Cousins Visit Germany |
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The first two weeks of October 1998, Wendel and Donna Hoppe, Sharla and Brian Rader, and Weldon and Paula Hoppe visited Germany, the culmination of a quest that began in 1992. Our research that led to the formation of the Hoppe Family Association, this newsletter and the 125th Anniversary Reunion in 1994 began in 1992. Through searching for a copy of a book relating to the Hoppe ancestral town of Bantorf, Wendel was put in touch with Burkhard Hoppe in Germany. Further research determined that Burkhard was a cousin who also descended from the Bantorf Hoppe’s. Subsequently, Burkhard attended the 1994 reunion and invited us to come to Germany in the future. We spent several days with Burkhard and his family. During that time we were shown various sites in their area such as: the Neuschwanstein Castle, old walled cities like Rothenburg, the Burg Eltz, and vineyards in the Rhine valley. We spent the last several days of our trip in the area of Bantorf. We visited the church in Luttringhausen where the Hoppe family attended and saw the houses in Bantorf and Wichtringhausen that the Hoppe families lived in. We were guided on a tour of the area by Mr. Welge, the man who compiled the book that originally put us in touch with Burkhard in 1992. In our contacts with people in the area, three people (Mr. Welge, the pastor of the church in Hohenbostel and the Frau who looks after the church in Luttringhausen) all mentioned Capt. Fred Hoppe as having been to Bantorf a couple of years ago, looking for the same things we were. We are grateful to Burkhard and his wife, Gerti, for their hospitality. We hope to return the favor sometime. Perhaps sometime in the future they will be able to come to another Hoppe reunion.
 hoppe@wjh.us Updated: 7 July 1999 Hoppe Family Reunion Newsletter Index |