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June/July 2000
Bonn
By Tom Bross
Sometimes a notable personality is all it takes to lift an otherwise placid, unassuming little place from obscurity to worldwide prominence.
Bonn, in fact, has had two such disproportionate influences. Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonngasse 20, close to the central marketplace and Rhine River embankments. Then, in our century,
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer’s strong regional influence (he lived a conveniently short distance across the river, and had formerly been mayor of neighboring Cologne) resulted in Bonn’s being named the new German
Federal Republic’s provisional capital. The Bundestag reached that historic decision -- in November, 1949 -- by a slim majority of just 21 votes.
If “provisional” strikes you as too political a term, try “temporary.” During that early postwar/Cold War period, Bonn was perceived as being securely far-enough removed from the menacing Iron
Curtain. Meanwhile, starry-eyed optimists fostered a general assumption that the division of Germany into West and socialist East amounted to a short-term aberration. With that geopolitical split quickly mended,
Berlin would regain its stature as capital of a reunited nation. Bonn, in turn, would slide back to its modest essence as a rather complacent mini-city tucked amidst Rhineland hills, castles and vineyards.
The Oberammergau Story
By Carolyn B. Cook
Why did the people in this village make the vow they have kept for 366 years?
In 1632 Germany was not only the main arena for the Thirty Years War, but was also under threat of the deadly and contagious disease, the Black Plague. The “Black Death” had first struck Western
Europe in 1347 when an Italian ship carried the contagion from China to Sicily. A combination of bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic plague strains, the disease was devastating. Carried by rats and fleas, it
killed up to 50% of the population in some areas. This was only the first epidemic of a plague pandemic, as cyclic outbreaks of the disease occurred virtually every generation for centuries, causing a chronic
depopulation of Europe.
Favorite German-American Travel Destinations
German influence plays a part in making many areas of the United States exciting places to visit. In addition to the historical context, most of these towns have wonderful festivals, great food,
and fun shopping – all reasons to pay them a visit. While you’re planning this summer’s vacation, consider including New Glarus, Wisconsin; Oldenberg, Indiana; Davenport, Iowa; Helen, Georgia; or Kutztown,
Pennsylvania, as part of your holiday. Each location offers a unique and different look onto the German-American identity.
New Glarus, Wisconsin
An American village created by the Swiss Government
By Frederick Karst
The outlines of an alpine village, an endeavor to recreate a bit of Switzerland in Wisconsin, entice the visitor to New Glarus and its Swiss festivals. The town, however, may also be unique in
the way its authentic ties to the Old World survive in an American setting. Shops in the village of fewer than 2,000 offer Swiss imports, Swiss-style meats, cheeses and baked goods, and restaurant menus list
Swiss specialties, including excellent local beers and wines, alongside American dishes. Swiss-Americans are numerous in other towns of Green County as well, not as closely associated with a single canton
but mostly from German-speaking areas of the homeland.
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Keeping the Germanic Tradition Alive
By Christopher Wilson
When hearing the phrase “Pennsylvania Dutch,” most people automatically think of the Amish community of
Lancaster County. However, one need not be Amish to be “Pennsylvania Dutch.” This is the case, for example, with the often-overlooked “Pennsylvania Deutsch” community of Kutztown. Kutztown is nestled in an area known as the east Penn Valley, a section of Berks County: a conglomerate county formed from sections of Lancaster, Chester, and Philadelphia Counties. Located twenty minutes from the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and five minutes from Interstate 78, Kutztown is midway between Allentown and Reading. But this quaint rural town is far more than a pit stop between big cities. Rich with cultural heritage, Kutztown relishes its Germanic roots, and its residents are ever mindful about from where they came and where they’re headed.
Davenport, Iowa
Home of Iowa’s number one tourist attraction
Maybe it’s the jazz soundtrack that sets Davenport, Iowa apart from other German-American destinations. Nonetheless, with over 150 years of Germanic influence, there is a subtle pride in its
heritage that underscores life in the largest of the Quad Cities. Although economic development has erased much of the commercial architecture built by German ancestors, Davenport finds itself enjoying a
newfound commitment to preserving its residential architecture and historic artifacts.
