The First Class of Fulbrighters - Fulbright-Kommission

After a week with the relatives we arrived in Munich but
had no place to stay. The Akademische Auslandsstelle would
eventually help us, but they had not provided accommodations
in advance. Our first night’s stay was in the Hotel Germania,
we thought it expensive at DM 20. The search for
living quarters was on. We were not alone. We bumped into
fellow Fulbrighters Ben and Flossie Freedman in downtown
Munich. Flossie was in tears. Also no place to stay. Finally,
after five frustrating days and several unsatisfactory pensions,
25-watt light bulbs, lack of hot water and heat and without
the possibility of preparing meals we finally found living
quarters in Untermenzing, 10 km west of the center of
Munich. Frau Bauer, a WWII widow, and her two teenage
daughters and son Klaus proved to be great landlords and
friends and again it was like family.
ADJUSTING TO OUR NEW LIFE IN MUNICH,
however, would not be easy. Our accommodations were in a
Neubau and we had a small apartment. There was a living
room-study-kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The sink
had only cold running water. There was no stove on which to
cook, so we purchased a one-burner hot plate, a small stove
provided heat and required briquettes, low-wattage lighting
was the rule. Our bathroom was a plus, but taking a bath
became a Saturday ritual. It required considerable time and
preparation to heat the tank using wood shavings, paper, and
wood or briquettes for the fire. Bert would bathe. On occasion
she would invite the Bauer women to bathe. The end
result was that I would end up utilizing the public bath at
the Bahnhof. In retrospect we were quite well off, I think we
knew it at the time as well.
Battling the cold was a challenge. Our small stove,
which never achieved a room temperature of over 68-70
degrees, was not installed until the middle of November.
Installation was a problem. It was difficult to find someone
to do the work. The installer, who finally came very early
one morning, had an epileptic seizure. Several days after the
installation there was another problem, smoke. It took several
days to resolve the problem. The bedroom was not heated.
During a cold spell ice formed on the inside walls because
the Neubau had not had the time to be properly “cured.” As
a result, Bert moved into the living room and I slept in the
“refrigerator.”
We learned to live economically. We discovered that life
in Munich was expensive. One would ask why, since the ratio
of the DM to the dollar was 4.2 to 1. The student stipend
As part of the orientation,
a group of Fulbrighters
visited the
Leverkusen Bayer factory.
Identified are: John
Fetzer (top row, 3rd
from left), Charles
Hoffmann (top row,
3rd from right), Mabel
Fetzen, Bert Wittke,
Fred Love (bottom row,
2nd, 3rd, and 4th
from left).
Bert Wittke, 2003
was $1,000 or DM 4,200. We also had to guarantee another
thousand dollars for Bert. But rent was DM 100 per month.
Eierkohlen 3 during the winter months was DM 25 per hundred
weight, electricity ca. DM 20-25 a month. The Bauers
retired early because of the high cost of electricity and could
not understand why we stayed up until all hours. Community
pressure resulted in us renting a garage for our auto. How
could one park a car outside subject to all elements?! Another
25 DM per month. In addition, there was the expense for
petrol and maintenance of the “albatross.” And, of course,
there was the matter of groceries. The prices were high:
butter DM 12-16, meat ca. DM 16, coffee DM 12-16. Frau
Bauer brought the seriousness home to us when she asked us
not to throw out the used coffee grounds, but to give them
to her instead. We were fortunate that care packages came
from home. Of course, this was Munich. Bad Honnef was
undoubtedly cheaper. Our bill for 19 nights in there was
DM 133.
There were also incidental expenses such as sending
items to the cleaners. Sending an article to the cleaner was
expensive, the wait was often very long, and the result could
be questionable. At least that was our experience. As an
example, I had to have my overcoat cleaned. It required five
weeks, was expensive, and my sleeves were half way to the
elbows when I finally got it back. This was, of course,
indicative of the times. It would not happen today.
The above are not gripes or complaints. That is just the
way things were and we did adjust. Indeed, it brought us
closer to reality and, I suspect, gave us a better understanding
of how the people had to cope and make do. In that
respect I believe that the 53ers and those who came immediately
after had a different perspective from Fulbrighters in
recent years.
The living conditions depicted above constitute only part
of the story. The purpose for my being in Germany and
Munich was to do research for my doctoral dissertation in
medieval history. As a student grantee I was unable to devote
full time to research because a student was required to enroll
in courses. So I enrolled in courses related to medieval history,
medieval Latin, and medieval paleography taught by Professor
Dr. Bischoff. I also visited a seminar directed by Professor
Dr. Spörl.
I will never forget the initial class with Professor
Bischoff. After introducing himself, he minced no words
describing the course. He distributed dittoed copies of the