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August/September 2002 - excerpts from the editorial
How the Afrika Korps Met the Enemy in Shangri-la
by William Brown
“Zehn Minuten Pause, Ja?” I did not understand this question asked by a German prisoner-of-war, whom I was guarding. Nor
could I possibly have foreseen that it would, in a way, determine my career and perhaps even save my life. When I responded positively, the German turned around and yelled “Zehn Minuten Pause!” to his
buddies working in a field. With a cheer, they put down their shovels, while I, flabbergasted, yelled, “Wait a minute – what’s going on here?” They explained to me that I had just okayed a ten-minute
break! So began my education in German. Over the next nine months, through listening and speaking and singing, I learned more German, as well as much more about our World War II enemies as ordinary people. It
was a remarkable experience.
The place was White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, home of the famous Greenbrier Hotel, which had been requisitioned by the
government in September of 1942 and transformed into the 2000-bed Ashford General Hospital. Because of the idyllic beauty of the Greenbrier’s setting and the opulence of the hotel, Parade Magazine dubbed the new military hospital “The ‘Shangri-La’ for the Wounded Soldier.” The Ashford Prisoner-of-War Camp was just down the road. In 1943, some 1000 German prisoners were shipped to White Sulphur Springs to work in the hospital and on the farms in the vicinity. I was a member of the 486th Military Police Escort, the unit assigned to guard these prisoners.
The prisoners had all been part of Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps. While they were tough, battle-hardened soldiers, most of us
American guards were untested teen-agers, recent graduates of basic training. When the Germans arrived at the tiny picture-postcard railroad station in White Sulphur Springs in the summer of 1943, most of my
unit had been in the Army for fewer than three months. So it was with some apprehension that we awaited the prisoners. Two trains pulled in and off swung the Germans in their sharp uniforms complete with medals
– some Iron Crosses – and other decorations. In our wrinkled suntans, we felt inferior, even though we were the ones holding carbines and Thompson sub-machine guns.
The German officers gave commands. The prisoners formed ranks, and at the command “Achtung!” two thousand steel-rimmed heels
crashed together with an explosive sound that completely unnerved us. Then, while a large crowd of ambulatory GI’s from the hospital and residents of the town watched, we marched the prisoners the two miles to
the camp. Once at the camp, the prisoners were required to exchange their Army uniforms for dungarees stamped with “PW.” As I held out a bag for one of the prisoners to deposit his uniform, I noticed his
belt buckle with the inscription “Gott mit Uns.” “What does that mean?” I asked. “God be with us,” came the answer. “You don’t believe in God,” I said, sure of my ground. “No, it’s you who
don’t believe in God,” piped up another prisoner. A propaganda clash!
Those interested in further information concerning the Greenbrier may want to consult The Greenbrier: America’s Resort by Dr. Conte. For further information about the Ashford General Hospital, consult Shangri-La for Wounded Soldiers by Lewis E. Keefer
Success is a Journey
by John Liegl
In 1962, my Uncle Frank passed away. I was 13 years old. As my father and I cleaned out the house one of the “treasures” we
found was a cocoa box filled with old photographs and papers.
One of these photographs was a tintype of a soldier in a Civil War uniform. When I asked my father who it was, he said it was his
grandfather, John Steeber, who came from Germany. I was thrilled – a Civil War ancestor. I was hooked and I could never have dreamed where the
search for my ancestors would lead me.
A search of the box revealed John Steeber’s naturalization certificate from 1888, and his Civil War discharge papers, along
with various baptism and marriage certificates (all in German) from the late 1800s, and about 200 photographs of many of my ancestors and relatives. It was not a cocoa box anymore, it was a treasure chest for a
beginning genealogist.
Thus began the search for my ancestors, and the results have been not only rewarding and entertaining, but also even amazing. I
have been able to trace one branch of my ancestry back to 1300, and identify 315 direct ancestors and 3,069 blood relatives, and discover that I am of German (90 percent), Swiss, Irish, Slovak, and possibly
Danish, Dutch, and Austrian ancestry.
I have also found that I am related to three Civil War ancestors (all German immigrants), and relatives who include a
professional baseball player, a famous German writer, and a famous German knight. Of course, most were just plain, ordinary, hard working people.
