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October/November 2002 - excerpts from the editorial
Goslar
by Tom Bross
What is the most historically significant, best-preserved town center in all of Germany? Imagining some street-corner pollster-with-clipboard asking me that question, my initial choices might
amount to eight or, at most, a dozen personal favorites. For the final countdown, I would mentally map-read my way to the northwestern edge of Lower Saxony's Harz National Park, thereby zeroing in on Goslar.
Reasons for the importance and appeal of this little place (current population: 46,000) can be traced far back in time, to 968, when miners familiar with the pine-forested highlands dug deep
inside a mini-mountain called the Rammelsberg. That is when and where they struck a mother lode of silver. And so began a thousand-year bonanza, amounting to 27 million tons of precious ore (gold as well as
silver, plus lead, copper, and zinc), in turn generating plenty-enough wealth for formerly crude Goslar to attain lofty eminence as the "Treasure Chest of the Holy Roman Empire."
Boom times, resulting from those riches being laboriously hacked and sifted from torch-lit mineshafts, caught the attention of the realm's royal big shots. Chosen as the site of the imperial
general assembly of 1009, medieval Goslar got its earliest shot at continental fame. Thirty years later, construction began on a Villa Regalis for a succession of Saxon and Salian-Frankish emperors. Modestly
small at first, then gutted by a 13th-century fire, the rebuilt castle grew and grew, ultimately becoming the mighty Kaiserpfalz – Imperial Palace – which dominates high ground south of the lively Marktplatz.
Except for several significant Germanic churches (such as St. Michael's in nearby Hildesheim, the Speyer, Worms, and Braunschweig cathedrals, and Quedlinburg's Stiftskirche St. Servatius, on an
eastern flank of Harz terrain), the Kaiserpfalz's size outdoes every other Romanesque edifice in existence. Visitors approaching it pass an equestrian statue of a 12th-century occupant – Friedrich I, better
known as red-bearded Barbarossa.
The cost of admittance amounts to a tiny dent in anyone's travel budget. This rock-solid 178-foot-long landmark is the ancestor of Berlin's reconstructed, glass-domed parliamentary Reichstag.
Journeying frequently to Goslar to convene Imperial Diets, princes and electors haggled over matters of war and peace that shaped central European history.
Meanwhile, the common folk stayed on a prosperity binge. Their market town became a free imperial city, granted the right to mint coins. Abundant silver currency and a crosssroads location on two
major trade routes – Flanders-Magdeburg, Lübeck-Venice – led, in 1267, to Hanseatic League membership.
Sixteen hundred half-timbered houses line streets and lanes in Goslar's square-kilometer midsection. By official count, 168 of those Fachwerk survivors predate 1550. Owners carved inscriptions and
symbols onto crossbeams throughout the superstitious Middle Ages. Swords, stars, seashells, sunbursts, rosettes, and scowling creatures kept evil spirits out, contentment and longevity in. Modern-day residents
can decipher bits of Harz legends and woodland fairy tales.
The Keswick Miners
By Nicholas Corder
The English Lake District is home and inspiration to such world-renowned writers as Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth.
National Geographic magazine cites the Lake District amongst the top 50 natural beautiful areas of the world. It is a world heritage site. Slate built or whitewashed cottages, pictured against foregrounds of shimmering lakes and rugged hills decorate calendars, place mats, and chocolate boxes that find their way into houses all around the globe.
Amongst the most famous of the Lakeland towns is Keswick. Nestling in a bowl hollowed by glaciers, Keswick is a center for walking and outdoor pursuits.
However, centuries before Wordsworth romanticized the Lake District and the place began to be seen as a potential holiday destination for wealthier Britons needing to breathe fresher air than they
could in the cities, the hills of England were seen as a mineral resource. Recreation in the hills was a concept yet to be developed.
In the 16th century, as Queen Elizabeth I girded Britannia's loins to do some wave ruling (or rule waiving, if you prefer), so money was needed to pay for the royal expeditions and the defense of
the realm. Copper was needed for the production of arms as well as machinery.
The potential prizes on offer were great. The Crown was entitled to 9/10ths of all gold and silver, as well as handsome rates on all other minerals.
