Donald Trump is a public figure who doesn't shy away from media attention. Since he started his political career Trump has shown that he likes to speak at public and significant events.
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Sometimes his public speaking leads to confusion among those present— indeed, Trump is a passionate speaker. Often, the former President gets carried away and lets a lot of things slip, about his family life, his past and hisancestors.
One of them is said to have led a less than glorious life.
Donald Trump's grandfather: ancestor from Germany
It should be common knowledge by now that Donald Trump has German roots on his father's side. Both his grandfather and his grandmother on one side of the family come from the city Kallstadt.
According to Forbes, non-fiction author Gwenda Blair writes in her book The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire about the reasons why Friedrich Trump (later Frederick Trump) left Germany (then still the Kingdom of Bavaria):
Friedrich Trump did not so much leave his homeland as flee three centuries of barbaric European history.
Today, the Palatinate region is a lush, pleasant, prosperous place that shows little sign of its nightmarish past. But in Friedrich Trump's day, the memories were still fresh, and young people with poor prospects tried to escape as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, its proximity to the Rhine meant that the rest of Europe also had easy access to Kallstadt - with terrible consequences.
Donald Trump's grandfather started as a hairdresser
In 1885, Friedrich decided to emigrate to New York, where his sister had already emigrated. He worked as a hairdresser there for a while, but had made it his goal to become rich. After giving up two restaurants and a piece of land, he set off for Canada.
As CBC writes with reference to Blair, he decided at the time 'to open a canteen along the route (for gold miners who wanted to participate in the Yukon Gold Rush, also known as the Klondike Gold Rush).' Blair comments:
Trump realised that the best way to get [rich] was to put down his pick and shovel and pick up his accounting book.
A restaurant where love services are also said to have been offered
According to the CBC, Trump successfully managed to open up more businesses including the Arctic Restaurant that was notoriously known for 'more than just food.' As Blair wrote:
The bulk of the cash flow came from the sale of liquor and sex
It seems as though restaurants in the Arctic had a certain reputation as a writer for the Yukon Sun commented as follows:
For single men, the best restaurant is in the Arctic, but I wouldn't advise respectable women to sleep there, as they run the risk of hearing things that hurt their feelings and are also uttered by the depraved of their own sex.
At the beginning of the 20th century, however, people in the area also wanted to 'ban prostitution and restrict alcohol consumption'. For Trump, this was apparently one of the reasons for leaving the Yukon (the end of the gold rush in the Yukon certainly played a role) and returning to his home country. But not empty-handed: he is said to have returned with the equivalent of 582,000 US dollars in assets today.
However, he was not to stay in Germany for long. As The Guardian reports, Donald Trump's grandfather did not deregister from Germany before emigrating and also 'failed to complete his military service', meaning he had to leave the country again.
He is said to have left some real estate to his survivors, which his 'son built up into an empire'.
It should be noted that Trump's family have never confirmed the stories that have been told about how their empire started.
This article has been translated from Oh!mymag DE
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Sources used:
Forbes: The President In 1885 Didn't Stop Immigrant Friedrich Trump From Coming To America
CBC: Donald Trump's grandfather ran Canadian brothel during gold rush, author says
The Guardian: Historian finds German decree banning Trump's grandfather
