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June/July 2002 - excerpts from the editorial
Thurn and Taxis Post
By Sue Grant
Within minutes of arriving anywhere in Germany, you are bound to see one. Black on a yellow background, the post horn symbol adorns public mailboxes, delivery vans, postmen’s jackets, and stamps
from machines – yet another facet of daily life that we simply take for granted. So it might come as a surprise to discover that the first European postal service originated 500 years ago in Germany when Franz
of Tassis was appointed Postmaster General by Philip II of Spain on March 1, 1501.
Earlier civilizations had, of course, also tried their hand, more or less successfully, at setting up delivery services. The Ancient Egyptians relied on runners with papyrus rolls, in Babylon the
Kings swore by letters engraved on tablets sealed into clay "envelopes," and the Romans devised an efficient system of relay stations equipped with horse and riders ("cursus publicus") to
convey military instructions throughout the empire. Its collapse spelled the end of any regulated postal system in Europe.
Not that many citizens needed one anyway. The few who were literate – the clergy, statesmen, university teachers, and businessmen – sent messages via travelling monks or muddled through with
privately hired couriers. One of the earliest internal networks revolved around the Vatican and, by 1474, the Tassi family, from the Bergamo region in the foothills of the Alps, had gained a considerable
reputation as papal postmasters, a job that was passed on down the generations until 1539.
The breakthrough came when the Holy Roman emperor, Frederick III (1444 to 1493) received a letter from the Pope, delivered personally by Roger of Tassis. Frederick had just moved his army over the
Alps into Italy and needed a communications system to link up with his headquarters on the other side. Roger was entrusted with the task and promoted to Postmaster in 1489 in Innsbruck.
MS Deutschland is a “Grand Hotel”
By Betty Lowry
Greta Garbo and John Barrymore were not on board, but they would have been in their element. The five-star MS Deutschland is subtitled “Grand Hotel,” and resemblance to the Oscar-winning “Best Picture of 1932,” the original Vicki Baum novel of 1929, and the five-Tony award-winning Tommy Tune musical of 1989 is subtle but correct.
The luxurious flagship of Peter Deilmann Cruises circles the globe year round with voyages in segments of seven to 18 days, while the shipboard ambience never strays far from the Germany of barons
and ballerinas. Art Deco style and Tiffany ceilings set the scene, and the Deutschland itself is the feature film. The ports-of-call – Corfu, Cantania, Dubrovnik, Venice, and Livorno on my cruise – were like
other-world travelogues. We always returned to Germany as it was between the World Wars.
Speaking German is not necessary, however, and both an English language bulletin and Britain Today were delivered morning and afternoon to my cabin. Announcements were dual language and pre-port briefings as well as shore excursions were conducted separately.
Menus are available in English and French as well as German. The food, by the way, is truly continental, elegantly presented and with many choices including a full vegetarian menu and
accommodation for special diets. There are three dining rooms: the main Berlin Restaurant, the a la carte reservation-only Four Seasons (Vierjahreszeiten), and the casual Lido. Lunchtime buffets and grills were
available on deck, and full breakfasts were served in two locations plus cabins. A light breakfast for late-risers was laid out in the Lido Terrace.
In addition to 24-hour room service, bouillon was offered mid-morning, and something appropriate (minestrone the night before Venice, for example) at 9:30 p.m. in the Old Fritz Pub. Along with
coffee and chocolates, this was judged enough to hold everyone until the midnight buffet.
Freud and Jung's Secrets of Success
By Scott S. Smith
To their fans, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and Carl Jung (1875-1961), founders of two leading schools of psychotherapy, could do little wrong.
To their detractors, both were in serious need of large doses of psychiatric drugs. Both men alienated many of those who worked with them: Freud because he insisted that everyone agree with him
and because he was not especially open to new ideas from others; Jung (who had been Freud's chosen successor) lost friends because of a violent temper and tendency to be open-minded to the point of
inconsistencies in his theories. Freud lied and refused to admit it, was addicted to cigars and cocaine, inflexible in his habits, sexist, and frequently violated his ownpsychoanalytic rules. Jung suffered from
hallucinations, was hypersensitive to criticism, a poor father, homophobic, and tactless.