I discovered my second Civil War ancestor, this time on my mother’s side, named Christian Haas, who also came from Germany. I
decided to concentrate my early research on these two Civil War veterans, sending for their service and pension records in the National Archives.
Through their service records, I could follow them through the war, battle by battle. John Steeber was with the Infantry and was assigned for several months as a “brigade saddler. Christian Haas
was with the Light Artillery. Near the end of the war, while with the 6th New York, he served in a cavalry unit commanded by none other than General George Armstrong Custer.
History of Schultüten (school cones)
By Sue Grant
If you have never seen one before, you might feel a trifle bewildered. What is this large cone-shaped object in front of you? An artistic version of a traffic beacon perhaps? A particularly
decorative dunce’s cap? Now you are getting closer. Turn the funnel around so the pointed end faces downwards and there you have the solution: you are looking at a traditional German Schultüte or school cone.
All over the country at this time of the year, six-year-olds exchange the carefree childhood of kindergarten for the serious side of life – “der Ernst des Lebens” – when they spend their
first day at school. For nearly 200 years, parents have attempted to publicly mark this transition and sweeten the blow by providing their offspring with the candy-filled cones to clutch during the opening
ceremony.
The origins of the tradition can be traced back to Saxony, Thuringia, Silesia, and Bohemia. As early as 1817 in Jena and 1820 in Dresden, children starting school were being presented with simple,
conical paper bags, such as you can still find at a greengrocer’s or outdoor market, containing pastries or candy.
Other children looked forward to picking their bags from the Zuckertütenbaum or sugar-bag tree. This magical tree, so the story went, grew in the cellar or the attic of the schoolhouse and all
good diligent first-graders could pluck one of the delectable cones from its branches. In some areas, real trees on the school grounds were decorated with the filled cones. In 1928, Albert Sixtus and Richard
Heinrich produced a popular illustrated children’s book called Der Zuckertütenbaum. It is still in print today.
By the turn of the century, it had become fashionable in Saxony and Thuringia to send children color postcards on their first school day, invariably depicting a child hugging a giant Schultüte or
standing on a ladder and plucking one from the candy tree. The sender would wish the schoolchild good luck and an enormous cone.
The Internment of Germans and German-Americans
During World War II:
A dark chapter in our nation's history
By Robert A. Selig
On August 3, 2001, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, introduced Public Bill
S-1356, the Wartime Treatment of European Americans and Refugees Study Act Co-sponsored by Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the bill seeks "to establish a commission to review the facts and circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European Americans, European Latin Americans and European refugees during World War II." Not only Japanese and Japanese-Americans but thousands of "German-Americans, Italian-Americans and other European Americans" as well were "unfairly arrested, detained, interned or relocated by the U.S. government, some remaining in custody long after World War II had ended." These injustices, so Senator Feingold stated in a press release, violated the civil liberties of internees and represent a "dark chapter in our nation's history."
The Feingold bill, the first official acknowledgement that Europeans were interned after 60 years of denial, has yet to emerge from committee, yet the introduction of this bill already represents
a victory for many of the almost 11,000 Germans and German-Americans caught in the net thrown over the country by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI agents searching for real, or imaginary, enemy aliens, Nazi-sympathizers,
and German agents. For many an innocent man, woman, and child got caught in the net too, partly through their own fault, partly because of American fears of nurturing a Fifth Column of saboteurs in their
country, and partly out of anti-German feelings. It is these innocent victims who are seeking an acknowledgement of having been wronged. It is they who are demanding an apology for the injustices suffered at the
hands of the United States government. It is they who are working to "prevent such injustices from taking place in the future."
Such courageous positions have gained additional urgency as the country is once again facing issues of civil liberties vs. national security and of individual rights vs. national defense similar
to those it confronted 60 years ago. Today the ethical and legal aspects of racial profiling and of FBI interviews of Middle-Eastern men are discussed widely and critically in the press. However, the internment
of German-Americans during World War II, though it set numerous precedents invoked today, are known to but a few specialists – and of course to those who were its victims.
