The mystery of the Galapagos that has fascinated generations for years

Who has never thought about leaving everything behind and starting a new life on a desert island? That was exactly what a group of Europeans, mostly Germans, did in the early 1930s. Their destination? Floreana: an uninhabited island in the Galapagos archipelago.

Two couples and a threesome traveled there in succession in search of their own personal paradise, but ended up making global headlines for their fights and, in some cases, strange deaths or disappearances.

The first couple in search of utopia to arrive on Floreana was the German doctor Friedrich Ritter and his former patient and then partner, Dore Strauch, who moved to the island in 1929. To avoid dental problems, Ritter had all his teeth removed, replacing them with stainless steel dentures, which the couple eventually shared.

The two were nicknamed “Adam and Eve” by the press, who learned about them through letters Ritter sent home and reports from visitors to the island, including wealthy American explorers surveying the local fauna.

Meanwhile, World War I veteran Heinz Wittmer, who had worked for the city council of the German city of Cologne, was concerned about the economy amid the global depression and the health of his teenage son, Harry. Inspired by his countrymen, he persuaded his new wife, Margret, who was pregnant, to move to Floreana in 1932. On the island, Margret gave birth to their son Rolf, who is believed to be the first person born on Floreana.

Then came the trio who shook up the already tense coexistence of the two couples: the Austrian baroness Antonia Wagner von Wehrborn Bosquet and her two German lovers, Rudolf Lorenz and Robert Philippson. She wanted to build a luxury hotel called Hacienda Paradiso for wealthy travelers. In addition to taking over the island’s scarce freshwater sources, she intercepted mail and food deliveries intended for others. She even declared herself “Empress of Floreana.”

Unexplained deaths

Amid suspicions, accusations and fights, everyday life on the island was far from utopian. Then came the unexplained deaths, including that of the supposed vegetarian Ritter, who died after eating contaminated chicken served by Strauch. He had allegedly physically abused his partner.

The Baroness and Philippson, who had planned to move to Tahiti after the hotel plans fell through, disappeared without a trace. Lorenz’s body was found on another island. It is believed that he died of thirst due to the lack of drinking water there.

Only the Wittmers survived, and today their descendants run a hotel in Floreana.

“A human story”

Even as time passed, the group’s exploits continued to be the subject of discussion for the press, writers and filmmakers. An episode was dedicated to them on Spotify’s Dark Histories podcast in 2022, and a book and a film by renowned American director Ron Howard will soon revisit their stories.

“I believe that the dream of these exiles was universal and timeless. Who has never wanted to abandon their life and try to build a utopia, try to find something better, try to go far in search of happiness? For me, it was not an American story, nor a European story, but a human story,” American author Abbott Kahler told DW.

Kahler is the author of Eden Undone, A True Story of Sex, Murder and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II, which will be published in late September. The nonfiction work tells the group’s stories using extensive archival material, including diaries and letters.

A feminist baroness

Kahler discovered the story of the Floreana adventurers by chance. She was researching another book when she came across a newspaper clipping about a baroness who had allegedly “dominated” the island in the Galapagos. “Her sex slaves are chained up. She is a woman known as ‘Crazy Panties,'” the text read.

The former journalist, who has written four nonfiction books that have made The New York Times bestseller list, was intrigued. As she delved deeper into the stories, she became particularly fascinated by the baroness.

“She was a feminist in the sense that she wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted. She didn’t care what anyone thought of her. She didn’t have any of these notions about how ‘proper women’ were supposed to behave at the time. And for that, I admired her so much,” Kahler explains.

Revisiting Eden

Kahler’s research also led her to take a two-day trip from New York to Floreana, where she met with Margret Wittmer’s daughter and granddaughter and visited the places where the adventurers had lived, retracing some of their journeys.

Kahler found the task difficult, despite today’s sturdier shoes and other modern conveniences. “It just gave me even more respect for these people who tried to make a life there, because it was physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting,” he says.

This same story will also come to the screen in Ron Howard’s Eden, which will world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 7. The cast includes Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas and German actor Daniel Brühl.

Howard’s film and Kahler’s book add to the ongoing, astonishing coverage of the mysterious story set in paradise. But what’s so captivating about this story? Referencing the idea that “hell is other people,” Kahler explains that the adventurers went to the Galápagos without expecting others to join them. And each person brought with them their own inner demons, which were neither exacerbated nor eliminated by the presence of others.

“I think if you want to be happy on a desert island, you have to be truly alone. You can’t take anyone with you,” concludes the writer.