Part IV:
Family Days from German reunification (1990) to 2011

Since 1990, nine family days have been held in eastern Germany. With German reunification, the territory of the former GDR, which had been largely inaccessible for conferences and genealogical research for over 40 years, was newly opened up to the family association.

1. Rapprochement between West and East

46th Family Day: 5–7 October 1990 in Hildesheim. The Family Day marked the 70th anniversary of the family association. Archivist Dr Carl Hermann Schrader (-Scharbow) gave a lecture on this occasion. Film footage of previous Family Days was also shown and the exhibition “70 Years of the Schrader Family Association” was opened.
The work “Schrader Family World Book” was presented at the general meeting.
Highlights of the city tour included a visit to the famous Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum and a guided tour of Hildesheim Cathedral with its 1,000-year-old rose bush.

47th Family Day: 4–6 October 1991 in Schierke/Oberharz. In the year following German reunification, a Family Day was held in the former GDR for the first time, a clear sign of our family association’s “pan-German self-image” and the fulfilment of a wish that had been cherished since the end of the Second World War.
The joint bus tour through the eastern Harz Mountains via Elend, Elbingerode, Rübeland,
Rappbode Dam and Blankenburg with an art history tour was impressive.
The keynote speech on the “Settlement and Mining History of the Central Harz Mountains” was given by Dr Knappe, Director of the Harz Museum in Wernigerode.

48th Family Day: 25–27 September 1992 in Fallersleben. The extended visit to the mill museum remains unforgettable. The two-part lecture by cousin Dr Carl Hermann Schrader (-Scharbow) dealt with “Pommerland is burned down (I)” and “Baltic impressions” (II).
Afterwards, cousin Carl Hermann presented the comprehensive book on the 500-year history of his own Schrader-Scharbow clan, one of the fruits of his decades of genealogical research.

49th Family Day: 24–26 September 1993 in Minden.
Topic of the keynote speech: ‘Glashütte Gernheim’. Lecture and guided tour by Dr Th. Parent (Westphalian
Industrial Museum Dortmund).
The Glashütte Gemheim glassworks was historically a Schrader family business in the early industrial era.
In the evening, Dr Hanswerner Schrader-Beielstein (-Wahmbeck) gave a lecture on the “Schrader family archive in Ratzeburg”. Cousin Harald Schrader (-Quedlinburg) and cousin Klaus Schrader (-Thüste)
were elected to the advisory board.

50th Family Day; 23–25 September 1994 in Berlin (Müggelsee). Family Day returned to the founding location of the family association. After a city tour, a walk along Unter den Linden and to the Brandenburg Gate, participants visited St. Nicholas’ Church with a Schrader epitaph.
In the evening, Dr Hanswerner von Schrader-Beielstein (-Wahmbeck) spoke about the “Schraders in Berlin”.

51st Family Day: 22–24 September 1995 in Duderstadt. With the election of Pastor Harald Schrader as chairman, succeeding Dr Carl Hermann Schrader (-Scharbow), and the election of Klaus Schrader
(-Thüste), judge in Göttingen, as his deputy, the generational change that had been looming for some time was completed.
The keynote speech on the topic of “Our Association Coat of Arms” was given by Dr Eberhard Schrader (-Ottenstein), who had previously taken over the office of herald.

52nd Family Day: 18–20 October 1996 in Celle. Archivist Dr Carl Hermann Schrader (-Scharbow) gave a presentation on ‘Ludwig Julius von Schrader (1686–1765) and his influence on 19th-century German literature’. A visit to Wienhausen Abbey was a particularly memorable experience.

53rd Family Day: 19–21 September 1997 in Quedlinburg. This Family Day in the eastern Harz foothills was a special highlight, and not just because of the high number of participants (60).
The city tour with the night watchman on Friday evening was an atmospheric prelude to an event that was entirely dedicated to the Schrader-Quedlinburg family.
The presence of Christel Zeigan, Lieselotte Würfel, Brigitte Schrader and Ilse Mechel, descendants of the last privy councillor residing in Quedlinburg, Dr Wilhelm Schrader (1855-1929), made the history of this Schrader clan very present.
The chairman, Harald Schrader, himself a member of the Quedlinburg clan, traced the history of this family from the beginning of the 17th century to the present day in his lecture.
A special experience for everyone was the reception at the town hall by Mayor Röhricht.
At the general meeting, cousin Ulrich von Schrader (-Wahmbeck) and Dr. Wolfgang
Schrader (-Königslutter) were elected to the advisory board.

54th Family Day: 18–20 September 1998 in Tangermünde/Altmark. The idea to hold a Family Day in the Altmark region came from our honorary member Malte Schrader (-Königslutter) and his daughter Christa, a member of our advisory board.
The keynote speech was given by Rolf Naumann, director of the Jerichow Monastery Museum, on the tenant
of the Jerichow estate, Ludwig Schräder (1773-1826), great-grandfather of honorary member Malte Schrader.