As Britain lacked the expertise to exploit the rich copper deposits of Lakeland, Elizabeth turned to continental Europe for help, and in particular Germany. Bavaria was considered to be the area
that led the world in mining techniques and the city of Augsburg, founded in Roman times, was an important financial and commercial center. In 1564, The Society of Mines Royal was founded as a means of enticing
German experts to take over the management of mining throughout the kingdom.
Thus it was that a group of miners from Augsburg, under the leadership of Daniel Hoechstetter (or Hechstetter, spellings were a little less fixed in those days) arrived in the valleys around
Keswick in June 1564.
In no time at all, they had discovered rich veins of copper in Borrowdale, which they called Barnthal, and the Newlands (Neulandt) Valley. Their most important mine soon attracted the moniker of
"Goldscope," not because they found gold in any quantity, but because the locals soon managed to corrupt the name the Germans gave the mine from "Gottesgab" (God's gift).
The Germans brought with them technologies that were unknown to the resident Brits. They were also given more powers than some of the locals. Hoechstetter and his colleague, Thurland, were granted
a commission to fell trees in the woodlands and the rights to “apprehend disorderly persons,” potentially a cause of some of the friction that was to come.
Germany’s Living Legend: Michael Schumacher
By Michele Deppe
Europeans are baffled as to why most Americans are not acquainted with, and duly impressed by, Formula One racecar driver Michael
Schumacher.
After all, he is Germany’s national treasure. Schumacher is the highest paid sportsman in the world, earning $81 million per
season (not including hefty endorsement sums). Formula One enjoys the largest global audience of any sporting event; second only to the Olympics and World Cup Soccer, which are not held annually.
Newcomers to the world of Formula One racing, with its heart-stopping excitement and international glamour, are immediately
impressed by the sheer talent evident in Michael Schumacher’s driving abilities. Cars that were thought of as potential “back-markers” appear to be powered by the force of his will as he pilots them to
victory.
Schumacher is one of three drivers in racing history who have won four World Championship titles, surpassed only by Juan Manual
Fangio, who captured his fifth title in the 1950s. During the 2002 season, Schumacher will attempt to attain his fifth World title, and share Fangio’s ranking in racing history. Schumacher’s 53 Grand Prix
victories have already broken all other records for the total number of races won during a driver’s career.
However, it is not just Schumacher’s ability to produce race results that endears him to fans all over the world. His
irrepressible enthusiasm is inviting. We are swept up in the excitement, vicariously sharing his triumph.
In 1995, Schumacher was the first German to win a Formula One race on home soil in decades. He shook his fists with incomparable
delight while crossing the finish line at Hockenheim, and the crowd swelled with national pride. In his typical exuberant fashion, Schumacher did his famous “jump for joy” on the podium.
Last season, Schumacher wept during a press conference after breaking the late Ayrton Senna’s record for leading the most laps
during races. When he wins, Schumacher’s success is an offering to the sport of motor racing. It is for all of us.
Schumacher’s post race comments, concisely spoken in English as well as German, are often gracious and infectiously positive.
We are left with good feelings about what competition should be. Schumacher is quick to give praise to other drivers, and applauds his team’s efforts as the foundation of his success.
His loyalty runs deep. When he joined the faltering Ferrari team, the championship had eluded them since the 1980s. Schumacher
has restored Ferrari to its former glory. He said, “I might have won more titles with another team. To me, it does not matter how many titles I win, I am only interested in the way I win them.”
Familie Forschung - Family Research
By James M. Beidler
Records and disunity
For genealogical researchers who wish to delve into medieval and early modern records about their families, it can truly be said that “the devil is in the details.”
Before Germany was unified for the first time in 1871, it spent centuries as a collection of independent kingdoms, electorates, grand duchies, and principalities – each ruled by a civil or clerical noble.
The impact this has on genealogists is several fold. In the first place, the types of records created in one German state is different than those found in another jurisdiction
– even one that might have been right next door to it.
As an example, in the Principality of Nassau-Siegen (now part of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia), there are fine guild registers that predate the area’s church
records, allowing families to add another one to three generations, sometimes into the late 1400s.
