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Five Letters, One Stolen Life
A “five-letter baking mix” is annoying ‘Blaschi’ again. I usually have an answer. But this time, I really can’t think of anything. “You. Must. Know!”, he presses.
The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984
“Kathi,” he grumbles disappointedly. Why should I know that when the last thing I baked was sand cake in the sandbox, I grumble indignantly. Because the stuff comes from Halle! So what?
So what! “Kathi” was a family business founded in the 1950s by Kaethe and Kurt Thiele. The company was so successful with its soups, sauces, and flours that the state gradually took it over.
In 1972, the owners were brutally expropriated. The founder is said to have suffered sudden hearing loss. Allegedly, he or his son works as a gatekeeper in his own company and hopes for the end of the GDR.
Blaschi considers this to be a rumor. But the expropriated owners will probably do some kind of meaningless job—most likely at the “Volkseigener Betrieb” (state-owned enterprise) VEB Backmehlwerk Halle, which now owns Kathi.
Thiele was smart enough to patent the trademark rights, which is why the baking mix is still called “Kathi” today and the logo can still be seen on the packaging, which is found in every grocery store, department store, and kitchen.
That’s what I really like about “Assi Blaschi” (see Sunday, March 18). He knows about things I’ve never heard of. The story touches him so deeply because he lost his own craft in a similar way.
As a traveling scissors grinder, he traveled around a lot, talked to countless people in small towns and large villages, and was served coffee by lonely widows while he sharpened their kitchen knives, scissors, and who knows what ever.
One year, the damn bigwigs came and sent him to “production,” where he had to do menial work that was undignified. I wouldn’t understand that until I learned what self-employment really means.
Whether I know what the hammer, compass, and wheat sheaf on the GDR flag mean he ends his sour lecture. Yes, I do:
Our past was black until the Reds came and promised us golden times. Now we have to circulate so we don’t get hammered and lose our honor.
“Blaschi” is speechless and retreats defeated to his crossword puzzle, while I retaliate with a song by Wenke Myhre for his really interesting smart-aleck remarks
“Er hat ein’ KNALL-rotes Gummiboot (He has a CRAZY red rubber raft) / Mit diesem Gummiboot fahr’n wir hinaus (With this rubber raft we sail away) / Er hat ein knallrotes Gummiboot (He has a bright red rubber raft) / Und erst im Abendrot (And only in the evening glow)...”
Once Upon a Time in Germany, A Prequel to 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/doom
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tjannot.substack.com/subscribe
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By Tommy H. JannotA “five-letter baking mix” is annoying ‘Blaschi’ again. I usually have an answer. But this time, I really can’t think of anything. “You. Must. Know!”, he presses.
The German edition of 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/1984
“Kathi,” he grumbles disappointedly. Why should I know that when the last thing I baked was sand cake in the sandbox, I grumble indignantly. Because the stuff comes from Halle! So what?
So what! “Kathi” was a family business founded in the 1950s by Kaethe and Kurt Thiele. The company was so successful with its soups, sauces, and flours that the state gradually took it over.
In 1972, the owners were brutally expropriated. The founder is said to have suffered sudden hearing loss. Allegedly, he or his son works as a gatekeeper in his own company and hopes for the end of the GDR.
Blaschi considers this to be a rumor. But the expropriated owners will probably do some kind of meaningless job—most likely at the “Volkseigener Betrieb” (state-owned enterprise) VEB Backmehlwerk Halle, which now owns Kathi.
Thiele was smart enough to patent the trademark rights, which is why the baking mix is still called “Kathi” today and the logo can still be seen on the packaging, which is found in every grocery store, department store, and kitchen.
That’s what I really like about “Assi Blaschi” (see Sunday, March 18). He knows about things I’ve never heard of. The story touches him so deeply because he lost his own craft in a similar way.
As a traveling scissors grinder, he traveled around a lot, talked to countless people in small towns and large villages, and was served coffee by lonely widows while he sharpened their kitchen knives, scissors, and who knows what ever.
One year, the damn bigwigs came and sent him to “production,” where he had to do menial work that was undignified. I wouldn’t understand that until I learned what self-employment really means.
Whether I know what the hammer, compass, and wheat sheaf on the GDR flag mean he ends his sour lecture. Yes, I do:
Our past was black until the Reds came and promised us golden times. Now we have to circulate so we don’t get hammered and lose our honor.
“Blaschi” is speechless and retreats defeated to his crossword puzzle, while I retaliate with a song by Wenke Myhre for his really interesting smart-aleck remarks
“Er hat ein’ KNALL-rotes Gummiboot (He has a CRAZY red rubber raft) / Mit diesem Gummiboot fahr’n wir hinaus (With this rubber raft we sail away) / Er hat ein knallrotes Gummiboot (He has a bright red rubber raft) / Und erst im Abendrot (And only in the evening glow)...”
Once Upon a Time in Germany, A Prequel to 1984, The 18-Year-Old Who Wrote a Note and Disappeared is now available in bookshops: 📖 https://j4b.me/doom
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tjannot.substack.com/subscribe