At the start of 1919 , several months after the end of the First World War , the Stünzners were repatriated to Germany . Archival documents are unclear about whether this was a forced or voluntary repatriation . Mr Stünzner was still ill and it appears that he favoured medical treatment in Germany . Most Germans who had married Samoan locals were exempt from deportation and forfeiture of assets . The Stünzner family seem to have had their assets seized . They left for Germany with minimal funds except for a horde of gold dollars that Fritz Stünzner had hidden in Mary Ellen ’ s sewing box below a false bottom ( these coins would fulfil a crucial purpose some years later — see below ). In Germany , the Stünzners were reunited with their daughters , Hedwig ‘ Hetty ’ and Ilse . The family settled in Zerbst and then moved to Dortmund where Fritz was able to find work . The photo above shows them in about 1924 . People ( left-to-right ): at back Hetty and her husband Clemens Köster , Fritz Jnr , Mathilde , Herman Bietzker ( Ilse ’ s husband , photographic blemish on face ), Ilse , Kurt , ( at front ) Albi , Mary Ellen , Fritz , Gertrude .
Germany was wracked by civil unrest , foreign intervention and hyperinflation in the early 1920s . Trude recalled , “ One day our father said , ‘ Shall we go back to Samoa ?’ We all agreed at once .” Fritz wrote to Samoa and was given approval to return . The prospect of a plantation lease was held out by the Reparation Estates ( who administered confiscated German plantations ). The three older girls chose to stay behind ; two were married and the other had a good job . The gold coins were used to pay for the passage to Samoa and in September 1925 the Stünzners set sail for the South Seas .
Fritz Stünzner Jr ( 6 th from the right at the back ) posing with other school children in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm I memorial in Dortmund in about 1921-22 . ( Both photos Stünzner Family Collection ).
| To Walk Under Palm Trees - The Germans in Samoa : Snapshots from Albums | Tony Brunt
95