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.
March 2025
Headgear (Peruvian fireman uniform), after 1924
Historical Context
Since 1856, German colonists have been legally allowed to settle in Peru and are particularly economically significant for the country. Many of the German immigrants start families in Peru and settle permanently in South America. The outbreak of World War I and, following the U.S. declaration of war in 1942 in the course of World War II, brought an interim halt to migration for several years. However, both countries remain connected to this day through close economic and cultural ties.
Short Biography
When Ina Dienstmaier Valdivieso visits the German Emigration Center in 2023, she not only finds traces of her grandfather Hermann Dienstmaier’s migration history in the family research of the experiential museum but also stands at his birthplace. Hermann Dienstmaier is born on 20.08.1898 in Bremerhaven-Lehe and joins the navy at the age of 15. Due to a vision impairment, he is discharged and decides to study botany, specializing in horticulture and floristry. In 1925, he is recruited by a company for Pima cotton processing and reaches South America in the same year. Here, Hermann Dienstmaier initially works on the Monteverde estate.
In the city of Piura, he meets Emma Leon Seminario, and in 1929, the two marry and start a family of seven. In 1933, the sports and music-loving German immigrant establishes the municipal fire department of Piura, and the acquisition of the Hacienda Curumuy also provides the family with a stable economic foundation. In the midst of the Second World War, after the USA declares war on the German Reich in 1942, Hermann Dienstmaier is deported to Germany, returning to his family in Peru only in 1949. He succeeds in resuming his job at the fire department and even becomes the commander of the northern region of Peru in the 1950s. In April 1961, Hermann Dienstmaier passes away in Lima due to the consequences of a stomach ulcer. Ina Dienstmaier Valdivieso emigrates herself from Piura to Berlin in 2021, feels at home in her grandfather’s birthplace, and wishes to settle here permanently as an occupational physician.
Significance of the Object
The joyful Hermann Dienstmaier is described by his family as always enthusiastic and social. The headgear as part of his firefighter uniform symbolically represents not only his commitment to the city of Piura but also the societal benefits brought by migrants. Hermann Dienstmaier was also part of a local football club and is particularly passionate about athletics and the promotion of Peruvian music among his friends, enjoying the social life in the city. He also contributes his botany knowledge to Peruvian research, publishing, for example, in journals and issuing scientific findings in a bulletin of the Universidad Nacional de la Molina.
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