The neighboring “Grafschaft” (county, as in ruled by a count) of Wittgenstein had no such guild structure and hence no such records. On the other hand, the archives of
Wittgenstein’s counts (found at a Westphalian archives in Muenster) contain records of the early 1700s “Bauerkrieg”
(Farmers’ War) in which part of Wittgenstein revolted against its count – including a petition signed by the farmers seeking an end to the war.
What researchers crave – though they are often tough to come by – are sources of information about a specific German state written in English. An example of hitting pay dirt
is the site devoted to Wittgenstein, hosted by an expert in that territory, Paul Riedesel of Minneapolis. His Riedesel Family Home Page (at the URL www.riedesel.org) is filled with articles and background on
Wittgenstein.
Riedesel is modest about the information he has compiled. “Mostly I figure that I have been lucky that decent records still exist and that there are researchers over there who
have been busy writing about it and sharing their transcriptions,” he said.
Salzburg
by Carl Kuntze
Christened after the period Salzburg was a salt trading center during the waning years of the Holy Roman Empire, its name
literally translates to “Salt Castle.” The natural beauty of the environment makes it incongruous that it owed its genesis to neighboring salt mines, once metaphors for brutal hardship and exploitation. A
city of uncommon elegance blossomed over the soil where traders haggled over the snowy substance, then so highly prized. The Archbishop-Princes would inherit fragments of the tearing fabric of Roman rule to
establish their own fiefdoms. Fortunately, unlike many feudal lords of the era, they were not only wealthy, powerful, and astute administrators, but also cultivated men, whose impeccable tastes left deep
imprints on the cultural character of the region. This can still be sensed in Salzburg’s art, music, and architecture. Carefully preserved Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance configurations enliven the Old World
ambience of the city.
In 1600, Wolf Dietrich, part Medici on his maternal side, assuaged his homesickness by transplanting Florentine styles into his
bailiwick, even when he had to raze entire districts to do so. However, his discerning eye recognized the historical value of some older buildings and was quite selective about his demolition. His nephew, Marcus
Sitticus, who succeeded him, ordered the construction of the Dom in 1614, commissioning Santino Solari to design and oversee the project. Today, the Dom serves as a backdrop for performances of Hofmannstal’s
play “Jederman” (Everyman), towering benignly over the city center.
Another prominent landmark, an equestrian pond on Sigmundsplataz, funded by Archbishop Leopoldo Antonio Eleutherio, reflected his
love for horses There stands a marvelous study in marble of a stallion resisting his trainer, surrounded by frescoes of horses in similar heroic postures. These dynamic clerics ruled with a combination of
ruthlessness and generosity until Salzburg was unified with Austria in 1816. Prosperity placated any restiveness that might have fermented among the general population. While not too widely publicized, torture
chambers were standard appendage to medieval castles, although they may have been reserved for the entertainment of military prisoners taken from sporadic feudal conflicts rather than stifling opposition.
Another method of pacifying the governed was a prodigal sponsorship of the arts.
Mozart was among the beneficiaries of this royal proclivity. Enchanted by the four-year-old child prodigy, Siegmund Count
Schrattenbach underwrote his early education. By the time he reached seven, Mozart was a concert virtuoso and a prolific composer. Knighted to the Order of the Golden Spur at 14, he would be shunted aside at 22.
Not that his talent diminished, it was just that the novelty of a child genius wore thin with his affectations as an adult. Promising other young composers were intruding upon the scene. An eight-year-old
Beethoven was a looming challenge. It was in England that enthusiasm for his music never lagged and, until the day he died, he yearned for London. His last Continental tour drew a disappointing reception, which
he compensated for with scandalous romantic liaisons. Suddenly confronted with the specter of insolvency, an Archbishop-Prince from his hometown would come to his rescue. Colloredo employed him to the post of
court organist.
Germans, Jews, and Danes:
A Three-way Encounter in Nazi Germany
(South Schleswig, 1933 to 1938)
by Norman Berdichevsky
The Danish minority's situation in Nazi Germany is of historical interest because it represents the only non-German community which the Nazis could not simply capriciously ignore or
mistreat with impunity (as it did with the Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, and Frisians). It had to try to be accommodating, to some degree, in order to ensure good relations with Denmark and all of Scandinavia, a
goal which German foreign policy sought to promote. The Danish community, whatever the views of its individual members towards the Nazis' racist ideology and in spite of sympathy towards Denmark, had to obey
German law and fulfill all their duties as German citizens including military service.