Yet, says Peter Gay in Freud: A Life for Our Times, "Sigmund Freud, more than any other explorer of the psyche, has shaped the mind of the 20th century." Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of Final
Analysis: The Making and Unmaking of a Psychoanalyst, says of Jung that his "influence on 20th-century thought is inarguable."
The question is, did they manage to achieve what they did in spite of their negatives only because these were offset by high intelligence and innate talent? Or did they have personal practices
which leveraged those traits, habits anyone can develop to help them succeed in any field?
German-American Travel Destinations:
The Amana Colonies, IA
By Mary Syrett and Joe Zentner
It is summertime in Amana, Iowa. Eight tight-knit villages slumber. The houses of brown sandstone,
red brick, or unpainted hard wood – severe rectangular structures built along old Germanic lines – stand close to the street.
But the village is not asleep. Cars pass by. In one of the houses a radio blares. A vacuum cleaner
whines in another home across the way. Beyond the outskirts of town a tractor lumbers across a field. Computers crunch data in an office that does millions of dollars worth of business annually.
The sharp contrast of old and new is part of the charm of Amana. Here, members of the Amana Society,
America’s oldest communal group, follow customs laid down by their 18th century forebears. At the same time, the tempo of modern life is present. The name “Amana” comes from the Bible, the Song of Solomon 4:8. It means, “remain true,” or “believe faithfully.”
Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705), a German theologian dissatisfied with the Lutheran Church’s
formalism, is considered to be the father of Pietism, the German expression of a religious movement that spread throughout Europe in the 17th century. Spener was also a spokesman for the Mystics, another German sect that shared his belief in the importance of individual study of the Bible and communicating directly with God. From these sects, Eberhard Ludwig Gruber and Johann Friedrick Rock founded the Community of true Inspiration in 1714.
Perry County, MO
By Kim Hill
Quick--name a state with a strong German heritage. Ohio and Pennsylvania are obvious choices. What about Missouri? It's not a state that immediately comes to mind. Yet Germans from Saxony were
the largest single group to settle in Missouri. These Saxons chose Perry County, located about100 miles south of St. Louis, for their colony.
Bordered on the east by the Mississippi River, Perry County's rolling hills and meadows reminded the
Saxons of their homeland. Some 600 or so men, women and children led by the Rev. Martin Stephan left Germany in November 1838. The migration of these Saxons, all Lutherans, has been most often described as
exclusively religious in nature. Certainly religious factors were at the center of their exodus, yet the political, intellectual and economic upheavals of early 19th century Germany helped pave the way for
emigration. Many of those choosing to follow Stephan to the United States were leaving little behind.
Upon arrival in St. Louis in January and February 1839, the immigrants considered numerous sites for
settlement: several in Illinois and a sizeable, well-priced piece of property on the Meramec River near St. Louis. But Stephan and his followers had received unfavorable publicity in the most influential
German newspaper in the area, and Stephan seemed to want to create an isolated, self-sufficient community in the wilderness. About 4,500 acres of land were purchased in April and May in Perry County.
Historian Walter Forster wrote that an "impractical, sentimental attachment to the picturesequeness of parts of the Saxon countryside" made the Perry County location, with its similarities to
Saxony, very attractive.
Dayton, OH
By Cathy Jackman
Known as the Birthplace of Aviation, the city of Dayton, in southwest Ohio, offers the visitor a surprising array of attractions from museums to parks to minor league baseball as well as
historic sites honoring Dayton natives Wilbur and Orville Wright. It is also home to a proud and active German-American community with three German clubs, the largest of which is the Dayton
Liederkranz-Turner.
The club, originally two clubs that eventually merged, sponsors many activities throughout the year. Their largest event is the German Picnic in Carillon Historical Park. This free three-day
festival takes place on the second weekend in August. The picnic is held in a beautiful shaded grove and is hosted by many volunteers wearing authentic dirndls and lederhosen. Featured food includes German
potato salad, brats, sauerkraut, pretzels, and dessert. However, the big draw is the schnitzel, which is cut to specification and prepared right at the picnic.
German bands provide music and dancing is held on a special wooden dance floor. A separate dance floor is provided for the children and a Kinder Korner offers many learning activities.