SIDEBAR FOR SELIG INTERNMENT ARTICLE
On March 14, 2002, Senate Bill S.1356, the Wartime Treatment Study Act, came up for review in the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy. In his comments, Sen. Russell
Feingold, the bill’s main sponsor – other sponsors are Sen. Charles Grassley, Ted Kennedy, and Joe Lieberman – pointed out that while the injustices committed against Japanese-Americans have been
acknowledged: "there has not been sufficient study of the injustices suffered by German Americans, Italian Americans and other Americans of European descent during World War II. … Approximately 11,000
ethnic Germans living in the United States, 3,200 ethnic Italians, and scores of ethnic Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians, and other European Americans were taken from their homes and placed in internment camps.
Hundreds were interned for up to three years even after the war had ended. Many of these families, including American children, were later shipped back to war-torn Europe in exchange for Americans held there,
and suffered terribly. In addition, there has been no justice for European Latin Americans, including German and Austrian Jews, who were repatriated or deported to hostile, war-torn European Axis powers, often
as part of an exchange for Americans being held in those countries. … Another tragic episode in our country's history … was the treatment of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution and genocide…. German
and Austrian Jews applied for visas, but the United States severely limited their entry due to strict immigration policies, as well as a fear that our enemies would send spies under the guise of refugees, and
the widespread anti-foreigner and anti-Semitic attitudes that pervaded American public opinion at that time."
S. 1356, as amended, passed out of committee without objection. It would create two seven-member commissions: the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans would review the United States government's treatment of German Americans, Italian Americans, and other European Americans, while the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees would do the same for Jewish and other refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.
Next is a vote on the Senate floor, but as this issue of German Life goes to press, the bill still needs to be introduced in the House of Representatives. Contact your Representative and urge him/her to sponsor this long-overdue bill!
The Sorbians: A Slavic Minority in Germany
By Gregory H. Wolf
Driving along the Autobahn in southeastern Brandenburg or eastern Saxony, you may have noticed directional signs for Cottbus or Bautzen, and then as you approached these cities, you noticed that
the signs became bilingual: Cottbus/Chosebuz and Bautzen/Budyšin. After a few moments of confusion and wondering if these cities are perhaps in Poland or the Czech Republic, though you know for a fact that they
are in Germany, you realize that you have entered das Sorbenland.
The Sorbians are an indigenous Slavic minority which has lived in present-day Germany since around the sixth century, in an area known as Lusatia in eastern Germany, between the rivers Oder and
Neisse. Lusatia stems from a Sorbian word meaning “watering hole or pool” and aptly describes the marshy swamp-like conditions around the rivulets of the Spree River. Unlike other West Slavic tribes in
Bohemia, Poland, or Moravia, the Sorbians were unsuccessful in establishing a Sorbian state or political entity, and have been subjected to German rulers for more than 1,500 years.
The mere fact that the Sorbians survive to this day is surprising considering they have never enjoyed the protection of a national state, and their survival attests to their resiliency. German
conquests of Sorbian lands began as early as the late sixth century and lasted through the 12th century, by which time the pagan Sorbians had been Christianized and completely defeated. In following centuries, the Sorbians were part of the Hapsburg-dominated Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Saxony, and Prussia, each of whom ruled them harshly with periods of reform and leniency. Despite the change in rulers and violent times, the Sorbians still live in the general area where their ancestors did, concentrated around the cities of Bautzen, Kamenz, Hoyerswerda, Weisswasser, Spremberg, Cottbus, Lübbenau, and Guben in Lower and Upper Lusatia.
Today the Sorbians are not just the smallest Slavic minority, they are also the smallest ethnic group in Europe with a population of approximately 60,000. Despite their numbers, the Sorbians are a
proud folk, consider themselves both Sorbian and German (they are, after all, German citizens), are conscious of their ethnic heritage and identity, and struggle to preserve their unique culture. The Sorbians
are a minority in their own country and often even in their traditional towns and villages.
DAAD’s Learning Bridge
by Nan Bauroth
Since 1925, Germany’s Academic Exchange Service Has Fostered Cultural Cross-Pollination
When Anna Brock was a student at Oberlin Conservatory in 1986, a professor insisted that if she was serious about music she must
study German. Brock complied. Two years later, while working toward her master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin, Brock applied for a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Stuttgart with the renowned
master of accompaniment, Konrad Richter, only to be turned down.
Fortunately, Brock had a fairy godmother. Dr. Katherine Arens, her professor in German Studies there, informed her about grants from the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) and
encouraged her to apply. Brock’s wish was granted, giving her a generous stipend for a year under Richter’s wing, an experience that forever altered her artistry.
