What is a Tante Emma Laden? A Corner Store with a Special History

Cover photo- My mom behind the counter of her father’s Laden. That’s me, the Daumenlutscher, on the right

What is a Tante Emma Laden? Oddly, one of these shops holds a very important place in my life. My very first memory is of falling down the steps in front of my Opa’s Tante Emma Laden. (This had nothing to do with the store, and everything to do with the fact that I needed glasses, and no one had worked that out yet). I was 2, and my mother and I went to Germany to help my Opa shut down the Corner Store that he and Oma had built up after the war and their resettlement in Buldern, West Germany. I recently learned that these little Mom and Pop shops, in the middle of neighborhoods, were called Tante Emma Laden (I always thought of them as a Store or Laden like Opa’s). Funny name, but it all makes sense when you know the history.

 

what is a tante emma laden

 

What is a Tante Emma Laden?

The best way to describe a Tante Emma Laden (Aunt Emma Store) is … a small corner mom and pop store. In German you would call them a Lebensmittelgeschäft, in English, grocery store, but they were so much more than that. These little shops were crammed full of everything you could possibly need. Out of Sugar? Run to the Tante Emma Laden in mid-bake to get it. Need some green embroidery thread? I’ll bet there is a decent selection in some drawers in the back. Laundy Soap, Canned goods, Dish Towels, Hair Ribbons, Sausage, Butter… you could find it all at these little Markets. My Uncle told me he bought his first pair of soccer shin guards from my Mother while she was working in the shop.

But how did they get to be called Tante Emma Laden?

In German culture, a woman who might be a family friend or neighbor that you are close to and trust would be called “Tante” as a sign of respect. And the name “Emma” is a fairly common name from the time.  Unfortunately, it was also a name you might call a maid or helper. In the 1950s a lot of small Lebensmittelgeschäfte (corner grocery stores) popped up around Germany. Most of these family shops were run by women. (Opa and Oma’s shop was no exception. You would find Oma behind the counter until she passed away…. ) These women were helpful, and would often find exactly what you needed for you (no shopping carts banging through the aisle!). The stores became known as Tante Emma Laden because the women behind the counter were helpful, friendly and familiar faces.

Fotothek df roe-neg 0006456 017 Kundin beim Einkauf

Tante Emma Laden were Special Places in the Community

As you might expect, a corner market in a small community would become a neighborhood hub. Remember too, in Germany in the 1950s people didn’t do massive grocery shops once a week… instead, they bought what they needed for the day. A visit to the Butcher, to the Baker… and to the Lebensmittelgeschäft would round out part of the day’s chores. Children were trusted to shop in them with a list and some money, because mothers knew that the shopkeeper would take care of them. And chances are, there might be a slice of wurst “for the hand”, or a sweet to take away.  (My mom told me a story about a dog named Roland who would show up at the store with a basket and list… but she may have been pulling my leg).

Even more important during this time after the war, the shops had account books where purchases could be recorded, and then paid off at the end of the month.

These little shops were at the center of everything, and everyone knew everyone else… and kept an eye on everyone else.

 

what is a tante emma laden

Me at age two- I’ve always loved German Wurst

Poem About the Tante Emma Laden

It’s a sign of how important these stores were… how ingrained in the German culture, that songs and poems were written about the Tante Emma Laden.

Here is an excerpt from The Tante Emma Laden by S. Cornella… for the FULL poem, click here–>Tante Emma Laden Poem

Tante Emma Laden
Ich gehe durch das hübsche Dorf,
die Mutter mich geschickt,
zum kleinen Tante-Emma-Laden,
hab ich brav genickt.
 Ein halbes Pfund vom Butterblock,
und etwas Zucker auch,
vom schwarzen Tee und Roggenbrot,
und Schinken aus dem Rauch.
 Der Laden ist gemütlich klein,
ich geh’ so gern dorthin,
die Brausebonbons gibt es dann,
weil ich ein Kind noch bin.
Mit voller Tüte wander ich,
der Feldweg führt nachhaus,
die bunten Bonbons schmecken fein,
die Sonne lacht sich aus.
  

(Rough) English Translation

I go through the pretty village,
Mother sent me,
to the little mom and pop shop,
well behaved, I agreed to go

 Half a pound from the butter block,
and some sugar too,
b
lack tea and rye bread,
and ham from the smoker.

 The store is cozy small,
I like to go there,
and I get a Brause candy,
because I am still a child.

I wander with a full bag
along the dirt road leads to home,
the colorful sweets taste fine,
the sun laughs.

Sadly, the Tante Emma Laden are Vanishing

Today, in a country filled with Lidl, Aldi, Rewe and other shopping centers, the small corner markets are vanishing. People seek the convenience of having a large selection, and prefer shopping just once a week. Times change, and the small markets are going the way of rotary phones. My Opa closed his shop in the late 1960s when he finally retired, so that storefront next to the church houses a fabric store now. There is a Lidl up the road and around the corner… but it’s not quite the same, is it?