Children are taught simple German dances and German language and are treated to puppet shows and face painting. The spacious Biergarten provides an area for folks to enjoy their food and drink while they
watch the dancers and enjoy the music.
Germantown, WI
By Kelly L. Conforti
On a quick drive through Germantown, Wisconsin, not much appears to be out of the ordinary. The houses are all tucked neat in a row, children swing and slide in the parks, and chain grocery
stores decorate the main road. It is not until I give attention to the details that Germantown separates itself from Small Town America.
Germantown is building itself on the heritage of its German settlers. In the old part of the city, the buildings still spread out in a circle around the former town church. Most city parks
have a German name. German is used at the grocery store.
The town earned its name from those that settled the area. Beginning in the mid-1800s, immigrants came from the Hundsrück, Hessen, Pomeranian, and Bavarian regions in Germany. However, as
time went by, the German feel of the area was swallowed up in more modern American styles of building. Germantown began to epitomize the typical small town.
Then a local restaurant owner came up with an idea to use the town's name as a marketing tool. He sent around flyers to gather support for the revitalization of just one street. The idea was
accepted, and plans for giving Main Street a German feel got underway. New lamp posts were called for, the telephone wires were to be buried, and buildings redesigned.
Southern Indiana
By David Domine
Throughout the small hamlets and villages of southern Indiana, many vestiges of German influence are still visible today, so much so that the area is referred to as “Indiana's Olde
World.” Centers such as Huntingburg, Jasper and Ferdinand – named after its patron, the Emperor of Austria – have remained miniature bastions of German culture in the United States. At yearly events
like the Strassenfest, Herbstfest, Familenspasstag, or Heimatfest, many southern Hoosier towns keep old traditions alive in festivals that honor the area's rich German legacy. A visit to these communities
offers a nostalgic glimpse of a heritage that is alive and well today.
To look at it, the average passersby would think they were in the Harz Mountains or maybe the rolling
hills of Westphalia. Or perhaps the foothills of the Swiss Alps. Crowning a bluff overlooking a tiny village, the impressive Saint Meinrad Arch Abbey towers overhead, its weathered stone and brick imbuing
the sleepy countryside with a sense of permanence and tranquility.
At second glance, however, reality sinks in. The monks strolling the grounds in their brown cassocks speak English with a distinctive midwestern lilt, and it is obvious that the observer is in
the United States, not in a German-speaking country.
Grand Island, NE
By George Constantinidis
As you drive on Interstate 80 across the Great Plains of the American Midwest, it is easy to let your
mind wander. The seemingly endless expanse of sky and grassy prairie is a hypnotizing reminder of the miniscule presence that each of us represents in the vastness of nature. However, if you get lost in this
“sea of grass” when you are traveling into eastern Nebraska, you might well miss one of the best tourist attractions of the entire region. Just 90 miles west of Lincoln is a little jewel of a town that
offers travelers breathtaking opportunities to explore nature, and to step back in time to an era of romance and adventures. Turn off the Interstate to the north just as you cross the Platte River, and you
are in Grand Island!
This community of about 40,000, founded by mostly German and Czech settlers, sits among thousands of
acres of cultivated land, marked neatly by perpendicular dirt roads. These roads were laid out to mark the boundaries of farmlands devoted to the raising of livestock and a variety of crops, forming a giant
patchwork quilt across the land. Not surprisingly, the dominant crop is the one that gives the state University’s teams their nickname – the Cornhuskers.
As you drive around the area’s boundaries, you might encounter smaller communities, with
picturesque names like Seneca, Thedford, Broken Bow and Red Cloud, which feature architecture more commonly found in the illustrations of a Grimm Brothers book of fairy tales. Also not far from here is the
picturesque Sandhills country, with rolling grassy dunes that make it easy to fantasize of being on the ocean. The area also abounds with lakes, campsites, and myriad other recreational activities that will
engage and delight the most demanding sportsman. If fresh air and outdoor recreation inspire you, you will want to return to this area again and again!
Comfort, TX
By Don Blevins
In July 1854, a German immigrant named Ernst Altgelt led a group of settlers to a site in West Texas. Weary after the trip, they found their resting place pleasant and the crystal clear water
of the Guadalupe River so inviting they named the spot Camp Comfort. It was from that moment and forever a German settlement that soon shed the first word of its name.