55th Family Day: 18–20 September 1999 in Bad Bentheim/Gildehaus. The efforts of our members Everardus and Bep Schrader from Eindhoven had led to the desire to hold a Family Day in the far west of Germany, in order to enable as many Dutch namesakes as possible to participate and to spark their interest in the family association. To our great delight, this was a success. Thirteen Dutch Schraders joined the association in Bad Bentheim/Gildehaus.
The visit to the Bertha Jordaan-van Heek Foundation in the moated castle Haus Wellbergen near Ochtmp had symbolic significance, as the founder had expressly dedicated the moated castle to the work of reconciliation between Germans and Dutch.
The keynote speech was given by cousin Everardus Schrader and archivist Dr Carl Hermann Schrader: “The Schrader families in the Netherlands”.

2. The turn of the millennium

56th Family Day: 15–17 September 2000 in Schwerin/Mecklenburg.
In his lecture entitled “The Lion of Midnight,” the archivist, cousin Dr. Carl Hermann Schrader (-Scharbow), described an episode from the life of Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, who fell at Lützen in 1632. He is said to have been the father of an illegitimate child named Schrader.

57th Family Day: 21–23 September 2001 in Bremen. For the second time since 1930, Family Day was held in Bremen. The well-known Bremen-based author of children’s books, Werner Schrader, was a guest at Family Day on the welcome evening. The writer delighted those present with readings from his curious tales of robbers and ghosts.
The general meeting appointed cousin Dr Hanswerner von Schrader-Beielstein (-Wahmbeck) as the 20th honorary member in recognition of his many years of service to the association and his intensive family research.
For health reasons, cousin Hanswemer was unable to attend in person.
The chairman presented the honouree with a certificate and congratulations on 6 November 2001 at his residence in Herrsching am Ammersee. In place of the ailing honouree, archivist Dr Carl Hermann Schrader
(-Scharbow) gave a lecture entitled “Stone witnesses of the von Schrader family”.

58th Family Day: 20–22 September 2002 in Naumburg/Saale. The number of participating members and guests was 43. Despite the long journey to the south of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, 14 members travelled from Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands.
In his presentation on family research methods, the chairman, cousin Harald Schrader (-Quedlinburg), emphasised the continuing importance of the family for the development of both the individual and the community.

59th Family Day: 19–21 September 2003 in Lübeck. The Family Day was held in the Hanseatic city on the Trave to enable our former chairman and long-standing archivist Dr. Carl Hermann Schrader
(-Scharbow) to attend.
In his lecture on “Dr Gerhard Schrader, the inventor of the pesticide E 605,”
, the chairman painted a picture of the life of the distinguished chemist, who suffered hostility in the post-war years because of his involvement in the development of the nerve gas sarin – a by-product of his experimental research that had been appropriated by the Nazis for war purposes. The lecture was based on a paper by Pastor Otto Pfingsten (Peine), who had researched the life and work of Dr Gerhard Schrader and published his findings. Unfortunately, due to work commitments,
Pastor Pfingsten was unable to attend the Lübeck Family Day as a speaker.

60th Family Day: 17–19 September 2004 in Maastricht, Netherlands. For the first time in the association’s 84-year history, a Family Day was held abroad. The occasion was organised by Dutch members, who had joined the association in large numbers since the 55th Family Day in Bad Bentheim and had supported it with great enthusiasm ever since. A total of 48 members and guests took part in the Family Day.
The evening’s presentations were devoted to biographies of Schrader personalities who had lived and worked abroad. Cousin Everardus Schrader, chairman of the Dutch members, described the
life of “Pastor Jan-Arnold Schräder (1797-1870) from Bad Bentheim-Gildehaus”. Jan Arnold had married Anna Aleida Podt, the daughter of the local mill owner, in Raalte, Netherlands, and had held the parish pastorate for 46 years.

61st Family Day: 21–23 September 2005 in Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains. This Family Day was dedicated to the family of our member Adolf Schrader. Cousin Adolf had compiled the history of his ancestors and put his own very exciting life in the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany down on paper. The chairman used this information to put together a presentation covering ten generations of the Schrader family from Wernigerode.
The idyllic village with its historic half-timbered houses provided an almost fairy-tale backdrop for the Family Day. To the delight of the assembled tourists, a choir in traditional costume suddenly began singing folk songs in harmony in the evening atmosphere on the town hall square. When the members of the family day left the town hall after being welcomed by Mayor Ludwig Hoffmann, a bride and groom with their entourage drove up – a wonderful sight in the midst of the historic market square idyll.

62nd Family Day: 22–24 September 2006 in Lüneburg. At the welcome evening, Klaus and Uschi Schrader (Groß-Gleidingen) reported on the work they do at the St. Valentin children’s farm in Fischen/Ammersee, which they founded and run. Several times a year, groups of children from the region around the former TschemobyF nuclear power plant in Ukraine who have been affected by radiation are invited to spend several weeks on holiday there.
The keynote speech on the “Schrader-Königslutter family” was given by our chairman Harald Schrader (-Quedlinburg) on behalf of our advisory board member Christa Schrader (-Königslutter), who was ill.

