The Wrangell sentinel., 1949-04-29
RIEDEMAN RETURNS FROM
 VISITING IN GERMANY

Luke Riedeman, well known local fisherman, returned to Wran- gell Wednesday by air from Seat tie, completing a five month vaea- ton trip that took him to his fathers home in Germany.
 Mir. Riedeman left here the later part of November and after visit ing in the states several weeks, flew from New York to Amster- dam, Holland. The trip took 16 hours.
 He visited his family in Neuborg- CT, Germany. British zone. and travelled in the American and Bri- tish zones of occupation for thirty days-the limit of time allowed by the |. s. State Department for the visit-yisiting relatives
 Visiting Hamburg, which was badly destroyed by bombings. MT. Riedeman reported that over two thirds of the city is still in ruins. Housing is so serious that two or more families are forced to live in what dwellings there are or in shacks raised from the ruins and sleep and cook in shifts. Some other smaller cities are in the same con dition and housing is seriously short all over the country.
 A great shortage of meats and fats is felt in Germany and MT. Riedeman reports that it would be easy to eat an entire months meat ration in one meal. Coffee and tea and other imports are al- so scarce.
 Strange as it seems, gasoline is obtainable but that might be credited to the high price of both the gas and automobiles. A small German car about the size of an American Crosley costs 5000 marks It takes 3.10 marks to an Ameri- can dollar.
 He further reports that a Ger man railroad worker makes about 120 marks a month and that a suit of clothes starts at 1S0 marks and goes up. Everyone lost their sav- ings when the money was denmark ed and had to start over. He re-. ports that no one saves now.
 Many other persons, like MT. Riedeman, are visiting their form CT home in Germany now that the war is over and he says American travellers are easily spotted and never bothered. One shopkeeper told him that Amrieans are recog- nizable by their hats and ties.
 On the return trip from Ger many MT. Riedeman found that reservations are difficult to get though he had a round trip ticket. He reports that lot of older Ger man couples are travelling to the U. S. to join children here who are now American citizens. Eight such couples were on the same plane he was on coming back. He also saw a number of them in New York. Fifty per cent of the old people return to Germany after short while in the U. S. One couple he knew were staying with a well-otf daughter in the States and had everything they wanted but just became homesick and returned home to Germany. Most of the older people have difficulty learn ing English and are too old to ever become citizens.
 MT. Riedeman's younger brother | recently applied to enter the U. S. but the quota is so small, and the number of people desiring to enter the U. & so large, that it will be ten years until he is able to come over.
 Returning from Germany, Mir. /, Riedeman returned to the German Holland border in a German motor car which is more economical on gas than the American cars. However, in Holland he travelled to Amsterdam in an American Chevrolet and says that there are a great number of new model Amer ican cars in Holland.
 Flying from Amsterdam to New York took forty eight hours on the return trip. Due to bad weather the plane detoured via Iceland and Labrador before getting to New York.