CHAPTER 17

BREMEN Working and Searching

My second stay in Bremen was to be happier than my first one. I knew what it was like, and I wanted to change the things that had depressed me before. I needed a room which could be heated in winter, and one with some cooking facilities. In 1952 it was still difficult to get a room in Bremen, but I hoped that Frau von Guenther would help me again. There was also the awful feeling at weekends, that I didn't belong anywhere, always on the lookout for a suitable restaurant for a meal somewhere. During the tennis season it was better, but for the rest of the year this loneliness was horrible. To my relief, Frau von Guenther said that I could come to them for a meal on Sundays for a nominal fee. That was wonderful. She also offered to put me up in her flat until I found a suitable room.

I arrived back in Bremen on 30 August 1952 and stayed for the first ten days with Frau von Guenther. Then I moved into a room in Park Strasse, where the rent was only DM.37 p.m. But this room could not be heated, so I kept looking for another one. A month later I found what I was looking for, a nice room, with a washbasin with hot and cold water, and always heated. It was in the Georg Gröning Strasse, quite close to Frau von Guenther, and the monthly rent was DM.55 p.m., including heating. My landlady was Frau Häseker, married with two school children. She was warm and friendly, and it seemed that she lived a fairly busy social life.

Work at Aug. Siemering & Co started on Tuesday, 2 September. The office was situated in Railway street a couple of blocks from the railway station. I knew most employees from the time of Wunder & Siemering, except for Herr Schulpig, who was in charge of scoured wool, and Fischer, the new apprentice. They all greeted me warmly and made me feel welcome.

"This is your desk," Jürgen pointed to the one standing right next to the teleprinter, facing the desk of Schulpig.

"You will use this new machine probably quite a lot, as most of our clients have a teleprinter now and our offers are usually passed on

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