Most Americans know about the Fulbright, but few have heard of the equally prestigious DAAD, which last year supported an astounding 65,000 students around the world. Germans, on the other hand,
know about this program, as their taxes support it, and any student wishing to study abroad must go through the DAAD.
Dr. Britta Baron, Director of the DAAD for North America, says that 3,000 Germans come to America each year, with 2,000 Americans and Canadians going to Germany. The rest of the students are in
exchange programs between Germany and countries the world over.
“Our budget is $220 million a year worldwide, with $20 million in the U.S.,” reports Dr. Baron. “We support students and scholars, mostly based on an individual application for a research or
academic project to be conducted in the other country.”
For further information, including grant application forms, visit www.daad.org, or contact the DAAD at: German Academic Exchange Service, 950 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022; Telephone:
212-758-3223. To contact the DAADAA, e-mail katrinavelder@yahoo.de .
Immersion in Culture: American Students at German Universities
By Barbara Krasner-Khait
Kirsten Schatz begins her day at 10:00 am. From her dorm, she rides her bicycle straight uphill to the Universität Konstanz in the ancient town situated on Lake Constance, the Bodensee. She waits
in line in the university library to check her e-mail, eats lunch in the Mensa with a friend, attends class, and then returns to her room. On a clear day, she might be able to glimpse the Swiss Alps through her
window. Schatz, a New Jersey native who normally attends Rice University in Texas, is one of a small group of students participating in the long-running Rutgers Study Abroad academic year in Germany program.
“I applied to the Rutgers program specifically for many reasons,” she says. “Cost – since Rutgers, being my state school, made studying in Germany cheaper than a year at Rice. Location –
I study in a large city and wanted something not so overwhelming as say, Munich. Size of program – my goal was to speak German this year, not to hang around with 200 Americans from my program. And finally, the
type of program – I wanted assisted direct enrollment at a German university, not a satellite program with classes in English.”
Each year, American students like Schatz bid auf Wiedersehen to their families and friends and eagerly jump into an academic year of total immersion into German culture. Accepted into Study Abroad
programs sponsored by their American universities, they are off to experience German language and culture at the universities of Freiburg, Mainz, as well as Konstanz – just to name a few.
Besides the course work, students gain new perspectives that better prepare them for the intercultural and competitive environment they will face later on. It is a year of maturing, cultural
exploration, new relationships, and experiences they cannot get from their classrooms back home.
For more information about studying in Germany, contact the following:
Ridgewood:
What is Left of New York’s Lost German District
By Anna Cramer
Twice a week the corner of Fresh PondRoad and 70th Avenue comes to life. Children and young adults crowd the small classrooms of the German School of Ridgewood, unpack their textbooks, pencil cases, and assignments, while their teachers tune the guitar or hang declination tables and a new Lufthansa poster on the walls. Parents inquire in the tiny office about summer courses and language exams, pay tuition and chat with friends in the library while waiting for their youngsters to complete their weekly two-hour German instruction.
The halls are still decorated with pictures of every graduating class of the last 40 years. However, it takes only a cursory glance to reveal the drastic change this school, which in its heyday
counted over 1000 students and proudly declared itself the largest German school on the East Coast, has undergone since the times when Ridgewood was practically synonymous with “German” and some 40,000
German-Americans lived in this enclave of Germans in New York City, right on the border between Queens and Brooklyn. Two or three decades ago the inhabitants of Ridgewood spoke German among themselves, they had
their own bakeries, butcher shops, and soccer teams, their churches, schools, gyms, and glee clubs, their health insurance plans and banks. Now, the German community has all but faded away, much like Yorktown,
that other German neighborhood on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Bill, the white-haired teacher from Düsseldorf, has witnessed much of the change. “After the Germans left, the Italians moved in, then the Hispanics, later the Asians and now Russians and
Rumanians,” he explains. The latest moves are almost a blessing for the German school, since many of the new immigrants have spent time in Germany and want their children to maintain the language. Others, like
the Russians, have taken German as a second language in their schools back home and wish to document this qualification through one of the language exams offered here.” As the class gets restless, Bill strikes
a cord on his guitar and recaptures their attention with their favorite song about the four seasons: “Es war eine Mutter, die hatte vier Kinder…”
After class Bill shows us what is left of the times when more German was heard in the streets of Ridgewood than any other language including English. The Steuben Society of America still has its
headquarters here, as does the Kolping Society on Myrtle Avenue, originally founded in 19th century Cologne to instill strong religious principles and civic duties in German Catholic apprentices. There is the Blau-Weiss soccer club whose players now speak predominantly Spanish, and some of the many dance clubs are also still around like the Original Enzian Schuhplattler,
where folk dances involve energetic slapping of thighs, knees, and shoe soles and whose members order traditional costumes directly from Munich. Ordering a beer in German, however, would prove to be a greater
challenge for most.