The German influence on Davenport began shortly after the city’s founding in 1836. Danish political oppression in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Northern Germany fueled the exodus of Germans to America. Schleswig-Holsteiners seeking freedom found safe haven in Davenport beginning in 1848. Known as “48ers”, the well-educated and skilled people were deemed “freethinkers” and quickly settled into life along the Mississippi River’s edge and on farms in rural Scott County. Within twelve years, 20 percent of Davenport’s population of 3,000 was German.
Oldenburg, Indiana
The Village of Spires Hosts the Freudenfest
by Angela T. Koenig
Many travel destinations beg our attention, our dollars and a chunk of our time; occasionally offering more kitsch than culture. Not so, however, in the tiny village of Oldenburg,
Indiana, (pop. 900) where tourism is low key but welcomed; offering visitors a chance to stretch their legs - for an hour's stroll or longer during festival season - amidst a bounty of genuine German
culture.
Called "The Village of Spires" for the magnificent steeples that jut out of a rural landscape, Oldenburg is located in Southeastern, Indiana - off Interstate I-74, about half-way between Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio- in the region known as the Ohio River Valley. Just three miles off exit #149, after passing through a smattering of modern ranch houses, here, when reaching the crest of the hill, one can see in the distance, the glorious spires - reminiscent of those that mark villages throughout Germany. And the resemblance is no coincidence; for the village sprang from the pioneering efforts of German Catholic immigrants.
Helen, Georgia
30 Years Ago It Wasn’t Even German!
Many of the million and a half annual visitors to the tiny “Alpine” village of Helen, Georgia, may not realize that thirty years ago the town was a dying community. Today’s Helen, a fantasy
“Bavarian” village with narrow cobblestone alleys, old-world towers with red roofs, and gingerbread trimmed buildings contrasts starkly with its origins: a row of dreary, decaying concrete block buildings. A
community plan, envisioned by one man who loved Germany, allowed it to be transformed like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.
Helen, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, has a long and interesting, although not particularly Deutsch, history. Prior to 1800 the land belonged to the Cherokees. Numerous villages and four ceremonial mounds were scattered along the Helen and Nacoochee valleys. When the Cherokees approved the construction of a wagon road, the Unicoi Turnpike, through their territory in 1813 they opened the land up to the white settlers. This led to a series of “boom and bust” cycles in the North Georgia mountains
To Own or Not to Own?
German Experiments in Communitarian, Communistic, and Cooperative Living in America
By Robert Selig
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common; they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all as had need.
… And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2, 44-47, RSV)
This model of communal living described for the earliest Christians in the first century AD has for almost 2,000 years been an appealing but elusive ideal for some Christians and, in its Marxist
variant, for non-Christians as well. Nowhere did the communal idea find more adherents than among the German-speaking peoples of Europe, and nowhere did they find more freedom to live out these ideals than in
the New World. Between 1663, when Dutch Mennonites founded a communal colony at Fort Opdike (now Lewes, DE), and 1858, some 130 such settlements sprang up on American soil. German-speaking immigrants anxious to
enjoy the blessings awaiting those who forsake material goods participated in most. From Amana in Iowa to Zoar in Ohio, from Bethel in Missouri to Ephrata and the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness in
Pennsylvania, from New Harmony in Southern Indiana to Anaheim in California, they conducted dozens of experiments in communitarian, communistic, or co-operative living.
What united them was the dream of creating an alternative to existing society based on a world-view at odds with the culture they lived in. Guided by charismatic leaders, some sought to prepare
the ground for the Second Coming of Christ. Others desired religious freedom while rooting out, at least within their own little, often celibate, world, private property, the source of all evil. What tore them
apart was frequently human nature. Their leaders often turned out to be petty tyrants who ruled the little flocks with an iron hand: these colonies often disappeared with the death of their founder. Some hung on
for a few years, a handful for decades. Ultimately, as a cynic once said, Jesus Christ and Karl Marx both made the same mistake: they believed in the basic goodness of human nature and expected too much of
humanity.