In 1920, a plebiscite had divided the border region between Germany and Denmark. Germany retained South Schleswig and Denmark regained the North which it had lost in 1864. Although
historically pro-German, the Jews of Flensburg found a temporary shelter from Nazi imposed ostracism by strengthening ties with the Danish minority community from 1930 to 1938.
Jews in Flensburg made use of a room for religious services during the High Holidays, social events, and meetings in the building of the Danish Community Center. Many of them felt that
the Danish minority, although under pressure, showed them a respect that was in total contrast to the pariah-like existence they had been subjected to since the Nazi take over in January 1933. Several Jews found
employment within the Danish Community Center, and their children were admitted to the Danish Youth Movement.
Flensburg (Flensborg in Danish), an industrial city and the largest town (40,000 in 1939) in the South Schleswig region had a tiny Jewish population of under 100 when the Nazis came to
power yet this city, near the Danish border, figured in a unique three-way encounter between Germans, Danes, and Jews. Much larger Jewish communities lay in Holstein, south of the Eider River in the university
town of Kiel, Altona (a suburb of Hamburg), and Rendsburg.
No more than a handful of Jews lived in the northern part of Schleswig which was predominantly rural and returned to Denmark in 1920. Ironically, the few Jewish families
"stranded" behind the new border in Denmark immediately joined the organized German minority organization in North Schleswig. Most Jews living in Flensburg at the time of the Nazi takeover had arrived
in the city after 1864 and had not known Danish rule and had no yardstick for comparison. They were Reform, assimilationists, prosperous, mostly in business or the professions, patriotic towards their German
fatherland, and had voted for Germany in the 1920 plebiscite. Several prominent Jewish businessmen were World War I veterans who had brought their own horses with them to serve in German cavalry units when the
war broke out in 1914.
…….
Aware of their position walking a tightrope, the Danish community could not openly express the opposition of the overwhelming majority of its members to the regime's anti-Semitic
policies. The editorial line of Flensborg Avis remained as it had been under the Weimar Republic that it did "not interfere in internal German matters.” A Nazi sponsored anti-Jewish boycott in Flensburg in April 1933 ended with little effect as the Jewish shopkeepers retained almost all their customers (from both the Danish and German communities) who were quite unsympathetic to Nazi appeals to boycott Jewish-owned shops that offered them credit at a time when few others were willing to do so. During the blockade of Jewish-owned shops patrolled by uniformed S.A. guards carrying signs with cartoons of Jewish stereotypes and denouncing "Germans who buy at Jewish shops are Traitors!" – an "unruly crowd" of Flensburgers broke through the picket line and insisted on doing business, a sensational news item carried only in Flensborg Avis, which
gave it prominence. It is unlikely that any similar event occurred throughout Nazi Germany.
Maids, Farmhands, and Domestic Servants in 18th-Century Germany
by Robert A. Selig
"Who will bother much with the servants? Let them work like cattle, throw their food out to them as you would throw it to a dog, chase them into church services and to communion and let them
hear and receive there what they don't understand, give them, or withhold from them, their wages as you like, and, after they have broken their bones in your service, throw them into the workhouse."
Harsh as it may sound, this 1774 description of the life of the Gesinde – the maids, farmhands, and domestics – in Christian Friedrich Schubart's Teutsche Chronik paints an appallingly accurate impression of their existence. The 18thcentury
was an age of splendor, of baroque palaces and churches, and of ostentatious display of bourgeois wealth. However, it was also an age of abject poverty, in which rapid population growth, a large supply of cheap
labor, low wages, a lack of employment opportunities, and rising food prices were inexorably pushing servants into that vast pool of impoverished humanity so pervasive in pre-industrial Germany.
Domestics, stable hands, coachmen, and lackeys were ubiquitous. In cities likeNuremberg, with 25,000 inhabitants, one of the largest population centers of the Empire, domestic servants comprised
some 20 percent of the population in the 1780s, but even in minor seats of government such as Würzburg with its 16,000 inhabitants, 15 percent of the population worked as servants. Cities and towns attracted
large numbers of the unskilled sons and daughters of the peasantry looking for work as domestics at court or for the nobility, though wealthy Bürgers and monasteries provided employment opportunities as well.
Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1755-1779) employed well over 100 servants in his palace, known as the Residenz, among them 25 court lackeys, 20 cooks, and seven valets. On the eve of secularization
in 1803, 23 servants cared for 29 clerics at Oberzell near Würzburg. Even the poorest villages had their servants. In the hamlet of Büchold, with its 344 inhabitants, we find 24 female and 12 males
inhabitants, some 10 percent of the inhabitants, listed as servants in 1765 – surely an euphemism for under-employed paupers, since a local magistrate characterized their employers already as "mostly
beggars."
Who were these servants? Young men such as Johann Georg Braungardt, whose parents owned neither land nor a home in Winterhausen, and who hired himself out as a farmhand, were common. Among maids,
who outnumbered male servants by at least three to one, Barbara Schöpf of Hellmitzheim near Ansbach was just as typical. In 1784, her father owned property valued at 22 guilders (fl). Orphanages also provided a
steady supply of mostly female recruits. In Würzburg, the girls of the Waysenhaus were placed as domestics once they reached the age of 12, some-times even younger, while vagrant children picked up in the
streets or taken away from their parents were routinely given to farmers as Knechte or Mägde.
Germans in Florida
By Susan Ladika
The lederhosen, dirndls, and oom-pah bands look perfect for an Oktoberfest in Bavaria. The only things that are a bit out of place are the palm trees swaying softly in the breeze. However, this melding of cultures is a common sight in southwestern Florida, where tens of thousands of German natives have settled in recent years.
Among them is Petra Kuby, a design shop owner by day, who carefully balances plates heaped with schnitzel and sauerbraten, spaetzle and red cabbage, as she bustles between tables set up inside the main hall at the German American Social Club of Cape Coral for the group's 16th annual Oktoberfest.
The event, which is spread over two weekends, draws about 30,000 visitors each year.
Kuby, like thousands of her countrymen, came to Florida on vacation and decided to stay. She and her husband, Klaus, first visited the state in 1993. "We were looking for a vacation home in
Spain and everywhere." Once they arrived in southwestern Florida, "we walked around in the morning and bought a lot in the afternoon. I think a lot of people do that. They like it and they buy a
house."
Although no one seems to have precise figures on how many Germans – along with a smattering of Swiss and Austrians – are clustered around the cities of Fort Myers and Naples, estimates range
as high as 90,000. Businesses with names like Oltimes German Bakery & Deli, Bistro Munich, and German Commercial Center attest to their presence.
One of those who have come is Hubert Prem, a retired German air force colonel who served as liaison to the Pentagon for four years. Fittingly, he now volunteers as head of security for the Oktoberfest.
After his stint at the Pentagon, Prem and his wife, Nora, returned to his hometown of Augsburg. After returning from one Florida vacation, he relates that "it was a rainy, foggy, cold August,
and we said, 'What are we doing here?'" So the Prems purchased canal-front property in Cape Coral, and spent the next 4½ years traveling back and forth between their two homes. They have had green cards
since the summer of 2001, and now live in Florida full time, adding to the area's thriving German community.
Klaus Kohl, a native of Bad Kreuznach, immigrated to America as a teen in 1956. Fleeing the Midwestern winters, he settled in Cape Coral in 1982. Even at that time, the area had a German
community, but the numbers have boomed in recent years.
"This is God's country," he proudly proclaimed. "The Germans love sun and water, and the combination is plentiful here. The people here in this area are much more friendly than the
east coast or the big cities" of Florida, said Kohl, who serves as the current president of the German American Social Club.
Where Walking is Everyone's Business
by Laura Lane
Before I moved to Germany from America, walking was something I did only when I had to. I might go jogging on occasion, or play a game of tennis, but it never occurred to me to go on a
walk just for pleasure. I saw exercise as something divorced from the rest of my life. I had to plan for it, dress for it, make time for it, be in the mood for it. Leisurely strolling was not strenuous enough to
be defined as exercise, so it did not seem worth the effort. This changed when I became infected with the German love of walking. I discovered that it could be integrated into my everyday life and I did not have
to get sweaty for it to be worthwhile.