Baseball in Germany
By Douglas Sutton
- Most sports fans in Germany this summer have been watching the World Cup soccer championships in Japan and South Korea, but for a small but growing number of people, the questions being asked are
not about the country's soccer team, but rather of another kind: Will the "Untouchables" repeat this year? Or are the "Yahoos" going to win the championship with all those top players they
acquired in the off-season? And how about the once-mighty "Stealers" – are they going to make a comeback?
- Fans of the game of baseball in Germany know immediately what is meant. The references are to the Untouchables in Paderborn who are the reigning German baseball champions. The Yahoos are in
Wolfsburg, better known as the town where Volkswagen is headquartered, while the Stealers are in Hamburg and in the process of rebuilding to try to recapture their past glory.
- So you did not know that baseball is even played in Germany? Well, do not be ashamed, because the fact of the matter is, most Germans also are not aware of it. Baseball and softball, despite an
amazing expansion over the past decade, still gets only scant attention in the media.
- It is a shame, because what they are missing out on is a lively sports subculture where the people playing it are superbly devoted to the game. There is still a back-to-the roots exuberance and
innocence to baseball in Germany. And, by the way, the quality of the game has made strong progress.
Family Research Of Maps, Gazetteers, and Villages Destroyed
By James M. Beidler
James A. and Shirley Tibbitts began their genealogical research long after they left their home state of Wisconsin. Finding the European village of origin of one of Shirley’s grandfathers was a
long-term challenge for her husband.
The clues about the grandfather, August Mundt or Mundth, came from family records. He was born in 1870 in Germany and emigrated from there to America at the age of 11. His birthplace was listed in
family records as “Nendorf (Neuhof by Vitzgow) in Hinterpommern.”
Jim Tibbitts said that “Neuhof” and “Nendorf” were apparently attempts at spelling the same community or town name. In dissecting this information, it was reasonable to assume that:
“Nendorf” or “Neuhof” was the village name; “Vitzgow,” the name of a larger city nearby; “Hinterpommern,” a county or state.
The realization that “Hinterpommern” is the former German state of Pomerania (specifically, eastern Pomerania) and that much of its now lies in Poland made the Tibbitts’ quest more
difficult. No modern map would have a German village name such as Nendorf or Neuhof; Germans from this area were, by and large, driven out after World War II. (This problem is not limited to eastern Germany. In
other portions of the nation, there have been many municipal mergers that have led to the removal of former town names.)
In 1999, Tibbitts continued the efforts to find the town through modern maps, the Pomeranian Society, and the “1882 Edinburgh maps.” These Edinburgh maps were found on the Federation of East
European Family History Societies’ Internet Web site (URL: www.feefhs.org/maps/indexmap.html), and a city was found in Pomerania named “Wutzkow.” Given that W’s are pronounced as V’s in German and that
the letters K and G are often interchanged, it was not too much of a stretch to believe that “Wutzkow” was “Vitzgow.”
SIDEBAR:
The following information is provided to help anyone doing genealogical research.
ADDITIONAL SOURCE MATERIAL TO JUNE/JULY 02 FAMILY RESEARCH:
All About “Brave New World” Exhibit:
The “Brave New World” runs through October 31, 2002, at the Rheinisches Freilichtmuseum/ Landesmuseum für Volkskunde Kommern, Auf dem Kahlenbusch, 53894 Mechernich Kommern.
Telephone: 02443 / 9980-0
Web site” www.kommern.de
Open daily 9 AM to 6 PM
Book:
Brave New World – Rhinelanders Conquer America: The Journal of Johannes Herbergs is available in German and English.
German version: write to the publisher: Martina Galunder, Alte Ziegelei 22, D-51588, for further information.
