The diary of William Robert “Willi” / “Bill” Distel (1906-1972): a young hairdresser’s journey across 1920s Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, and his emigration to Australia (Perth, then Melbourne, 1930). 56 pages, transcribed from the handwritten original and translated.
The whole route at a glance: from the Black Forest across Germany, Sweden and the Swiss Alps to Perth and Melbourne, with dates, places and his age at each step.
Follow one storyline across the pages: the sweethearts Willi meets in almost every town, and the romances that so often come to nothing.
Title / Contents
Page 01 – Title page and table of contents of Willi Distel's diary, 1920-1925
I. Lehrzeit (Apprenticeship)
Page 04 – Willi leaves school in Villingen (1920); his confectioner apprenticeship falls through on the first day
Page 05 – Willi starts his hairdressing apprenticeship with master Huber in Villingen (1920); his master, colleagues and fellow apprentices
Page 06 – Willi's fellow journeymen and apprentices at the Villingen barber shop, with sharp character sketches
Page 07 – End of Willi's apprenticeship (exams passed), the family house move and butcher shop, French lessons, and football
Page 08 – Closing of the apprenticeship chapter: friends, youthful escapades (New Year's Eve 1922-23 at the Tonhalle), and the first ladies [needs a human eye]
II. Gesellenstellung (Frankenthal, Pfalz)
Page 09 – Willi's first journeyman post at Frankenthal in the Palatinate (1923): the journey there and first impressions of the shop and household
Frankenthal / Pfalz (French occupation)
Page 10 – Life in the French-occupied Palatinate in 1923: transport bans, closed Rhine bridges, shuttered factories, mass unemployment and hyperinflation
Page 11 – Willi leaves occupied Frankenthal in 1923: hunger, the costly French exit pass, his parents' dying-father ruse, and his return home amid hyperinflation
Page 12 – Swimming the Rhine for pleasure and to slip past the French occupation, then a cash-strapped night at Mannheim station
III - Geselle zu Hause (Villingen)
Page 13 – Chapter III opens: Willi back home in Villingen during the inflation - restless, quarrelling with parents, casual work, helping his godmother, and an offer to train as a ladies' hairdresser
Page 14 – Youthful social life in Villingen, spring 1924: friends, girlfriends and jealousies, Willi's first romance with Else Stoll, a family row, and permission to travel again [needs a human eye]
Page 15 – Short close of Chapter III: on Paul's advice Willi leaves Villingen for Stuttgart at Pentecost 1924, having ended things with Else; note on his football and outings
IV - Stuttgart
Page 16 – Chapter IV opens: Willi arrives in Stuttgart at Whitsun 1924, is put up by Paul, finds work with the Kohlstetters, and saves hard for a new suit
Stuttgart
Page 17 – Close of the Stuttgart chapter: journeyman visitors, friction with the boss, and leaving for a new post in Auerbach
Auerbach
Page 18 – Opening of the Auerbach chapter: arrival, lodging, the salon staff and settling in as the boss's favourite
Page 19 – The Auerbach post sours into a rift with management; Willi resigns and heads for Berlin, with private-life episodes
Page 20 – Rowdy close of the Auerbach chapter: New Year excess, girls, a portrait of the town and colleagues' romances [needs a human eye]
Berlin
Page 21 – Opening of the Berlin chapter: the journey via Leipzig, arrival in spring 1925 and starting a new salon post
Page 22 – Office intrigue at the Berlin salon: a colleague resigns, the boss's wife confides, and a police report throws suspicion around the staff
Page 23 – Close of the Berlin chapter: resigning after the police affair, the city's entertainments, and moving on to Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshafen
Page 24 – Leaving Berlin and travelling via Hannover and Bremen to take up a post in Wilhelmshaven, c. 1925
Page 25 – A difficult job at a Wilhelmshaven salon, a suspected fiddle at the till, and Willi's notice, c. 1925
Page 26 – End of the Wilhelmshaven chapter: dismissal terms, lodgings with Frau Stoll, and the naval harbour, c. 1925
Bremen
Page 27 – Willi moves via Hamburg to Bremen and starts at the Winkler ladies' salon, 1 November 1925
Page 28 – Close of the Bremen chapter: social life with Kurt, expulsion from the journeymen's association, and departure at Easter 1926 [needs a human eye]
Wanderschaft
Page 29 – Start of a journeyman walking tour through Westphalia after leaving Bremen, spring 1926
Page 30 – The Ruhr, Rhineland and Holland leg of Willi's journeyman walking tour, spring 1926
Dusseldorf
Page 31 – Working at Herr Muller's Dusseldorf hair salon on commission; colleagues and a falling-out with Lienert. [needs a human eye]
Page 32 – More salon colleagues, praise for Dusseldorf and its 1926 GeSoLei exhibition, and Willi's sporty Sundays including a near-drowning in the Rhine.
