On Thursday at ten o’clock the church bells of Fahrland will ring for the farmer Ernst Ruden, who is buried here. He turned 84 years old. He had been a Fahrländer since he was one year old, after the Wehrmacht had all civilians resettled from his birthplace, Klausdorf near Zossen.
The farming family decided on Fahrland – in the country and yet close to a town whose residents could be buyers of fruit and vegetables.
Passing on knowledge was his special strength
After the war, when Ernst was eight years old, something happened that would shape his whole life. He was run over by a military truck. He spent almost a year in the hospital, his broken leg underwent several operations and remained stiff. Even after decades, hospital stays were always necessary because of this. But throughout his life Ernst Ruden never complained, never complained and drew as little attention as possible to this limitation.
But it was also clear that he would never be able to do heavy physical work in agriculture. That never discouraged him. He used his head more, says his son Ernst, read a lot, thought his way into complicated things, acquired knowledge and passed this knowledge on with pleasure. That was his particular strength.
In 1949 the father had set up a new farmer’s office on land reform land. Despite his disability, Ernst worked on the farm and drove to the market in Potsdam in a horse-drawn carriage for many years to sell fruit and vegetables.
Family, holidays – that always came second
Fruit and vegetables were to become important again later – namely when the trained gardener specialized in trading with them as an LPG member and met his future wife at the same time. Ilse was responsible for the entire supply of fruit and vegetables in Potsdam. “That’s why we kept seeing each other. This is how love developed – actually quite unspectacular,” the widow recalls.
The LPG was more important to him than a family outing.
Ernest Rudenson of the deceased
The two got married in 1968 in the Drachenhaus. Daughter Sabine was already born at that time, son Ernst followed in 1970. The children got to know their father as a man who put work above all else. Son Ernst remembers: “If any baskets arrived at the Satzkorner train station on Sunday, then we would go there with our fathers and unload the baskets all Sunday long because the LPG was more important to him than a family outing.”
Creating something, being responsible for something, that was his life. Family, holidays – that always came second. However, neither Sabine nor Ernst felt neglected because of this. “When we really needed him, we could rely on him,” says the daughter. So he set everything in motion when it came to getting her an apprenticeship as a stable manager.
Farmer Ruden was never loud, more of a diplomat
He was persistent when he wanted to achieve something. Never loud or uncontrolled, more like a diplomat. Ernst Ruden was never able to take over his father’s farm because of collectivization. But after German reunification, he saw an opportunity to accept his father’s legacy after all. The Rudens were among the first to set things up again and bought back the former property. Because there were numerous funding opportunities for young farmers, son Ernst finally took over the reins. It started with six hectares.
It was important to father that the company ran well, even if he no longer interfered.
Son Ernest Ruden
The father left the field work to the son. He took care of leases, land purchases, used his contacts, knowledge and organizational skills to advance the farm. So the two complemented each other well.
In addition, he was a caretaker. No matter who wanted to know something from the village, Ernst Ruden was guaranteed to have an answer. “Strictly speaking, the father was the Fahrländer land registry office. Even if it was only about ten square meters – he knew who owned it,” says the family.
Very soon after reunification, Ruden became involved in the farmers’ association. He was convinced that the more people pull together, the greater the chance of a positive result. For countless farmers from all over the world he was a sought-after discussion partner, explaining to them how it was possible, after decades of collectivization, to turn former land reform land into farm property again – and to run a successful business.
“It was important to father that the company ran well, even if he no longer interfered. He withdrew bit by bit to see if we could manage on our own,” says the son.
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