Buddenbrookhaus, Mann Zentrum and Luebeck
A Visit to Thomas Mann’s home in Luebeck gives visitors a “virtual walk” through his Buddenbrooks novel
What comes to mind when you hear the term “literary landscape?” For many people, what they most likely think of is a specific place that they have “seen” through the prism of a writer’s
perspective, even if the setting no longer is the same, or has been changed by time. Just think of Mark Twain’s Mississippi River, Charles Dickens’ London, or, of course, the Dublin of James Joyce, naming some
of the most prominent landmark places in English-language literature.
Arguably, the most widely recognized literary landscape in German literature is the Baltic seaport of Luebeck. This is thanks not only to one writer, but two: the brothers Heinrich (1871-1950) and
Thomas Mann (1875-1955), a number of whose novels and short stories are firmly rooted in the city, and in a specific time, the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The most famous of all, of course, is Mann’s
Buddenbrooks, a roman a clef about the rise and fall of a prominent merchant and political family, whose fortunes reflect the situation of the ruling mercantile class of Luebeck in the late 19th century, and
which was cited when Mann was awarded the 1926 Nobel prize for literature.
Waiting and Hoping for Parsifal
Bayreuth's Richard Wagner-Festival: Culture, Curiosities, and the Great Mystery of how to Get Tickets
by Edda Dörr-Wessels
The first Parsifal disciple arrives at 10:30 p.m. the night before the performance. The young man opens his camp bed in front of the ticket counter and settles in for the night. It will be a cool
one and a long one. At dawn he is joined by several others; they have brought folding chairs and backpacks and form a line on the sidewalk. "We don't mind," says a young woman holding a large bottle of
water and a libretto. Soon they are joined by a number of older men and women. The lively conversation in an Italian group prattles on without interruption. An old lady emerges from a taxi with a sign around her
neck: "Ticket Wanted." Several others carry posters with the same beseeching request, decorated with musical notes, written in verse, or simply scrawled in ballpoint pen. They are all hoping for the
miracle of Bayreuth. Among the many books published about Bayreuth, there is one with the title Richard Wagner Goes to the Theater, which may cause the reader to ask: "Does he have a ticket?" The
distribution of the tickets to performances of the Bayreuth Festival seems as mysterious as Parsifal's Holy Grail. Last year the new production of Lohengrin was performed seven times. They could have sold it 47
times, says Peter Emmerich, the Bayreuth public relations man. And how will it go this year with the attraction of the new "Ring?" Since the four performances Das Rheingold, Die Walküre,
Siegfried, and Die Götterdämmerung will only be sold as a set, the purchase of the tickets may also be a matter of finances for many a Wagner fan. "But we want to continue to keep a mixed audience. Who
comes to Bayreuth should not only be a matter of money," says Emmerich. The most expensive ticket this year will be DM 340. ($212.), a standing room ticket goes for DM 10. ($6.) when it can be had. Even in
these things, Bayreuth maintains a certain image, to be something very special. The performers feel the same way. "We can earn money all year long," they say and take roughly a third of their usual
fees.
German-American Yesteryears
Conestoga Wagon
By Robert A. Selig
When German-speaking immigrants around Conestogoe, Pennsylvania, as it was called in the 18th century, needed a better means to transport their goods, they built "Dutch Wagons" which
became known as Conestogas. To keep its contents from shifting while going up or down hill, they curved the wagon bed slightly on both ends like a boat. Its wheels were tall, about the height of a man, and
broad enough to keep from getting bogged down. Hickory bows covered with white canvas or homespun protected a cargo of three to four tons. Custom built with a vermilion running gear and a Prussian blue body,
they were pulled by four, six, or eight specially bred Conestoga horses. After the Revolutionary War, Conestogas provided the chief freight link across the Appalachians to the Ohio Valley.
