Hospital. He died shortly afterwards. Somehow, he didn't see the situation as dramatic. His last thought was to bring the keys to the company, otherwise the apprentices wouldn't be able to get in.

So we leave a place with many memories and wish that Lotti will be well in her new home. We want to visit you often.