63rd Family Day: 21–23 September 2007 in Potsdam. The highlight of Family Day was a lecture by the association’s deputy chairman, Jens Peter Schrader (-Rottmersleben):
“The Schrader-Rottmersleben family: 500 years in northern Germany”.
On Friday evening, an exhibition on the theme of
“People and the Beauty of Dance” featuring paintings by our member, Dutch painter Wilhelmina (Wil) Maria Johanna Schrader, was held in the foyer of the conference hotel on Lake Griebnitz. The association chairman and Wil’s husband Joop spoke at the opening. The paintings were on display until the end of Family Day.
The city tour programme also included visits to the Marble Palace and Sanssouci Palace.

64th Family Day: 19–21 September 2008 in Königslutter am Elm. The 300th anniversary of the elevation of the Schrader brothers Christoph and Kilian to the nobility on 19 May 1708 by Emperor Joseph I was the reason for choosing this location and theme for the Family Day. The brothers grew up in nearby Helmstedt, as their father Christoph Schrader was a professor of rhetoric at the university there in the 17th century. Among his students was the later famous Lutheran theologian Johann Quenstedt.
We visited the Juleum, the city’s former university, in Helmstedt. Founded in 1576 and privileged by Duke Julius, this “Academia Julia” gained a high reputation thanks to famous professors in the faculties of theology, jurisprudence, medicine and philosophy, until it was closed in 1810 in favour of the University of Göttingen.
The lecture by cousin Gunhild and cousin Ulrich was entitled “300 Years of Ennoblement
Christoph and Chilian von Schrader”. The lecture, illustrated with pictures, highlighted the connection between the Schrader clan and the princely houses of the time and showed the achievements of the brothers that ultimately led to their ennoblement.
In accordance with a decision by the Executive Board, the chairman of the Dutch members, Vetter Everardus
(Eef) Schrader (-Breischen), was appointed as the 21st honorary member in recognition of his many years of loyalty and service to the association.
In the elections at the general meeting, all members of the Executive Committee and Advisory Board except cousin Eberhard were confirmed in their positions. Cousin Eberhard Schrader (-Ottenstein) had already resigned from his position as Herald Master, which has been vacant since then.
Forty people from four countries – Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark – took part in the family day.

65th Family Day: 25–27 September 2009 in Bremerhaven. The reason for inviting Family Day to Bremerhaven was the new Emigrant Museum, which offers an interactive space where visitors can learn about the fates of individuals who emigrated overseas since the 19th century as they bid their final farewells. It is deeply moving when visitors use name cards to trace the departure of emigrants, about whom we do not know whether they were accompanied to the quay in Bremerhaven by relatives and friends who remained behind. On the ship, they then had to settle in on the appropriate deck, depending on their status and income. This visit to the museum
left a deep impression on those present, especially as the emigrants included ancestors of current members.

Advisory board member Gunhild von Schrader (-Wahmbeck), supported by her husband Ulrich, gave a presentation on “Ulrich von Schrader’s emigration to America in 1829”. Cousin Gunhild reported on the well-documented emigration of this ancestor of the Schrader-Wahmbeck clan, based on letters, and provided vivid insights into the often deprived life of that era.

The general meeting discussed the relocation of the Schrader family archive from Eutin to the Jerichow/Altmark monastery museum, which took place in June 2009. Thirty-six members and guests took part in the family day.

66th Family Day: 24–26 September 2010 in Tangermünde/Altmark. After 1998, the Family Day was held in Tangermünde for the second time. Once again, the venue was the Hotel Schwarzer Adler. The occasion was the relocation of the family association’s archive from Eutin to the Jerichow monastery archive near Tangermünde the previous year.
The family association visited the monastery under the expert guidance of museum director Rolf Naumann and was impressed by the professional storage of the association’s extensive archive materials.
In the evening, Mr Naumann also gave a commemorative lecture on ancestors from the Königslutter clan: “Rudolf and Fanny Schrader – Stages in the life of a family of domain tenants in the 19th century”.
Prior to this, chairman Harald Schrader had paid tribute to the association’s anniversary: “90 years of the Schrader Family Association”.

67th Family Day: 30 September – 2 October 2011 in Delft, Netherlands. Seven years after Maastricht, a Family Day was held in the Netherlands for the second time, attended by 38 members and guests.
The keynote speech was given by cousin Frans W.B. Schrader (-Breischen) on the “Life and Work of Midwife Catharina Geertruida Schrader (1656-1746)”. The notes on the many births she attended, recorded in a “Memoryboek”, made Catharina G. Schrader famous posthumously.
Her records as a “Fruchtfrau” – Dutch for midwife – are a scientifically highly interesting
treasure trove for learning about midwifery in the 17th/18th century.
The fact that a street in the city of Leiden is named after Catharina Geertruida Schrader can be seen as a sign
of recognition of her historical significance.
The
general meeting was followed by a workshop moderated by advisory board member Christa Schrader.
Topic: “What next? – Perspectives on the way to the 100th anniversary of the family association in 2020”.

In compiling this chronicle, I have gratefully drawn on numerous
family day reports by our secretary Jens Peter Schrader (-Rottmersleben).