Altgelt and his followers were part of the influx of German migrants arriving in Texas during the 1840s and 1850s. These “new Texans” were to eventually settle along a belt of land
stretching some 80 miles from New Braunfels, just north of San Antonio, to Fredericksburg, deep in the heart of the Hill County. This belt has several offshoots and these byways are, to this day, heavily
Germanic in speech, food, and culture, even to the publication of German newspapers.
While most of the Germans who entrenched themselves in and around San Antonio quickly became socially and politically Texans and Southerners, those that moved farther west did not. They
established their own enclave, held to their ethnic background and rituals, and, for all practical purposes, were still Germanic.
The oncoming of America’s darkest period, the Civil War, brought conflict to the new German arrivals as well as to long established Southerners and Northerners. With the outbreak of
hostilities at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and the Civil War now a reality, Texans voted to follow other Southern states and secede from the Union.
Once secession was agreed upon, conscription for the Confederacy began. Many, especially the German element, immediately met this action with resistance. The German farmers, intellectuals, and
businessmen in the Hill Country could not support the idea of slavery. They remembered what they had left in Europe, and wanted no part of the “peculiar institution” in their new homeland.
Old Economy Village, PA
by Karen Ferrick-Roman
A trip to an unassuming western Pennsylvania town allows visitors a peek into an unusual part of 19th
century German-American history.
The Harmony Society, a Lutheran sect started in Iptingen, Germany, by George Rapp, came under
religious persecution, so Rapp and his followers headed for America. In 1804, they settled in Harmony, Butler County, Pennsylvania, carving an entire city out of what was wilderness. After ten years, the
group moved to New Harmony, Indiana. Again, a decade later, they returned to western Pennsylvania.
Their third and final home existed from 1824 to 1905 in Ambridge, about 20 miles down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, now accessible by Route 65 North from Pittsburgh or I-79. The communal
celibate group had drawn praise from Thomas Jefferson for successfully integrating farming and industry while English poet Lord Byron cast a skeptic's eye on the commune, where a member signed all his
worldly goods over to the group.
Schoharie Valley, NY
By Jon Kauffmann
Called the breadbasket of the American Revolution, the Schoharie Valley of New York, which runs from Schoharie to Middleburgh, is rich in early American History -- a history enhanced by its
German immigrants. The stories of the valley’s German immigrants ring over its fertile soil. The Indian name Schoharie means driftwood, and there is not better term to describe those Germans who left the
Palatine Plain to settle the frontier of the New World.
The center of German-American history in the valley is the Palatine House. Built in 1743, its longevity testifies to the skill of its German builders. Their resourcefulness drew them
consideration as the perfect frontiersmen. An ability to coexist with the Indians stayed with them as they pushed further inland and became the Pennsylvania Deutsche.
The Palatine House, a half-mile off Route 30 (the valley’s main artery), effectively captures the essence of the early German immigrants. As one of the few buildings which was spared the
torch by the British during the American Revolution, it is an invaluable learning resource. Like a snapshot, it offers a view of one specific family. The house illustrates the conditions early German
settlers faced. The full story lives in the walls of the Palatine House. It cascades from its eaves and echoes through its basement. It is the story of all German immigrants, as rich today as it was almost
300 years ago.
Shenendoah Valley, VA
By Mollie Bryan
The date "1688" is carved into the northeast corner post of a German farm house that sits in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The house once sat in the farming village Hördt in
the Rhineland-Palatinate. It now stands in celebration of German heritage as part of the Frontier Culture Museum,
Staunton, Va., where it is joined by three other farm sites: English, Scotch-Irish, and American.
“1688 is very significant to Palatinate history because an army of King Louis XIV leveled towns and
villages throughout the Palatinate region that year. So it might suggest that this farm was part of a rebuilding,” says Eric Bryan, museum research librarian.
The ownership of this house dates back to Johann Conrad Wolf and his wife, Maria Appollonia Buchman,
who were married in 1784. After the property passed among their descendants, the Schweikert family owned it until the museum acquired it in 1990.
Fort Wayne, IN
By Carolyn Cook
“Essen, Trinken und Gemütlichkeit” is the theme of the Fort Wayne Germanfest. Begun in 1981,
eating, drinking and a warm, wonderful time are the hallmarks of this popular celebration.