The Wagoner rode the left wheel horse or on the lazyboard on the left side of the wagon, the origin of our custom of driving on the right side of the road. Oncoming wagons had to move to their right to pass. The "stogie," a long cigar smoked by many of the wagoneers, is a corruption of the word conestoga. The conestoga wagon trade ended around 1850 with the advent of canal and rail transportation.
June/July Calendar
Davenport, IA—June 3: Musikfest im Schuetzenpark: Honoring composer Ernst Otto: For additional info: (319) 322-4225 or e-mail SchtzenPrk@aol.com .
Cincinnati, OH—June 4: The 105th German Day of Greater Cincinnati: For additional information contact the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati (513) 385-3554 or, www.gacl.org
Bremerhaven, Germany—June 6-17: German-American Conference: For additional info (507) 645-9161; www.moin-moin.com
Lancaster, PA—June 9-10: Liederkranz Annual Sommerfest: For additional info: (717) 898-8451
Frankenmuth, MI—June 9-11, 15-17: Bavarian Festival: For additional info: (517) 652-8155 or, www.frankenmuth.org
Fredericksburg, TX—June 12-13: Volkssport Events: For additional info (830) 997-6523
Fort Wayne, IN—June 11-18: German Fest: For additional info (800) 767-7752 or www.wunderbar.org
Buffalo, NY—June 16-18: Saengerfest 2000: The 32nd of the New York State Saengerbund, the event will include competition singing, a banquet, a mass chorus concert open to the public etc. For
additional info (716) 832-9707, send e-mail to kfs34@aol.com www.ulster.net/~infoplus/NYSSB.htm
Long Prarie, MN—June 16-18: Prarie Days Festival: Sponsored by the Todd County Historical Museum.
Covington, KY—June 17: Summer Art Show. Main Strasse Village. For information call (513) 357-MAIN.
Leavenworth, WA—June 22-24: International Accordion Celebration and Folk Dance Performance. For additional info (509) 548-5807 or www.leavenworth.org
Vancouver, BC Canada—June 23-25: Gottscheer Heritage & Genealogy Assn. Annual Meeting: Held at the Granville Island Hotel. For additional info (218) 845-2394
Mequon, WI—June 25: Pommerntag: Sponsored by the Pommersher Verein Freistadt. For additional info (414) 376-7641, www.exepc.com/~pommern
Montrose, MN—June 25-26: Sommerfest at Bayerischer Hof: For additional info (612) 675-3999
Walpole, MA—June 26:
Sommerfest: Sponsored by the Boylston Schul Verein June 27: Sangerfest: Sponsored by the Connecticut Sangerbund, German-American Singing Societies of New England. For information (508) 223-1719
Oakford, PA—June 27: German-American Day: Sponsored by United German-American Hungarians. For Additional info (215) 357-9851
Winston-Salem, NC—July 4: July Fourth Celebration and Torchlight Procession: For additional info (336) 721-7329 or 721-7331
Cairo, NY—July 10-11, 17-18: German Alps Festival. At the Bavarian Manor. For additional info (518) 622-3385
Covington, KY—July 14-16: Christmas in July. Main Strasse Village. For information call (513) 357-MAIN.
New Ulm, MN—July 14-16, 21-23: The 26th Annual Heritagefest: For additional info (507) 354-8850; www.heritagefest.net
Plymouth, WI—July 20: German Night: At City Park. For additional info (920) 893-0079; www.plymouthwisconsin.com
Leipzig, Germany—July 21 & July 30: Leipzig Bach Festival 2000: For additional info call 011-49-341-969441-67
Humbolt, Sask., Canada—July 22-23: Polkafest: For additional info (306) 682-3444
Milwaukee, WI—July 23-25: The 20th Annual German Fest: For additional info (414) 464-9444; www.germanfest.com
Fredericksburg, TX—July 29-30: Bundes Schutzenfest: For additional info (830) 997-6523; www.fredericksburg-texas.com
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