Föhr to New York

Care Packages and a Cocktail (6/6)

Inge, all alone in New York at sixteen, while her family is on Föhr. It seems like there is no turning back now: World War II has turned everything upside down. But she is not completely alone, as Inge and Hermann are officially a couple. Then, the USA enters the war. Hermann faces a crucial decision. He becomes a US soldier and must move to the front lines in Europe. Inge will have to stay in New York by herself again. Will they ever meet again?

Somehow, the Ketelsen family never really manages living together in one place. After the stock market crash, Inge is determined to sell the deli in New York and return to her roots. Her mother and younger sisters are already back on Föhr. Hermann, however, had left Föhr to go to sea, but his plans didn't pan out. So, he eventually ends up in New York too. Despite the city's size, Inge and Hermann manage to find each other. And then, the war breaks out.

It seems like one bad thing after another is happening. In the USA, Black Friday is the start of a worldwide economic mess that will have lasting effects, even for Inge's family. Meanwhile, the Nazi party (NSDAP) is gaining strength in Germany, particularly in North Frisia, where nine-year-old Inge spends her summer. Because she is too thin, her relatives on Föhr are determined to help her gain weight. During this time, she keeps bumping into a certain Hermann Rickmers from the neighboring village…

Inge's childhood is quite different from Hermann's. She grows up in New York during the roaring twenties, enjoying bubblegum and exploring Harlem's backyards. Hermann, on the other hand, lives on Föhr, helping with the harvest, fishing, and playing marbles. His older brothers have already moved to New York, chasing the American dream. Hermann would never have imagined living there one day.

Clara Ketelsen is fed up! She and her three little girls are living on Föhr, all by themselves, while her husband is already living in New York, just like many Frisians at the end of the 1920s. Clara, who really wants to be with her family, decides to move to America. At first, she travels by horse and cart to Wyk harbour and then by steamship from Hamburg to the USA. Years later, her then five-year-old daughter Inge tells her grandson Bente Faust about her memories of moving from the quiet Oldsum on Föhr to the lively streets of Harlem in New York. Bente then sets out to follow in the footsteps of his 'ualmam', his Frisian grandmother, on Föhr and in the USA.