My initiation into the world of "wandern" was unintentional. Having moved to a small village in Swabia, my husband and I wanted to get to know the area, so we started going on
Sunday drives to explore the beautiful countryside. The car was our chosen means of transportation in those days. On our first of these excursions, we noticed signs indicating parking lots for hikers in many
places along the road. Curiosity got the better of us. We decided to investigate.
We pulled into a parking area at the edge of some woods and discovered a biginformation board with a map – the kind you see in National Parks in America. It showed trails of different
lengths, from three to 15 kilometers. Each path was labeled with a different animal. We chose the shortest route: the owl trail.
We set out on the wide path through a lovely forest of both needle and leaf trees with wood anemones covering the ground. After a while, we passed an elderly couple ambling along in
what looked like their Sunday clothes – the woman wore a skirt, the man had on a tie and jacket. They greeted us with a smile. "Good for them for trying to stay a little in shape," we thought
condescendingly. "They probably don't do this very often."
As we continued, however, we passed innumerable groups of people: families with small children, couples, groups of friends from young to old. Some people wore what we would consider
hiking clothes, with sturdy shoes, backpacks, and walking sticks, but many were dressed in normal city clothes. There were those who looked quite fit, and others who were overweight and ungainly. It seemed that
all of Germany was gallivanting through the woods.
German Architecture in Frederick County, Maryland
by Russell Poole
Leaving behind their homes and their countries, immigrants ventured to theNew World to begin anew. Among the largest group of
immigrants to the Mid-Atlantic region of the New World, the German people may have left their homeland, but they did not forget their roots as they began to build a new life.
Many of them headed west to the fertile lands along the rivers and to the mountainous areas where the terrain reminded many of their homelands. Such terrain was encountered along the Monocacy
River in the area stretching north of the current site of Frederick, Maryland. A large group of German immigrants settled there, forming the Village of Monocacy. Made up of smaller sects in adjoining
settlements, it stretched along the river bottomlands to the area of current day Graceham, Maryland.
The Village of Monocacy was the earliest and most important permanent settlement of Germans in Maryland until 1748 when Frederick Town was created and absorbed most of the population of the
village. Therefore, the city of Frederick owes, in part, its rural charm to the architectural influence of these early German settlers.
In addition to the city, the entire county has German architectural and design influences that are still visible from the churches and log homes to the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum and the
double front doors of early farmhouses that are scattered throughout Frederick County.
One of the greatest examples of authentic German colonial architecture in America, along with one of the oldest buildings in
Frederick, the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum is located at 1110 Rosemont Avenue on the western edge of the city of Frederick. The museum, built in 1756, is a two-story stone structure with two progressively
smaller additions located on the southern end and gardens surrounding it, creating a park-like setting.
Digitalization Breathes Life into Five-Hundred-Year-Old German Woodcuts
by Phillip R. Callaway
Thanks to developments in image digitalization, millions of people are now able to view treasures from the world of European printing – items such as printers’ devices, title pages, decorative
initial letters, and pictures adorning Late Gothic and Renaissance Bibles. Even portraits of Martin Luther and other figures of Germany’s Protestant Reformation are just a few mouse clicks away.
Professor M. Patrick Graham, director of Emory University’s Pitts Theology Library in Atlanta, beams as he talks about the woodcut images in the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection:
“These woodcuts constitute a key element in the repertoire of northern European printers. Gutenberg’s movable type increased the number of available printed texts that could be distributed to potential
readers. Woodcuts accompanying such texts made a volume more attractive, condensed textual messages for audiences, and helped them better to understand and recall these messages.” Any Internet user can now
access the more than 3,200 digitalized images that date roughly from 1470 to 1570 and experience a broad and dynamic range of artistic, historical, and theological voices. The collection clearly ranks among the
top three.
Note: For more information about the Richard C. Kessler collection of woodcut images, contact Professor M. Patrick Graham, Director, Pitts Theology Library at libmpg@emory.edu .
Sprichwörter - German Words To Live By
By Ralph Renkert
What makes a German a German? What are the character traits of Germans? What is your German heritage? Where did some of the important characteristics of your family
originate? Of course, there are no definitive answers to these questions. As in any large group, there are variations and exceptions to any rules. However, groups tend to teach and train their
people according to certain concepts, skills and habits. These are cultivated by the group and from the cultivation of these concepts, skills, habits and arts a culture for the group is formed. In
fact, the word culture is derived from cultivate.
