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Baumkuchen originated Germany But it has become a hugely popular dessert in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island began creating the dessert that has flourished in his new homeland.
Today, the confection known as “tree cake” because of its resemblance to a trunk with rings is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Bomkuchen festivals are regularly held.
Japani Adaptations using maca and sweet potatoes are popular gifts at weddings and birthdays. Baumkuchen are sold in gift boxes and individually wrapped in luxury department stores, smaller versions can be found in convenience stores.
However, Sweet’s early years are punctuated by a devastating earthquake and two world wars.
Building Baumkuchen is one of the most popular activities on Ninoshima, just a 20-minute ferry ride away. hiroshimaBut according to Kazuki Otani, head of the Juchem Ninoshima Welcome Center, visitors should also learn about the sleepy island’s role in Japan’s wartime history,
At the outdoor center, built on the site of a prisoner-of-war camp, amateur bakers pour batter onto bamboo poles and fry the mixture over a coal fire. As the surface becomes light brown, a new layer is added, causing brown rings to form as the cake thickens and the picnic area begins to smell sweet.
This is how a German confectioner named Karl Zuckheim cooked Baumkuchen when he was imprisoned on the island more than 100 years ago.
During Japan’s militaristic expansion period beginning in the late 1890s, Ninoshima served as a military quarantine station as nearby Hiroshima developed into a major military center. Approximately 4,700 German civilians and soldiers were held in 16 camps across Japan during World War I. Otani said that German prisoners at Ninoshima were given “a certain degree of freedom” and were allowed to cook food.
Jukhaim was running a bakery in Qiangdao, ChinaWhich was a German territory at that time, when it was occupied by the Japanese in 1915. Otani said, he arrived in Ninoshima in 1917 with about 500 German prisoners of war and is believed to have tested his Baumkuchen recipe there.
When the war ended in 1918, Zukheim and about 200 fellow POWs stayed in Japan. In March 1919, Juchime’s Baumkuchen made its commercial debut at the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition in Japan. Historical documents show that his hand-made cakes were extremely popular and attracted large crowds of Japanese visitors.
The confectioner opened a pastry shop in Yokohama, near Tokyo, in 1922. The Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 destroyed the business and forced Zukehime to move his family to the western port city. kobeWhere he opened a coffee shop serving Baumkuchen. That store was destroyed by the American firebombing of Kobe two months before the end of World War II.
Yet he remained and expanded the business to Kobe, where Juchime Co., Ltd., still operates as one of Japan’s top confectioners with the help of his wife Alice and dedicated Japanese employees.
More than 210,000 people died by the end of that year after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and another on Nagasaki three days later. Subsequently, approximately 10,000 seriously injured victims were flown from Hiroshima to Ninoshima for treatment and temporary shelter. Experts say most of the people died there and many of their remains have not yet been found.
He died of tuberculosis in a hotel in Kobe on August 14, 1945, the day before Japan announced its surrender.
“His baking was an expression of his desire for peace,” Otani said. “By sharing with visitors how things were at that time, I hope it will give people an opportunity to reflect on peace.”