Tied to this is naturally the emigration of your mother [Mamachen], aunt Wila, Edith, Erntst, Theo, etc. together, and finally also that you, Nardi, were born in Bolivia.

Labahn was a Bremen merchant, tall, thin, with spare blond hair, large head, nose, mouth. He acted and spoke in a quiet, measured, way, and throughout had a pleasant, trustworthy [vertrauenerweckendes wesen] manner. Before the first world war he had already been living a long time in English South Africa, and came to Germany to finance a tantalum mine which he owned with several africaners. Today almost all filaments for light bulbs are made of tungsten. Then tantalum wire was also used, and tantalum ore had a good market.

But the war came, and Labahn could naturally not release his mine from the enemy lands. Instead he was drafted in to the army, which was not at all to the liking of one accustomed to African freedom and colonial dominance. He was constantly punished, and was overjoyed when the war ended and he could again wear his gray suit. He came back to the institute to work for me [bei mir], tried again with the tantalum mine, but that was over. His African friends had appropriated the mine, and knew how to arrange it for him to be excluded from re-immigration as a foreign enemy. So he looked for other areas, went next to Brazil, from where he returned disappointed, and then went to Bolivia.

He wrote me also, that along with other friends, he had founded a company that bought and sold mines, managed them, and developed them. I had no field or outlook for my occupation in Germany, but there they needed a chemist, so I should come out and take the position. I had known Labahn ten years by then. I immediately decided to accept the job. My father could be easily won to my plan, also miss Mess. After all, the only thing I had to give up in Hamburg was the position of president of the Bnai Brith lodge, nothing else. I had already earned nothing for months, and I could not depend on father's pocket indefinitely. So I decided immediately, and wrote Labahn my conditions for acceptance. These were accepted, and a long and boring exchange of letters and telegrams ensued. There was no airmail then. One could not expect a letter reply in less than eight weeks, and even telegrams were delayed, since if Labahn was on travel the telegram waited for his return. Bolivia then enjoyed the aftermath of the war. Tin and tungsten prices were very high, there was high speculation in mines in the exchanges in Chile. Real and fraudulent companies were being founded, among the latter was the Labahn group, but I knew nothing of this.

[366]  I prepared myself for the emigration, I took a double course in Spanish at the Berlitz School in Hamburg, read what I could about Bolivia, since in Hamburg this literature was widely available and easy to get. So the year 1925 arrived, finally I received the money transfer from Bolivia, about 1000 dollars, and was able to do the travel purchases and other preparations. I packed my things, which I still owned from my institute position: microscope, typewriter, camera (of course) and various scientific books. There were four large crates, about 150 kilo each, and of course trunks and suitcases. Visas for Bolivia and Chile were simple and easy to get. Then, when everything was ready, I went to Libau to say good-by to my father. This parting was not difficult, everyone seemed convinced that I was facing a fortunate future. I was unable to say good-by to the relatives in Poland, uncle Samuel with Gerda and Wila, uncle Jacob, and aunt Rosa, since relations between Poland and Germany were bad and I was refused a visa. Then I parted from the relatives in Berlin. Uncle Dodo and aunt Hand. There something nice [hubsch] happened to me. They told me, they had an acquaintance, a professor Posnanski from Bolivia, who happened to be here now, and I should meet him since he would give me valuable recommendations for Bolivia. So I went. Prof. P. lived with at his brother's, the owner of a large chemical factory in Berlin. He greeted me in a very friendly way. I had found his name mentioned in most books about Bolivia. He was an ethnologist, anthropologist, geographer, engineer, in short a polymath [Polyhistor]. I was very flattered to make the acquaintance of such an important person. However he knew nothing of Labahn, nor of our company, which astonished me, but I calmed down since after all it was a new company which he would no necessarily know of. He assured me of his help, promised several recommendations. Also, I was to take along a present from him to the wife of the Bolivian president Bautista Saavedra.

So, I was in seventh heaven, saw myself already in the highest layers of Bolivian society, and so on. I was 40 years old, and still full of childish illusions. When I was back in Hamburg I received the recommendations enclosed with a letter from Posnanski; the present for Mrs. President was not ready, so my castles in the air about presidential relations fell apart into nothing. That made me curious about the recommendations. I opened them, they were all the same, saying absolutely nothing, practically worthless - I would do better for a servant who left my employ. I don't remember who all they were addressed to; one was the manager of his brick factory, another to a professor at the museum in La Paz. Posnanski immediately showed himself to be a "farsante" as they say in Bolivia (pretentious), whom I would get to know better in Bolivia.

It was time for the farewell in Hamburg, a large party in the Lodge, which was really very nice, with many speeches, well-wishing, and a silver cigarette case as remembrance. the journey began. [369]
 
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