The concepts, skills, habits and arts which are cultivated tend to arise from great individuals and the initial success of their thoughts and habits. In my humble opinion, as Germans and
German-Americans we have inherited a great and grand culture. It is a culture that we should be proud of and seek to learn more about.
An insight into the culture and traits of a people can be gained by studying the proverbs which are taught and followed by respected individuals in the society. For Germans these are the
Sprichwörter. The following are some of those Sprichwörter which were commonly taught, especially during the time when the majority of Germans immigrated to America. I have grouped some of the more
important Sprichwörter subject.
Work
Arbeit macht das Leben süß. - Work makes life sweet.
Faulheit macht die Gelenke steif. - Laziness makes your joints stiff.
Rast ich, so rost ich. - When I rest I rust.
What kind of people think work makes your life sweet? If you are working ten hours a day six days a week to make ends meet, it seems like a cruel joke. However, this is a problem of too
much of a good thing. If you reflect on it, working at a job you like for a reasonable amount of time each week makes you feel useful, productive and needed. Many retired people develop a certain
level of depression caused by a lack of meaningful work in their lives.
Calendar – October/November 2002
October
Cincinnati, OH
October 3-29: German – American Heritage Month: For info call 513-851-9549
Fredericksburg, TX
October 4-6: Oktoberfest: at Marktplatz. For info visit www.oktoberfestinfbg.com or call 866-TEX-FEST (866-839-3378)
Elkhart Lake, WI
October 4-6: Elkhart Lake Oktoberfest: 3-day village wide event. For info call 800-876-3399
Savannah, GA
October 4-6: Oktoberfest: For info call 912-234-0295
New York, NY
October 5: 23rd Annual Conference for German Language Schools in USA: For info visit www.germanschools.org or call 203-792-2795
Hunter, NY
October 5-6, 12-13: Hunter Mountain Oktoberfest: For info call 1-888-HunterMtn or e-mail info@HunterMtn.com
Rayne, LA
October 5-6: Germanfest: For info call 337-334-8354 or visit http://members.aol.com/germanfest/
Zoar, OH
October 5-6: Zoar Village Apfelfest: For info call Zoar Village at 800-874-4336
Cañon City, CO
October 5-6: Royal Gorge Bridge & Park German Weekend. For infocall 719-275-7507 or fax 719-269-3501
Cullman, AL
October 5-13: Oktoberfest: 12th annual Oktoberfest. The festival alcohol free. For info call 800-533-1258
Leavenworth, WA
October 11-12: Oktoberfest: For info call 509-548-7992, e-mail larry@leavenworthwa.com, or visit www.leavenworth.org
Ocean City, MD
October 11-13: 21st Annual Oktoberfest: & Art & Craft Fair. For info call 410-524-7020 or e-mail oceanpromtions@beachin.net
Frohna, MO
October 12: Saxon Lutheran Memorial Fall Festival: arts, crafts, food, and entertainment. For info call 573-824-5404
Baltimore, MD
October 12-13: Oktoberfest: at 5th Regiment Armory. Continuous music, dance groups, foods, drink, and crafts. For info call 410-522-4144, 24hr info line.