English version: Germantown Historical Society, 5501 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144-2225; e-mail ghs@libertynet.org Price $39.50, plus shipping and taxes if applicable.
Other Emigrant Diaries:
Accounts of 18th century voyages written by German emigrants are relatively few. Among those that have been published in addition to Johannes Herberg’s diary:
Brumbaugh, Martin G., A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America. Brethren Publishing House, Mount
Morris, IL: 1899. Pages 108-123: a letter written by Johannes Naas.
Eben, Carl Theo., translator, Gottlieb Mittelberger’s journey to Pennsylvania in the year 1750 and return to Germany in the
year 1754. John Jos. McVey, Philadelphia, PA: 1888. This presents a jaundiced view of the voyage and Pennsylvania.
“Narrative of the Journey of the Schwenckfelders to Pennsylvania, 1733,” Pennsylvania Magazine, Vol. X, pages 167-179: Account attributed to David Schilze.
Oktoberfest 2001
By Kelly Conforti
Much of what you have heard about Oktoberfest is true. It really is all about the beer. Year after year, millions of travelers from Germany and around the world make a pilgrimage to Munich, to
savor liters of beer from Bavaria’s top breweries.
Packing themselves into tents offering nectar from brew makers such as Paulaner, Hacker Pschorr, and Löwenbräu, 5.5 million visitors to Oktoberfest 2001 drank 4.8 million liters of beer. It
sounds like a lot, but the numbers were actually down from years past. Because of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, many American tourists cancelled their reservations to be part of the event. The city, in fact, considered canceling Oktoberfest altogether, saying it did not feel like celebrating.
However, the show indeed went on, with a few increased security precautions. A more noticeable addition was the increased number of security guards, keeping a close eye on the revelers and
inspecting backpacks before allowing entrance to the tents. Visitors to the Oktoberfest did not seem too concerned about their safety. By 1 p.m., after tents opened at noon, a number of visitors had already let
their guards down, considerably.
Consuming a few liters of German beer on a warm day in October had quickly affected the fest-goers. Or maybe it was just the atmosphere – to be part of Germany’s historic event. The beer tents
were certainly filled with that festive atmosphere. Most of the 14 tents can hold thousands of people, and at busy times were packed to capacity. Not just drinking, but singing and dancing on the tables were
natural to the guests. Those clad in traditional Bavarian garb, including lederhosen, sang along with traditional folk songs, yodelers, and popular rock songs as if they were inspired.
However, too much of the good feeling could start to get expensive. To lift one liter in celebration cost about 11.70 to 12.80 Deutsch Marks, approximately $5.20 to $5.70.
Calendar – August/September 2002
AUGUST
Sheboygan, WI
August 1-3: Jaycee Bratwurst Day: festival with entertainment and parade. Kiwanis Park. For info call 920-208-0852
St. Louis, MO
August 2-4: St. Louis Strassenfest: Downtown, Memorial Plaza. For info see www.strassenfest.org
Red Lodge, MT
August 2-4: Festival of Nations: Ethnic festival, free food tasting, entertainment, pig roast. For info contact Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce, Box 988, Red Lodge, MT 59068
or call 406-446-1718.
Philadelphia, PA
August 2-4: Sommerfest: at Penn’s Landing, new location: Columbus Ave. and Spring Garden St. For information call 202-467-5000 or see www.steubenparade.com
Columbia, SC
August 3 – October 6: Exhibit of Bunzlauer-style pottery: Georgia Museum of art. For info call 706-542-4662 or see www.uga.edu/gamuseum
Zoar, OH
August 3 & 4: Zoar Harvest Festival: beer garden, folk singers, antique show. For info call Zoar Village at 800-874-4336.
Dayton, OH
August 9-11: German Picnic/ German Festival: in Carillon Park. For info call 937-293-3099 or e-mail Lieder97@aol.com
Hunter, NY
August 10-11: German Alps Festival: at Hunter Mountain. For info call 888-486-8376 or see website www.HunterMtn.com
Toledo, OH
August 10: Kornfest: at Oak Shade Grove. Sponsored by the Teutonia Männerchor. For info contact timptol@aol.com or call 419-691-3537.
