Introduction
This book explains the history of the company and how the company ceased to exist and it’s name became forgotten because of the mistakes that were made right from the start and no one realised it including the owner E. Lohmann of the company.
Lennep, Februrary 1952
The Director Eugen Lohmann of the company Wender & Duerholt in Lennep made many panels for camp accommodation as people who lost their homes due to the war. During the war the company made Baracken (camp buildings). Prefabrication came to an end after World War Two. The company then produced pre-cut timber framed houses. Due to the Berlin Wall making a division between East and West Germany the director Eugen Lohmann had to seek a safe haven for his company. With long time Jewish friends suggestions, to move elsewhere the direction was Australia.
The financier for the project was unknown to the workers. Regardless of plenty of work available in Germany many employees of Wender & Duerholt voluntarily joined the Director’s ambition and loaded the camp accommodation panels to be sent to Australia. They also signed a contract of loyalties to work for the company for two years to help erect 500 pre-cut timber framed houses in a land of which most of them had never heard. The Journey became documented from still pictures from with book has been published and a little later a video produced.
Video Part 1A
Video Part 2B
The video “The Journey of the Employees from Wender & Duerholt (Australia) In 1952 to the Marion District in South Australia, Building Timber-frame Houses for the South Australian Housing Trust” are available on Youtube.