Page 33 – End of the Dusseldorf chapter: girlfriend Grete Werner, a host couple, bad lodgings, and leaving Germany for abroad with Herr Muller's reference.
Auslandsreise Schweden
Page 34 – First trip abroad: the rail-and-ferry journey from Dusseldorf via Bremen's Freimarkt and Sassnitz-Trelleborg to Boras, Sweden.
Boras Schweden
Page 35 – Willi's posting in Boras, Sweden (Nov 1926-Feb 1927): learning Swedish, a difficult shop-sister, a lonely Christmas, and leaving for lack of a visa. [needs a human eye]
Page 36 – End of the Boras chapter: the countryside, his Soedergren hosts, the Swedish winter light, and leaving across Sweden to Stockholm when the police would not wait. [needs a human eye]
Stockholm
Page 37 – Willi's brief Stockholm posting from Feb 1927: a chaotic salon under Frau Bergner, made manager, then handing in notice as an expulsion order arrives. [needs a human eye]
Stockholm / journey home
Page 38 – Closing impressions of Stockholm and the journey home via Copenhagen, Berlin, Frankfurt and Heidelberg
Erholung zu Hause
Page 39 – A homecoming to Villingen: family welcome, becoming a godfather, and estrangement from old friends
Andermatt Schweiz
Page 40 – Journey from home into Switzerland and settling into a demanding shop job at Andermatt
Andermatt Schweiz (continued)
Page 41 – Mountain excursions and companions at Andermatt, then leaving to learn French in western Switzerland [needs a human eye]
Neuchatel
Page 42 – Four months at the Grebel shop in Neuchatel, endured to learn French, before moving on to Montreux [needs a human eye]
Montreux
Page 43 – Willi Distel arrives in Montreux; salesman at the Palace Hotel
Montreux / decision to emigrate
Page 44 – Wanderlust wins out over the Alps: Willi resolves to emigrate to Australia, trains in hairdressing, and visits home a last time
Voyage to Australia
Page 45 – The start of the emigration voyage: farewell, boarding the Ormonde at Toulon, and a shore day at Naples
Page 46 – Shipboard travelogue through the ports of call on the sea passage to Australia
Page 47 – Landfall in Australia, meeting the Indels, and first impressions of Perth
Perth West-Australia
Page 48 – Opening of the Perth chapter; his unhappy first weeks working for the Indel family
Page 49 – Office politics at the Indels' shop and Willi's rise to Mrs Indel's right-hand man
Page 50 – Willi's first love, Vivian, the only girl in the Indels' business
Page 51 – Willi quits the Indels before Christmas and surveys the Perth Swiss community
Page 52 – Closing impressions of Perth life and lodging with the McClennen household
From Perth to Melbourne on the Karoola
Page 53 – Sea passage Fremantle to Melbourne aboard the SS Karoola, January 1930
Melbourne
Page 54 – Willi starts work at Mr Villard's shop in Collins Street, Melbourne, Feb 1930
Page 55 – Willi's character sketches of the staff at Villard's Melbourne shop, 1930
Page 56 – Willi and brother Alf lodge with a beloved landlady in East Brunswick, 1930
Page 57 – Willi buys a motorcycle and tours around Melbourne with his riding friends
Page 58 – Three closing German lines finishing the portrait of Willi's Melbourne friends; rest of page blank
Open questions – can you help?
The diary was transcribed and translated from Willi’s handwriting. A few passages are hard to read, and one or two dates do not quite add up. If you can shed light on any of these, we would love to hear from you.
Dates to pin down
The Voyage to Australia heading is dated 1928, but it may be 1929 – Willi reached Melbourne in February 1930.
Page 09 gives a date of “31 April”, which cannot be right (April has 30 days).
Pages with uncertain readings
Faint handwriting or unfamiliar names – the uncertain words are marked with (?) in the text. Extra eyes on these would help:
German towns and names: pages
08, 14, 20,
28 and 31
Swedish names around Boras and Stockholm: pages
35, 36 and 37
Swiss places – Andermatt and Neuchatel: pages
41 and 42