The Hindenburgdamm:Once the largest construction site in Europe

In the 1920s, the Hindenburgdamm is Europe's largest construction site. The railway connection between Sylt and the mainland should initially split the islanders deeply. The dam has shaped life there for around 100 years.

by Stefanie Grossmann

At the beginning of the 20th century, 13 years passed between the start of construction and the completion of the Hindenburgdamm. It's not just external events such as the tides that pose immense challenges for the engineers. The resistance of the population is also endangering the project in the meantime:many Sylt residents are fighting against a dam, as the documentary drama "Sylt, the flower girl and the dam" shows. In addition, the costs for a state building of this magnitude are considerable:ten million marks are estimated. But before it really gets going, it's all over again:when the First World War begins, the money is needed elsewhere - and so the construction project is put on hold for the time being. At the beginning of the 1920s, the call for a land connection from the mainland to the island became louder again, because after the end of the war and the conclusion of the Versailles Treaty, Germans inevitably had to cross Danish territory to get to Sylt - which made travel much more complicated and expensive power.

19. Century:Sylt can only be reached by boat

As an island, Sylt can only be reached by ship until then, meaning the residents are more or less isolated. Her life is simple and determined by the seasons. Especially in winter, Sylt is often completely isolated - because the ice in the Wadden Sea forms a natural barrier. The island location shapes the population, many are closed and afraid of changes. However, in the 19th century more and more bathers were drawn to Westerland, they land at the pier at the Munkmarscher Fährhaus. And they bring money to the island. A dam could make the business even more profitable. The increasing importance of Westerland as a seaside resort finally led to the official planning of a dam in 1910.

1914:Start of construction and halt due to World War I

The Prussian state parliament approved the construction in 1913. The following year, construction preparations began under the direction of Hans Pfeiffer, who was on the board of the Prussian water construction office for Dammbau Sylt. Ten million Reichsmarks are available for the ambitious project. As the builder of the Rendsburg swing bridge, Pfeiffer brings technical know-how to the table. But the construction of the dam poses the question even for the experienced engineer:How can a dam be built despite the tide? The resistance of many people from Sylt, especially Morsumers, seems to be less of a problem at first. But before the construction really begins, the First World War stops the work. The money is needed for the war chest.

1920:border shift makes calls for a dam louder

After the war, troubled times prevail in the district of Tønder:Due to the peace treaty of Versailles, the people of North Schleswig have to decide which country they want to belong to - Germany or Denmark. As a result of the referendum in 1920, Tønder split, Sylt remained in German hands. In order to get to the island now, Germans have to go through Danish territory - and need a visa to do so. A land connection for rail traffic seems more urgent than ever.

The tides and mudflats are unpredictable

The next construction attempt starts with preliminary work in 1921. The beginning of the dam construction is a risk:building an artificial dam through the mud flats presents the engineers and workers with great challenges. Because they are breaking new technical ground. Nobody knows whether it will work to overcome 28 million cubic meters of water that flows in and out four times a day. Tideways and currents must be separated. Building a 50-meter-wide dam means piling up sand, laying pipes and erecting fences in the sea. The nature of the sand plays a major role here:in front of Sylt it is so fine-grained that it does not remain on the ground. The tide washes him away again and again. In the years that followed, the project developed into the largest construction site in Europe - with an uncertain outcome.

The construction of the dam divides the population of Sylt

But the dam is not only proving to be a Herculean task in terms of construction. Many Sylter are skeptical. They are afraid of everything strange - especially the "rabble" that could come to the island with the dam. Many residents regard the construction of the dam and the connection to the mainland as a loss of their island. Sylt is divided:Westerlanders are in favor of the dam because they hope it will bring more tourism and an economic upswing. Numerous residents simply want to earn money on the dam, rent rooms or offer food. But the people of Morsum remain stubborn - the people who live right behind the dyke fear only disadvantages from the construction.

Pastor Hans Johler from Morsum tries to mediate

In the difficult situation, Inselpastor Hans Johler takes on a special task, although the priest himself is torn. On the one hand he is the pastor of the Morsumer, but at the same time he is also a dam construction pastor. He feels responsible for the people who are new to the island. He becomes friends with engineer Hans Pfeiffer and supports the dam construction. But the pastor can hardly convince a Morsumer with rational, forward-looking arguments - for them the dam is and remains the devil. Nevertheless, Johler calls on people in his sermons to open up, not to be afraid of strangers:"Look ahead! Send your children over the dam to good schools, be merciful to the workers!" In vain, the mood turns against the priest and his family, he receives threats. After all, he only spends his time on the construction site.

"The construction of the dam is increasingly overshadowing family life... he was torn between his duties as church pastor and caring for the workers. He had less and less time for us children and his wife. The dam had fascinated him. "

This is how Johler's daughter Karin Lauritzen remembers the time in the docu-drama "Sylt, the flower girl and the dam" - on July 7 at 9 p.m. on NDR television.

Dam workers live in shanty town with saloon

In 1923 the actual construction of the railway embankment began. On the Nösse peninsula in the east of Sylt, a shantytown with a saloon is being built for the workers. The dwellings for this are bought together from all over Germany. Soldiers or prisoners of war used to live there. Others are accommodated on residential barges directly on the route. Your advantage:short commutes.

