A gift from Philly, bird poop, and Arnold Schwarzenegger: Unraveling the mystery of a tree that went missing in Germany

KREFELD, Germany — It is long lost: a tree with historical significance from Philadelphia, given to the citizens of Krefeld, Germany to celebrate Oct. 6, 1683, when 13 families from the Rhineland arrived in the colonial city.

Our fellow journalists from The Philadelphia Inquirer had asked us about the tree as part of our project honoring the families that founded Germantown 340 years ago. Our response was silence.

A tree? From Philadelphia? In Krefeld? Never heard of it.

The search led us back to the Philadelphiade, the 1983 celebration in Krefeld of Germantown’s founding, to Philadelphia itself, even to Turkey, and to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The path was paved with wonderful anecdotes about Krefeld and Philadelphia — on the trail to the missing oak.

» READ MORE: These German immigrants landed here in 1683. Philly would never be the same.

The first address in the search was, of course, the city administration, because city administrations in theory know everything that concerns a city. In theory, that is. City officials didn’t know.

The second and third stops of the search led us to the two mayors who were in office at the time and, like almost all mayors of this world, became experienced tree planters. Lord Mayor Gregor Kathstede (in office from 2004 to 2015) was certain: he never planted a Philadelphia tree. “I remember all the tree plantings I did,” he said. “Unforgettable is a tree planting in our Turkish partner city Kayseri. I had just put the spade in the ground when a bird [crapped] on my jacket.”

International disputes did not arise, fortunately: It was quickly agreed that this was a good sign and would bring luck, Kathstede reported.

The ex-mayor has fond memories of Philadelphia. In 2008 he was a member of a delegation led by Jürgen Rüttgers, then-prime minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Germans attended a magnificent welcoming ceremony at the German Society of Pennsylvania. They continued to Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, where Kathstede met Arnold Schwarzenegger. The ”Conan the Barbarian” and “The Terminator” star said he knew Krefeld because he had trained in nearby Cologne. A clearly pleased Kathstede said to us: Who chats with the Terminator? Mayors are walking treasures of anecdotes.

The next stop on our search led us to Dieter Pützhofen, mayor between 1982 and 2004 and, like Kathstede, a city archive on two legs.

Pützhofen represented Krefeld at the Philadelphiade. Many prominent guests were present, from U.S. Vice President George Bush to German President Karl Carstens and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Talking to Pützhofen is always a pleasure. He can effortlessly ignite a barrage of anecdotes, in a way that you forget any other topic.

But alas: Pützhofen could not recall a Philadelphia tree. “If it was something official, it crossed my desk, and I would remember,” he said firmly. One can take his word for it: the man has an elephantine memory. The tree remained a mystery.

Our next stop was the archive of the Rheinische Post. There, under the keyword “Baum, Philadelphia,” we found an entry dating to 2008, about a visit of the then-mayor of Krefeld, Bernd Scheelen. He had been invited to Philadelphia by the German Society of Pennsylvania to mark Germantown’s 325th anniversary.

“I was asked to help plant a Krefeld oak tree and to give a speech to the members of the Society,” Scheelen recounted.

He remembered the planting perfectly: “Tony Michels, a Krefelder who emigrated because of love, loosened the dry soil with a pickax so that we could put the tree in the ground in his Society’s garden, together with chairman Hardy von Auenmueller.”

Another thing that went well: The ensemble of the Krefeld Kresch Theater performed a play by Peter Bichsel entitled “Amerika gibt es nicht (There is no such place as America)” in the society’s library. “A great performance by our Krefeld theater gem. The German Society members were thrilled, and I was very proud that Krefeld was able to deliver such a showcase,” Scheelen recalled. A great call, all in all. Who, on the occasion of a visit to America, would deny this very America the honor of existing?

This revealed a most promising lead: The Rheinische Post also mentioned that the Krefeld initiative “3333 Trees for Krefeld” returned the favor with a tree donation from Philadelphia.

As they say in bad detective stories: Bingo! The Philly tree must really have existed. And a familiar name resurfaced: Tony Michels, now president emeritus of the German Society. Was he the key witness?

Michels, it turned out, was part of the delegation from the German Society that brought the Philadelphia tree to Krefeld as a seedling during a 2008 visit. During a ceremony in Krefeld City Hall, the delegation handed the care for the tree over to the city administration.

From here on, the accounts diverge: Michels told us that he later heard that the seedling had been deposited in Mayor Kathstede’s office over the weekend — and by the following Monday, the little plant looked certain to die from lack of water.

“They tried to save the tree in a nursery, but to no avail,” he said. Michels found it a pity that the tree was not replaced.

Former mayor Kathstede promised to look into the story about the seedling’s mistreatment in his office. While he could not remember it, his former staffers could. The answer, he reported back to us: the tree survived and was planted in the Krefeld Botanical Garden.

Thus, it may be that the Philadelphia tree is still growing and growing in the Botanical Garden until this day. Its location, however, remains a mystery. So let us at least agree on this: it is half a happy ending.