Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
January 2025
Student Book “English for newcomers to Australia” 1956
Historical Context
After the end of World War II, there is a labor shortage in Australia, prompting the government to recruit skilled workers from abroad. Agreements are made with various European countries, including with the Federal Republic of Germany in 1952. Australia is the only country with which the German government concludes an agreement for emigration overseas.
Short Biography
The decision to emigrate is made by the Beste family eight years after the end of World War II: At this point in post-war Germany, there is still high unemployment and a housing shortage. Father Otto also loses his job as a locksmith in Nordenham. From acquaintances who have emigrated to Australia, the family learns that there is supposed to be work “en masse” there. The parents deliberate back and forth. When daughter Dagmar falls ill with pneumonia and the doctor advises the parents to seek a warmer climate, they finally say to their children: “Let’s take the leap.”
Together with their three daughters Ingeborg (14 years), Dagmar (9 years), and Brigitte (2 ½), 46-year-old Otto Beste and his 38-year-old wife Emmy board the ship “MS Fairsea” in Bremerhaven on May 8, 1954, which takes them to Melbourne. Initially, the family goes to the reception center in Bonegilla. After three weeks, the father finds work in Newcastle, north of Sydney. The family lives in the coastal town of Nelsons Bay for three months before moving to Wallsend, a small suburb of Newcastle.
Although the family quickly adapts to everyday life in Australia, mother Emmy often longs deeply for her old homeland and her family that stayed behind. In 1963, she travels with her daughter Brigitte to visit Germany. Since then, she increasingly contemplates a permanent return. In 1969, family Beste finally decides to return to Germany together.
Significance of the object
The Australian government places great importance on preparing new immigrants, which includes English language instruction; they receive their first lessons already aboard the emigrant ships. The Australian Department of Immigration has the education office develop its own textbooks for language instruction – language comprehension is an important factor for immigrants to participate in society: whether in school or work, during shopping, understanding news, or at government offices.
The eldest daughter Ingeborg Beste faces the emigration to Australia, decided by her parents, with mixed feelings. The fourteen-year-old is anxious about the idea of moving to a country whose language she does not speak, leading to many sleepless nights. She also receives her first English lessons during the crossing. A few months after her arrival in Australia, Ingeborg works as a cleaner in a nursing home. There, the head nurse initially notices the young woman’s language difficulties and eventually becomes her mentor. She brings Ingeborg to the reception desk so that she can learn English faster. After getting over her initial hesitation, Ingeborg finds great joy in the work. Nevertheless, she returns to Bremerhaven in 1969 with her family. The language skills she acquired in Australia can now be utilized in her professional life at Norddeutscher Lloyd.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de