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Books about Stemwede and the area
There are several books that have been published that may offer some glimpses into life in Stemwede. Some are no longer available because they are out of print, but several can still be obtained. Links have been provided to check availability for some that are known to still be available for purchase. Very few have English text or have compilations that are translated into English. Where they are available, they have been noted.
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Stemwede - Junge
Geimeinde - alte Dörfer (Stemwede, new municipality - old villages).
This book is filled with photographs from the late 1800s and early 1900s
in Stemwede. It is divided into sections about family and home life,
church, farming and trades, social organizations, and even a section
about funerals. This is a fantastic collection of photos of many homes,
family portraits, photographs of the churches and many more. You may
very well find a photograph of your ancestral family's homestead. All
photos have captions and, unless they are a large group photo, names of
those in the photo are usually included. There are narrations in text
for each section as well, but these are in German. If you don't know
German though, you will still learn much from the photos.
German Language Text |
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1000 Jahre Wehdem
969-1969 (Wehdem: 1000 Years) - This is a book published in 1969 to
celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the earliest documentation of
Wehdem. It contains section about the history of the town, the church
parish, school, social organizations, and lists of those that died in
wars in 1815, 1870-71, 1914-18, and 1939-45. This book is no longer in print. An abbreviated version is available in English, thanks to the
translation by Wolfram Von-Maszewski in Richmond, TX. It contains the following articles from the original
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Oppenwehe
Festschrift zur 775-Jarhfeier (Oppenwehe, 775th Anniversary
celebration). This book was assembled as part of the celebration for the
775th anniversary of the founding of Oppenwehe. It includes photographs
from the celebration parade and historical articles
German Language Text |
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Oppenendorf - Die
Nacht der Katastrophe (Oppendorf - the night of the Catastrophe).
This is a small book of 80 pages chronicalling the night of December
16, 1943. It was published for a memerial service held in 1993 for the
50th anniversary of the event. That night a British heavy bomber crashed in the center of
Oppenwehe, destroying many houses, including the gas station in town. The destructive damage of World War II basically bypassed the
Stemwede area, with exception of this crash. Even though there weren't
battles fought on the grounds around Stemwede, there were air battles
and dogfights that took place in the air in the region, which lead to
this tragic crash. The town has erected a memorial in the town to both
the residents killed in the tragedy and the British air crew that lost
their lives, which can seen on
the town's website. Photos of the damage caused by the
incident are included in the booklet.
German Language Text |
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Chronik von der
Kirchspiel Wehdem 1819-1879 (Chronicle of the parish of Wehdem
1819-1879) Bert Weigel, editor. 1994 German Language Text ISBN: 3-924734-80-1 |
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Hallelujah, Now We
Will See America - Letters home from emigrants 1836-1889. Heinz-Ulrich
Kammeier, editor 1994. A collection of letters by emigrants to the
United States that left the district of Lübbecke and nearby areas. This
collection is from 1836-1889. Some photographs are also included of the
places in which they settled. Because these are letters sent home to
Germany, they are all written in German.
German Language Text ISBN: 3-924734-81-X |
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Oh, How Beautiful is
this Praised America - Letters home from emigrants 1890-1952.
Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier, editor 1995. A collection of letters by emigrants
to the United States that left the district of Lübbecke and nearby
areas. This collection is from 1890-1952. Some photographs are also
included of the places in which they settled. Because these are letters
sent home to Germany, they are all written in German.
German Language Text ISBN: 3-924734-82-8 |
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The District of
Lübbecke and the First World War. Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier.
German Language Text ISBN: 3-89646-903-7 |
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Jewish history in
Levern and its surroundings 1800-1938. Stefanie
Hillebrand with contributions by
Thomas Horst and Diethard Aschoff. 1996
ISBN: 3-89646-901-0 |
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News from The Land of Freedom (German Immigrants Write Home). Edited by Walter D. Kamphoefner, Wolfgang Helbach, & Ulrike Sommer. Sets of letters from families who settled around the U.S. Included are letters from Engel & Margarethe Winkelmeier, 2 sisters that emigrated from Arrenkamp (Dielingen Parish) to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1867. 611 pages, Cornell Univ. Press (Translation). Original Publication by C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Munich) 1988. Out of print, check for used copies on Amazon or Ebay. |
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Vom alten Brauch in Stadt und Land (From old customs in the city and country). Dietmar Sauermann. 178 pages. This book is part of the 7 book series of books from Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe and published by Landwirtschaftsverlag on culture in East Westphalia. It presents the local traditions surrounding celebrating many of the holidays in the year. |
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Töpfer, Seiler,
Wannenmacher (Potters, Ropemakers and Tubmakers). This one features the handtrades that were predominant in
the area.
This book can be ordered from Amazon's German site. German Language Text |
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Alles Unter Dach
und Fach (everything under the roof and half-timber). Andreas
Eyinck 1987. 185 pages. So,
you've seen the older houses in half-timber and have heard that the
homes includes the barn area, but you want to know more. This book
follows the development of the rural farm home designs through the late
17th century and the 18th century. It includes illustrations of typical
house and stall layouts and also shows the different styles of
assembling the timber frames and wall structures, plus about 250 photos.
Perhaps after looking
through this book (and reading it if you can), you'll decide to build
your own! This book is also from the East Westphalia cultural series
from Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe. It can be ordered from Amazon's German site.
German Language Text |
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The German research Companion. Shirley J. Riemer 2000. ISBN 0-9656761-0-2, Lorelei Press. This is not specifically about the Stemwede area, but is a good resource for those trying to research information from or about Germany. It includes historical information about the country and emigration from Germany/immigration into the U.S., listings of research materials and sources in both the US and Germany, plus vocabulary lists of occupations, medical terms, abbreviations and examples of the old handscript. |