The Germanfest is sponsored by four German organizations: The Fort Wayne Turners, the Fort Wayne
Männerchor/Damenchor, the Fort Wayne Sport club, and the German Heritage Society.
Fort Wayne was originally a trading outpost, and the town thrived with the construction of the Wabash
and Erie Canal. The canal was built in 1832 to parallel the Maumee River from Toledo to the Wabash River. Eventually the Wabash and Erie Canal was extended to reach the Ohio River. At over 450 miles, it was
the longest canal in the U.S. When the canal was replaced by the railroads in the 1850s Fort Worth became a hub of transportation and commerce.
In the 1800s over 40,000 Germans settled in the Fort Wayne area. A Chicago newspaper termed it “a
most German town” since by 1880 almost 80 percent of the residents were German. They retained a strong ethnic identity and the German language. The shops that didn’t have a German-speaking employee might
be boycotted and three German language newspapers serviced the city. The politics, schools and churches were all founded on German models.
June/July 2002 Calendar
JUNE
Pittsburgh, PA
June 1: Penn Brewery 8th Annual Microbrewers Fest. Live entertainment, food and beer. For information see www.pennbrew.com or call 412-237-9402.
Harmony, PA
June 1: Historic Harmony House Tour. Self-guided tour of historic buildings begins at Harmony Museum. For info call 724-452-7341.
Frankenmuth, MI
June 6-9: Annual Bavarian Festival. Heritage Park. Bavarian music and food. For info call 517-652-8155.
Manheim, PA
June 7 – 8: Sommerfest. Lancaster Liederkranz. For info see www.lancasterliederkranz.com
Fort Wayne, IN
June 9-16: German Fest. For information contact Jutta Hornbeck at 2190436-4064 or see www.wunderbar.org
Washington, DC
June 9: Concert. Music of Goldschmidt, Weiner & Mendelssohn. United StatesHolocaust Memorial Museum. For info see www.ushmm.org
Leavenworth, WA
June 19-22: International Accordian Celebration. For info se www.leavenworth.org or call the Chamber of Commerce at 509-548-5807.
Aberdeen, SD
June 22-23: Oz Festival. Wylie Park. German food and German heritage speakers. For info see www.aberdeenozfest.org or call 605-626-3310
San Antonio, TX
June 21: Gartenkonzert. At the Beethovan Halle und Garten. For info call 210-222-1521.
Philadelphia, PA
June 23: German-American Day. On the grounds of the Cannstatter Volkfest-Verein. For more info see www.steubenparade.com
Bristol, CT
June 23: German-American Singing Societies of New England annual Saengerfest & Picnic. German-American Society Club House. For info call 203-574-3604.
Germantown, WI
June 30: Pommerntag. German festival at Mequon Park celebrating their Pomeranian heritage. Sponsored by the Pommerscher Verein Freistadt. For info call 262-376-7641 or
e-mail erkraft@execpc.com
Kutztown, PA
June 29 through July 7: Kutztown Pennsylvania German festival. Kutztown Fairgrounds. For info 888-674-6136 or 610-683-1597 or see www.kutztownfestival.com
JULY
Leavenworth, WA
July – August 31: Summer Theatre. For info see www.leavenworth.org or call the Chamber of Commerce at 509-548-2000.
Sheboygan County, WI
July 7: Johnsonville Sausage Fest. German music and food. For details contact the Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitor’s Bureau 940-457-9495 or www.sheboygan.org
New Ulm, MN
July 12-14 and 19-21: Heritagefest. Ethnic food, European performers, arts & crafts exhibit. For info call 507-354-8850.
Catskill Mountains, NY
July 13-14 and July 20-21: German Alps Festival. Oktoberfest in July – bands, food, and beer at the Bavarian Manor. For info call 518-622-3261 or
e-mail Bavarian@mhonline.net
San Antonio, TX
July 19: Gartenkonzert. At the Beethoven Halle und Garten. For info call 210-222-1521.
Milwaukee, WI
July 26-28: German Fest. Maier Festival Park, 22nd anniversary. Celebrating German music, dance, cuisine, and culture. For info call 414-464-9444.
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