Hufnagel-Betham Family Collection
Franz Pfeil Collection
The photo above shows the Hufnagel family in about 1906 . The people are ( back row , left-to-right ) Gottlieb ( born 1891 ), Captain Kurt , Kurt Jr ( b . 1893 ), ( sitting ) Franz ( b . 1901 ), Catherine , Clementine ( b . 1896 ). The Hufnagels were unusual in sending their sons to British colonies that were near at hand , Australia and New Zealand , rather than to Germany for education or vocational training . Clementine , however , was intended to be sent to Germany in her teens though this plan was overtaken by events .
Future tragedy casts a backwards shadow over the family image above : in the influenza epidemic of late 1918 that swept through Samoa the two sons on the left , Gottlieb and Franz , were struck down . They died within a week of each other , at the ages of 27 and 18 respectively .
| To Walk Under Palm Trees - The Germans in Samoa : Snapshots from Albums | Tony Brunt
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