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.
May 2015
Gala uniform coat (1st uniform), Prussian Ministry of Finance, around the year 1910
Historical context
Such elaborately decorated uniforms were worn by civil servants of the Prussian Ministry of Finance on special occasions. The complete uniform also included trousers, a hat, a necktie, and a vest. Medals and honors were attached to a sash buckle. Unlike field uniforms, civilian uniforms featured magnificent embroidery, especially on jacket and sleeve cuffs.
Short biography
Curt Kosswig was born on October 30, 1903, in Berlin. As a child, he became fascinated with fish and aquaristics. After studying biology, chemistry, and philosophy at what is now Humboldt University in Berlin, he became the assistant to zoologist Leopold von Ubisch in Münster in 1927. There, Kosswig met his wife Leonore; they married in 1930 and had three sons. With the rise of the Nazis, the pressure on the zoologist increased as he stood in solidarity with his endangered Jewish colleagues. The call to the University of Istanbul for the Chair of Zoology provided him and his family the opportunity to leave Germany in 1937. In his new homeland, he founded the Institute of Hydrobiology in Baltalimanı on the Bosporus in 1944 and explored the fauna of Anatolia on numerous trips with his wife. Their discovery of the ‘bird paradise’ at Lake Manyas became Turkey’s first national park in 1959. In 1955, Curt Kosswig accepted an offer at the University of Hamburg. However, he remained connected to Turkey even after his return, particularly as his wife Leonore continued to live in their shared ‘House on the Mountain’ in Bebek. Curt Kosswig passed away in Hamburg on March 29, 1982, and was buried in Istanbul.
Significance of the object
When Curt Kosswig goes into exile in Istanbul in 1937, he carries with him the uniform of his father, who was a senior finance officer at the Prussian Ministry of Finance. For the son, this piece of clothing symbolizes prestige and recognition – status symbols that he must earn anew in Turkey. At the same time, the uniform also represents the Prussian virtues of modesty and discipline, which significantly shape Curt Kosswig’s character due to his father’s upbringing. The uniform accompanies the zoologist throughout his life and is carefully preserved within the family even after his death.
Due to their moving migration and family history, this rare and particularly well-preserved uniform holds high material as well as emotional value.
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