Bau des Hindenburgdamms:A battle against the North Sea

The material is transported to the construction site from Klanxbüll on the mainland using lorries and trains. For this, workers lay field railway tracks. The transport vehicles move forward at walking pace. Tons of sand are brought in from gravel pits for heaping up - to gain an advantage over the North Sea, which keeps bringing back the fine sediment.

Engineer Hans Pfeiffer carries out the battle against the North Sea on the backs of up to 1,500 workers. They literally wrested the dam from the forces of nature, toiled up to 18 hours a day, shoveled sand, rammed planks into the mudflats, and hauled thousands of tons of stones. They cross tidal creeks and strong currents. For this hard work, the workers get a daily wage that is just enough to buy a loaf of bread. There are years of inflation.

Storm flood in 1923 destroys a year's work

And there are setbacks:in August 1923, a devastating storm surge swept through the construction site and destroyed a whole year's worth of work. Only on the mainland side there is still a piece of the dam - where it is already secured with stones. A total of 250,000 cubic meters of soil are lost - ten million marks are literally screwed up.

Many workers work to the death

Hans Pfeiffer questions the previous construction method. On the south side in the direction of Westerland, the engineer has a sheet pile wall made of wooden planks pulled across the Wadden Sea. It is additionally secured by rows of piles. The 90 centimeter wide tracks are secured with stone walls to prevent undermining. The force of the sea rebounds, the laboriously heaped up sand finally stays where it is. This idea brings the long-awaited breakthrough in dam construction. But engineer Pfeiffer kept up the pressure, and by the end of 1925 the sheet piling and the dam foundation were to be in place. Before the next autumn and winter storms threaten. The conditions for the workers are catastrophic, they often work until they drop. Pastor Hans Johler buries a man who worked for 14 days straight - until he had a heart attack.

The hardest part is working on the heavy iron carts. If they derail on the wet mud bed, it can have fatal consequences for the workers. Anyone who gets under a minecart often loses a leg. Others even lose their lives. And, what weighs heavily:Those injured by the dam construction will not be compensated in large amounts.

April 1927:The first train rolls over the dam

In September 1926, the last gap in the 11.3-kilometer dam was closed. Excavators, dishwashers and residential barges are deducted. As a final step, stone setters secure the embankment. In April 1927 the first train crossed the dam to Westerland. The only thing missing is the station building - which must be completed by June 1st. Then the inauguration ceremony with prominent guests is planned.

Reich President Hindenburg is named patron of the dam

On June 1, Reich President Paul von Hindenburg rolls over the new dam in a special train. There is an unscheduled stop in Morsum - and a little girl makes history. Hans Johler's daughter Karin hands Hindenburg a bouquet of flowers through the window, lifted up by her mother. "It was perhaps the proudest moment of my father's life," she recalls.

In Westerland, Hindenburg was received by veterans' groups, local celebrities and representatives of the Reichsbahn. The Reichsbahn President Julius Dorpmüller asked him to be his namesake:Just as the dam defied the North Sea, Hindenburg was a protective wall against the enemies of the fatherland. Since 1927 the dam has borne the name of a man who rejected the Republic.

Hindenburg, the dam - and a new name?

Ever since the inauguration of the eleven-kilometre-long dam that connects Sylt with the mainland, the railway connection has been called Hindenburgdamm:On June 1, 1927, the then President of the Reich rolled over the dam in a special train on the first official journey. Because of Hindenburg's political role, however, there are recurring discussions about the name. Among other things, the SPD parliamentary group in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament would like to rename the connection. However, Sylt's Mayor Nikolas Häckel sees no reason for this. A decision is still pending.
By the way:the railway connection is officially called "Route 1210". According to Deutsche Bahn, there was no official naming and no baptism of the route when it opened in 1927. From the documents available to the railways, it emerges that the then General Director of the Reichsbahn, Julius Dorpmüller, only emotionally "proclaimed" the name in a speech. That is not binding. In this respect, the unofficial name Hindenburgdamm has only survived in the vernacular to this day.

The dam builder is not mentioned at all

For Hans Pfeiffer and Hans Johler, the story ends on a less glamorous note:the dam builder is not mentioned at all at the celebrations. He will stay on the island until the end of the year and handle the construction site. Hans Pfeiffer sells everything:work horses, barracks and tools. Finally, he sells the engineers' toilet building, which flushes 42 Reichsmarks into the state coffers. A ridiculous sum in relation to the total cost of the dam of 25 million Reichsmarks.

Hans Johler loses his position as pastor

Pastor Hans Johler also leaves the island - but involuntarily. Behind his back, the Morsum council had quietly promoted his replacement. He never got over this humiliation, according to daughter Karin Lauritzen, who was born almost 100 years ago in the pastorate of Morsum. Saying goodbye to the island is difficult for the family. Hans Johler has to look for a new job - he becomes pastor of the river boatmen in the port of Hamburg.

Hindenburgdamm:One of the busiest railway lines

From technology to business to tourism - the Hindenburgdamm has made history. Today it is one of the busiest railway lines. 700,000 vehicles pass the dam every year on car trains, back and forth. A ride takes around 45 minutes. The island of Sylt, the dam and the mainland are firmly interwoven.