(This post was sparked by some photos I found on my last visit home. Opa’s in his store, mom behind the counter before it closed… and me, munching a Wiener to make me feel better after my tumble down the stairs)

 

what is a tante emma laden
 

13 thoughts on “What is a Tante Emma Laden? A Corner Store with a Special History

  1. My Austrian husband’s family owned a bakery which we ran for 15 years. We also had a book in the drawer under the cash register up until the early 1990’s where we would write down the name and date an amount if we knew the customer and they asked us to “Aufschreiben, bitte!” Write it down, please.

    1. ‘aufschreiben bitte’ = put it on the tab please

  2. Ich habe das “Tante Emma Lauden” gedicht gelesen, und fand es sehr intrasant! In 1968 Habe ich und mein Mann für fünf Jahre in eine Mission gearbeitet, in Berlin Deutschland., zwar in Lankwitz gebeit, und wonnten an das Friedensheim, auf Klüberstraße 28-30. Friedensheim ist eine Mennonitishe gemeinde, wo früher die Flüchtlinge vom Ost Berlin in hochhäuser gewohnt haben, und die kinder sind auf der Strasse gewesen, weil die Eltern gearbeitet haben. Damals hatten wir noch kline Kaufgeschäften. Friedensheim hatte ein Spielplatz aufgemacht wo die kinder dann spielen und so allehand basteln konnten.

    I will switch over to English, which will go faster for me. It has been 45 years since we returned back to the US, (1973). We adopted 2 daughters while in Berlin. One is now 50, almost 51, (she was 4 when we adopted her and her second adoption, and the other one is 45, and was 12 days old when we adopted her. She is of Turkish nationally, and the oldest one was American. We lived in Virginia, then my husband was sick for 12 years with Rheumatoid arthritis, crippled , and in a wheel chair for 6 years. He died at the age of 46. I was a widow for almost 11 years, then I met my now husband, and moved to Ohio, now 20 years ago last month. Both daughters live in Indiana, one is married and has 6 children, and the second daughter is single. She works as secretary for a very large Amish owned grocery store, also selling cheese, fruit, and vegetables, and have a bakery, small restaurant also, and have a big noodle making factory as well, and so mail orders. Their prices are really good, and have lots of business. Rosie, my daughter says they sell over 50,000.00 dollars a day. I now live in Amish Country, 1 mile from Berlin, Ohio.

    I am curious as to where you live.

    1. Hi Mary Jane… I live in California. My parents came here shortly before I was born. Raised in Southern California, then spent 20 years in the Bay Area… finally I am at home on the Central Coast.

      Your story is very interesting to me. I know very little about the Amish and Mennonite communities, other than they stem from German immigration. If you would like to share more of your story, send me an email [email protected]

      Thanks.. Karen

      1. Hi Mary Jane, I live in Wa. State
        I’m from West Berlin, came to the states in 71. My mom married my stepdad in 70. When I was little i walked to a little store and bought things. Also daily on way home from school I would stop at meat market or bakery. Planing a trip this year. Jeannette

        1. To Berlin? How wonderful! I’m hoping to go this year…

  3. I was already an adult and married when we moved into an apartment which had a “Laden” not 200’ away. They had everything : fruit and vegetables, breads and fresh rolls, cold cuts and cheeses, candies, cookies and cake, also a few threads and needles! And the husband and wife behind the counter would write your purchases on a pad with a double behind and add things up on that paper! Not even a calculator! The customer would get the copy and I never found a mistake. At Christmas the customer would get a calendar with the store name and a tea towel with one of the big suppliers printed on a corner. If somebody couldn’t carry all the goods, they would help and deliver after closing time.

  4. My Oma and Opa got an after war house in Uphusen, near Bremen. I remember fondly going to the little corner store for brötchen and butter and schinken etc, every morning. And gummi bears! What a treat. That was before we could buy them here in the US. This was 1964.

    1. I loved doing that… and when my daughter was small, I didn’t twice about sending her alone to a German Laden

  5. I don’t remember it being called a Tante Emma Laden, but, our family home had one around the corner in 1960. Most people had such a small refrigerator that they would just buy enough for one or two days. They were killed by the supermarkets.

  6. Ich bin auch ein geborene Berlinerin aus Kreuzberg, wirhatten auch 2 Tante Emma Laden. Meine Schwester und ihr Mann und mein Bruder mit Frau hatten das geschaft, da ich getade ausder Schule Kam musste ich Lebensmittel verkaeuferin werden und musste bei Reichelt Lerner, das war schon eine grosse Firma. Meine Schwester lernte bei Gebrueder Manns. Panache arbeitete ichbei meiner Schwester ihren Laden . In 1964 Kam ich mit Ametican Sldaten Eheman und Tochter nach Californien.

    1. Meine Mutter hat auch Lebensmittelverkauferin gelernt… und ist in 1966 nach Californien gekommen mit mein Papa.

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