KLEIN ENGELAU

KLEIN ENGELAU

Current Status:  Destroyed, one structure standing. Now a Russian military training ground.

Hand Drawn Map of Klein Engelau circa 1940

From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 126)...
Klein Engelau was a village... too small to have a church of its own, but did feature a school and an inn with a small hall for festivities.

From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 147)...

Arno's fields were situated beyond the village, he had meadows and pasture land further away next to the forest which were the royal hunting grounds.

From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 129)...

As they were driving through Klein Engelau, he proudly pointed out his farm to her. It was set back from the street on a hill overlooking the village. There were stables and a house that were large and looked quite new. “We Fischers weren’t caught dozing during the inflation. We used the time wisely. First we built the residential building, then the long horse stable with the cowshed, and then even a new barn. When it came time to pay the tradesmen at the end of each week, all we had to do was sell a sheep,” he explained.

Then they passed his six-family building that was located at the entrance to the village. He told her that he had constructed it in 1936 together with his brother Otto who was then still living at home. The men of the families who occupied the building had their various professions, while the women worked as day labourers on the Fischer’s land. The women were allowed to help out other farmers if they needed extra money, so everyone benefited.


From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 162)...
In the cherry orchard, along the left side of the approach to the house, the trees stood in full bloom, while blue lilac was resplendent on the right. In the front yard, a huge blooming chestnut tree vied for attention and resembled a Christmas tree filled with white candles.

GROSS ENGELAU

Russian: Demjanowka

From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 111)...

Gross Engelau was a scattered village nestled between meadows, farmland and fields and surrounded by extensive forests, located in the Wehlau district, which was famous for its horse breeding. It was a cooperative hamlet that had been established long ago when several farms had amalgamated into a cohesive community where the people felt secure.

From "Where Hoffman Told His Fairytales" (Page 233)...

On Monday, January 8, 1945, Robert Fischer, 86 years old, was buried in the family plot of the Gross Engelau cemetery beside the   little daughter who had been laid to rest there decades earlier. He was the last member of the family to be buried in a cemetery in native ground