San Antonio, TX
August 16: Gartenkonzert: at Beethoven Halle und Garten. For information contact Beethoven Maennerchor, 210-222-1521
Baltimore, MD
August 16-18: Deutsch Tag: 102nd German festival in Carroll Park. Music, ethnic drinks and food, craft vendors. Sponsored by the Deutschamerikanischer Buergeverein von Maryland (13 organizations) For info call 410-522-4144 or see www.md-germans.org
Chicago, IL
August 17-18: 125th Schwaben Fest (Cannstatter Volksfest): at the Schwaben Center in Buffalo Grove, IL. For info call 630-653-1716 or e-mail at www.schwabenchicago@hotmail.com
Hartford, CT
August 18-25: German Beerfest: Sponsored by the Hartford Saengerbund in Newington, CT. Food, music, folk dancing. For info call 860-684-5621 or 860-953-8967 or see www.intelab.com/hsb
Cincinnati, OH
August 23-25: 32nd annual Oktoberfest: For info call 513-742-0060 or see www.germaniasociety.com
Hagerstown, MD
August 24: Augustoberfest: Celebration with sister city Wesel, Germany. Downtown Hagerstown. For info call 301-739-8577 ext 116 or fax 301-790-3424.
SEPTEMBER
Petaluma, CA
September 1: German-American Labor Day Picnic: Penngrove Community Park, sponsored by the Redwood Empire Saenger Chor. For info call 707-665-9933.
Sheboygan, WI
September 6-8: Septemberfest: St. Peter Claver Parish festival. For info call 920-457-9408.
Chicago, IL
September 6-8: 82nd German American Fest: Lincoln, Leland & Western Ave., Live music, dancing, food & beverages. For info call 630 653-3018 or see www.germanday.com
September 7: Annual Von Steuben Day Parade: 10:30 AM on Columbus Drive in downtown Chicago. For info call 630 653-3018 or see www.germanday.com
Jessup, MD
September 8: 3rd Annual German Heritage Fest: at Blob’s Park, sponsored by A.G.A.S. For info call 202-554-2664
DaCosta, TX
September 8: Germanfest: at Hermann Son’s Hall, sponsored by the Texas german Society. For info call 361-578-6658 or 361-575-0560.
Mount Angel, OR
September 12-15: Oktoberfest. For info call 503-845-9440.
Louisville, KY
September 13-15: 3-Day Oktoberfest: at the German-American Club. For information call 502-894-9512, 502-462-1740 or see www.Germanamericanclub.com
Bethlehem, PA
September 14: Free Museum Day:
Kemerer Museum of decorative Arts, Moravian Museum, 1810 Goundie House, Burnside plantation & Colonial Industrial Quarter. Noon-4. For info call 610-882-0450
Oakland, CA
September 15: 72nd annual German Fest: at the Hayward Civic Center. For info call 510-530-5229 or 510-836-0735.
Shepherdstown, WV
September 16: Oktoberfest: at theBavarian Inn. For info call 304-878-2551.
San Antonio, TX
September 20: Gartenkonzert: at Beethoven Halle und Garten. For info contact the Beethoven Maennerchor at 210-222-1521.
Peoria, IL
September 20-22: Oktoberfest: Festival Park at the Riverfront. For info call 309-689-3019 or see www.peoriaparks.org
New York, NY
September 21: 45th Annual Steuben Parade: Grand Marshals Siegfried & Roy. For info see www.gasp-ny.org or call 516-239-0741.
Syracuse, NY
September 20-22: The Great Syracuse Oktoberfest: the 42nd year. Sponsored by the German-American Society of Central New York. For information, contact Ron Dolata at 315-682-2584.
Lancaster, PA
September 20-22: Oktoberfest: Lancaster Liederkrantz -- nonstop musical entertainment & Gemütlichkeit. For info see www.lancasterliederkranz.com
Middleton, WI
September 21: Sängerbezirk’s Säangerfest: celebrating the Madison Männerchor’s 150th anniversary. The Marriott-Maddison West. For info call Tim Hughes at 608-238-1406.
La Crosse, WI
September 27-October 5: Oktoberfest – 42nd Year: For info call 608-784-3378 or see www.oktoberfestusa.com
Philadelphia, PA
September 28: Steuben Parade: and Oktoberfest. Location to be announced on www.steubenparade.com For information call 215-332-3400.
Stowe, VT
September 28-29: Oktoberfest: For info call 802-253-8506 or see www.stoweoktoberfest.com
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