Ruhrgemüse, polnisch

A family story set in the Ruhr region, a tale of arrival in a foreign land, of solidarity, and of the struggle against exclusion, injustice, and poverty – from the end of the 19th century to the 1930s. As Polish immigrants, Adam and Zuzanna experience Dortmund at the heart of its enormous industrial development. Adam loses an eye in a workplace accident and, shortly afterward, his job. He joins a savings and building association, becomes involved in the trade union, the Social Democrats, and the new workers' newspaper. To support the family, Zuzanna takes in boarders and works as a seamstress. The family grows, fighting for its identity and its new home. In "Ruhrgemüse, polnisch" (Ruhr Vegetables, Polish), Birgitta M. Schulte traces the family's roots, exploring the experiences of her great-grandparents, who, as West Prussians and Poles, had to contend with resistance from various quarters – the church, national associations, political positions, and labor hierarchies – during turbulent times in the Ruhr region. How they are forced to change their family name – Koszyński becomes Kosshofer. But how they still, or perhaps even because of this, find their place.