Lancaster, PA
October 12-13: Harvest Days: 43rd Annual Penn. Dutch harvest celebration, threshing, food preserving, traditional trades and crafts, and more. For more info call 717-581-0591
Newport, RI
October 12-14: 10th Annual NBC-10 International Oktoberfest: For advance tickets or more info call 401-846-1600 or visit www.newportfestivals.com
Maeystown, IL
October 13: Oktoberfest: Annual craft and food fair. For info call 618-458-6660
Tulsa, OK
October 17-20: Oktoberfest: in River West Festival Park. For info call 918-744-9700 or visit www.tulsaoktoberfest.org
Columbia, MD
October 18: MAGS 20th Anniversary Banquet: For info see www.rootsweb.com/~usmags/ or to register e-mail DMKUSTER@compuserve.com
Deerwood, MN
October 18-20: Oktoberfest: Arts & Crafts. For info visit www.ruttgers.com or call 800-450-4545
Cape Coral, FL
October 18-20, 25-27: Oktoberfest: for info contact the German American Club of Cape Coral at 239-283-1400
Fresno, CA
October 19: AHSGR 27th “Original” Oktoberfest: Fresno Convention Center. For info call 559-229-8287 or e-mail: ahsgrfr@mindspring.com
Crawford, TX
October 19: Oktoberfest: for info call 254-486-2366 or email vmassirer@yahoo.com
Kissimmee, FL
October 19: Oktoberfest: at the Kissimmee Valley Agricultural Center on Rt. 192. For info call 407-933-4778
Marthasville, MO
October 19-20: Deutsch Country Days: for info call 636-433-5669 or visit www.deutschcountrydays.org
Fairfax, VA
October 26: Blaskapelle “Alte Kameraden: 25th Anniversary Concert: for info call 703-757-0220 or 703-352-ARTS or see www.fairfaxband.org
November
New Braunfels, TX
November 1-10: Wurstfest: at Landa Park. For more info visit www.wurstfest.com or call 800-221-4369
Davenport, IA
November 1-3: Turner Conference: Conference with workshops, 150 years of ‘Turnverein’. For info call 507-645-9161 or e-mail yogi@moin-moin.com
Louisville, KY
November 9: Christkindlmarkt. For info call 502-894-9512 or 502-451-3100 or see www.german-americanclub.com
Crystal City, TX
November 9: World War II Internee Gathering: for info call 847-991-3424 or e-mail eefuhr@aol.com
Long Island/ New York City
November 10: 40th Anniversary Dinner/Dance: Koelsche Funke New York 1961. For info call 718-478-4049 or 718-428-2296 or e-mail kfny1961@yahoo.com
Fairfax, VA
November 10: AGAS German Heritage Fest: For info contact 202-554-2554 or see www.Geocities.com/agasdc/
Wheaton, MD
November 16: Washington Saengerbund Concert & Dance: For info call 202-310-4691 or 301-577-3503 or see www.geocities.com/saengerbund
Harmony, PA
November 16-17: Christkindlmarkt: For info call 888-821-4822
Ferdinand, IN
November 16-17: Christkindlmarkt: For info call 812-367-2908
Covington, KY
November 16-17, 23-24: Christmas Open House: For more info call 859-491-0458
New Braunfels, TX
November 22-24: Weihnachtsmarkt: New Braunfels Civic Center. For info visit www.newbraunfelschamber.com or call 830-620-6229
Spring Hill, FL
November 24: 20th Anniversary Dinner/Dance: German American Club. For info contact Mrs. Alice Benoit, 11033 Keene St, Spring Hill, FL 34608
Chicago, IL
November 28 – December 23: 7th Annual Christkindlmarkt: Daley Center Plaza and “Block 37”. Open daily. For info visit www.christkindlmarket.com or call 312-644-2662
Leavenworth, WA
November 29-30: Christkindlmarkt: For info visit www.leavenworth.org e-mail larry@leavenworthwa.com or call 509-548-7992
Elkhart Lake, WI
November 29- December 1: Germanic Christmas: willkommen, Neunerlei, European orchestra. For info visit www.elkhartlake.com call 800-876-3399
Baltimore, MD
November 30- December 1: Christkindlmarkt. For info visit www.zionbaltimore.org or call 410-727-3939.
Additions to Calendar:
Huntington Beach, CA
September 15-October 1- 27: 25th Oktoberfest at Old World Village. For information se www.oldworld.ws or call 714-895-8020
Helen, GA
October 1- November 2: Oktoberfest. For info call 800-858-8027 or see www.helenga.org
Washington, DC
October 6: German-American Day: at the German-American Friendship Garden. For information call 202-467-5000 or see ugac@aol.com
Crystal City, TX
November 8-10: Reunion of WWII Crystal City Internment Camp Detainees. For info e-mail richardgsantos@yahoo.com
Cincinnati, OH
November 22-24: Christkindlmarkt: Germania Society. For info see www.germaniasociety.com
Helen, GA
November 29: Lighting of the Village: for info call 800-858-8027 or see www.helenga.org
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