Alojzija Wilmes
Alojzija Wilmes was born on June 24, 1944, in Unterloibach, Austria. She grows up in present-day Slovenia in various family arrangements with three siblings. There, she works as a saleswoman and window dresser after completing her schooling. In 1968, she decides to go to Germany to work temporarily. “The company Nordsee in Bremerhaven placed an advertisement. I applied and got accepted. That’s how I came to Bremerhaven on August 8, 1968. At the main train station, the Yugoslav consul and some representatives of Nordsee were waiting for us. In the first few days, we were shown the city and the factory.” The first experiences Alojzija Wilmes has in Germany are not all positive memories. For instance, she has to advocate at her workplace to be addressed by her name and not just a number. After various training sessions, she starts working as a social advisor for the AWO Bremerhaven in 1982. Initially, she primarily supports people from the former Yugoslav Republic. Even after she retires in 2009, she continues to volunteer in an advisory capacity for older and single migrants. Her main residence is here in Germany. Since Alojzija Wilmes became a retiree, she enjoys the opportunity to get into her car when she feels homesick and visit her friends and relatives in her homeland. “I’m sometimes here, sometimes there. I feel comfortable here – I cannot say that I am unhappy here. Here are the children, the grandchildren, my husband is here. Actually, I have a nice life here. But I am also happy there.”
A portrait of Alojzija Wilmes is one of the faces that has been visible on the facade of the new German Emigration Center since June 2021. Before the inauguration of the extension with the artistically designed facade, the Nordsee-Zeitung introduced the individuals behind the faces. You can see the corresponding film portrait of Alojzija Wilmes here.