Closing chapter
This site brings together people and places that have each contributed, in their own way, to the memory of Gunther Plüschow, the Feuerland, and their traces in Patagonia.
The research, the material, and the historical reference points on this site do not all originate from the Manufactory's own archive. Several individuals and institutions have contributed to the Plüschow legacy over many years — as archivists, researchers, eyewitnesses, and diplomatic bridges to Argentina. Whatever the Manufactory documents, it does so with their consent and with explicit reference to their own work.
Berlin — Archivist, Friends of Gunther Plüschow Association (Förderkreis Gunther Plüschow e.V.)
Content editor of the association's website gunther-plueschow.de. Has been collecting Plüschow materials for decades and making them accessible to researchers. Regularly exchanges photographic material and factual context with the Moorschmied Manufactory.
Buenos Aires — Argentine Plüschow Researcher
Argentine journalist, filmmaker and author of two books on Plüschow: Gunther Plüschow, Una Vida de Sueños, Aventuras y Desafíos por un Amor Imposible: La Patagonia! (2006) and Plüschow Secreto (2008). Initiator of the 1:1 reconstruction of Plüschow's Heinkel HD 24 W (the Silberkondor), built until 2009 at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica near Buenos Aires and now on static display at the Aeroclub Ushuaia. Co-administrator of the shared Plüschow archive with Gerhard H. Ehlers.
Ushuaia — Honorary Consul (ret.), Initiator of the Plüschow Memorial
German Honorary Consul in Ushuaia until early 2026. The driving force behind the Plüschow memorial, which was initiated on the 90th anniversary of Plüschow's arrival with the Silberkondor on 3 December 1928 and inaugurated in 2020 — designed by sculptor Juan Bejarano. Son of German pioneers in Tierra del Fuego and, for many years, the local custodian of the Plüschow memory. In 2026 he transferred his duties to Sigfrido Otto Federico Wolfsteller.
El Calafate — Honorary Consul
German Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in El Calafate, Province of Santa Cruz — the province in which Plüschow crashed at Lake Argentino on 28 January 1931. Local diplomatic connection to the crash site.
Buenos Aires / Santiago de Chile — Argentine Navy Veteran, Author
Deployed as an ordinary conscript in the Malvinas War of 1982; brought to the islands as an interpreter on account of his knowledge of English. He served aboard the Penelope — the former Feuerland. He later wrote about those weeks of war in the book Los viajes del Penélope. Wolf-Dieter Schröppe visited him in Santiago de Chile in 2026 and presented him with a piece of timber from the Penelope.
Dresden — Friends of the Feuerland Expedition Ship Association (Förderkreis Kulturdenkmal Expeditionsschiff FEUERLAND e.V.)
Chairman of the association based in Dresden and managing director of Denkmalschiff FEUERLAND gGmbH. The principal figure responsible for the restoration phase from 2006 onwards, who oversaw the care and fundraising for the Feuerland for nearly two decades. His brother-in-law Bernd Buchner discovered the vessel in 2003 on the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and brought her home to Büsum in 2006. Despite considerable fundraising efforts, full restoration to seaworthiness was not achieved.
Flensburg — Transfer of the Planking
The Flensburg Museum Shipyard had the vessel in its care from 2018 to 2025. During the scrapping in August 2025, one of the staff members set aside the refined remnants of oak as salvageable material, until the Manufactory collected them by lorry. This handover constitutes the provenance confirmation for the programme. Named with express consent.
Antarctica — Specialist in Expedition Vessels
A German researcher with long-standing engagement in the history of polar and Patagonian expedition vessels. For professional reasons, the Manufactory lists him without his full name — his expert contribution to material assessments and historical contextualisation is nonetheless documented here.
This list is not an endorsement board. Those named support the research and the material — the working of the wood rests solely with the Moorschmied Manufactory. Anyone who, on the basis of this site, directs enquiries to individuals listed here should do so with respect, and not with the reference "it said so on the Manufactory site…".
Memory is carried in circles. The Manufactory is one of those circles.