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JUNE/JULY 2005
The Hex Highway
by Juliann Wetz
There are few places in the world where one can drive around and see a community practicing magic. Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, magic is still commonly used in the form of hex
signs, thought to ward off bad spirits, bring good luck, invite fertility, and harmonize marriage and family. The vivid colors and symbolic designs dot the Pennsylvania countryside where hundred-year-old
traditions are still firmly in place today.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a heavy influx of German and Swiss immigrants settled in the rich farmland of eastern Pennsylvania. The mixture of varied European backgrounds and
religions combined to form a community and culture known collectively as “Pennsylvania Dutch.” They created a lifestyle and folk art now recognized worldwide for its quality and artistry. Quilts, needlepoint,
decorative sturdy furniture, and hex signs are just a few of the objects associated with this deeply traditional sect.
Decorating barns with hex signs began in the mid-1800s. Prior to the 1830s, paint was expensive and most barns were left unpainted. Now you will see the majority of barns painted a deep red or a
clean white, with colorful hex signs drawing from a large collection of German folk designs.
Many believe that the colorful hex signs found painted on the barns by the Pennsylvania Dutch are actually painted spells. Others deny that the signs have any affiliation with the black arts. In
Karl Herr’s Hex and Spellwork: The Magical Practices of the Pennsylvania Dutch, one local Hexenmeister (a sort of witch doctor/healer who is trained in the arts of herbal magic and symbolism) describes the
painting of hex signs as bringing spiritual and mental joy. Done correctly, it involves having a painter hold an image in his mind of the person or persons achieving the desires summoned in that particular
design.
Hexenmeisters still practice in Pennsylvania, though their numbers are fewer and fewer as progress shuns old-world practices such as this. The practice is passed down within families and remains a
profession known through word of mouth. Because it is not well known, most Hexenmeisters only practice their magic on evenings and weekends. During the day they hold other jobs, such as carpenters or farmers.
Being a Hexenmeister does not pay well. However, Hexenmeisters such as Karl Herr enjoy their calling and feel they counter evil spells that “truly evil witches put on people.”
Hex signs are believed to combat these spells as well. They are used to bring spiritual peace of mind and harmony to those who place them on their barns. There has been much speculation about the
use of hex signs on barns, rather than on houses. In their book, Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols and Their Meanings, Don Yoder and Thomas Graves quote Wallace Nutting, who wrote extensively on the
subject, and believes that “...The ornaments on barns found in Pennsylvania, and to some small extent in West Jersey, go by the local name “hexafoos,” or witch foot.... They are supposed to be a continuance of a
very ancient tradition, according to which these decorative marks were potent to protect the barn, or more particularly the cattle, from the influence of witches.”…
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Here Comes The Bride...and the “Brauch”
by Kathleen Saal
From 4:00 a.m. gun salutes to brides dressed in black, regional traditions add charm and individuality to weddings across Germany.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue – for ages, this well-worn adage has guided many a bride toward her eagerly anticipated walk down the aisle. Whether passed
down through generations or created as new rites to be celebrated in the future, the recognition of certain customs and traditions has become an integral and visible part of the wedding celebration.
Five-times a bridesmaid myself, I often looked at my friends’ nuptials and my souvenirs from them – those dreaded bridesmaid dresses – as proof of my experience in and knowledge of this
cherished ritual. However, not even my stint as maid-of-honor or catching the bouquet quite prepared me for the unique and colorful wedding traditions to be found in Germany.
Polterabend is the first of these. Quite simply, it is when friends, guests, and neighbors smash their old table china outside the front door of the betrothed’s house. To an unknowing
bystander, this pre-wedding event can appear a bit odd. After all, why destroy perfectly good china outside someone’s front door...unless, of course, you are mad at him or her?
Well, as I learned, the broken pieces of ceramic and porcelain serve a purpose. They are believed to bring luck to the wedding couple. And according to tradition, the loud racket, or Lärm,
that accompanies Polterabend will also drive away any evil spirits, which might be lingering around the house. The bride and groom will later sweep up the broken pieces – together. It is symbolic that
side-by-side they can resolve any problems that arise in their marriage.
This emphasis on giving the couple a proper start to wedded life can often include placing a coin in the bride’s shoe. It is a wedding day custom aimed at ensuring the pair will never run
out of money.
Another popular tradition, and a somewhat amusing one at that, is the Brautentführung – quite literally, stealing the bride. At a certain point early on in the wedding reception, when the
groom is not looking, the bride is spirited away from the festivities, often with friends and some guests in tow.
In this matrimonial version of hide-and-seek, the group takes the bride to a succession of various pubs and restaurants in the town, or nearby villages. They have drinks, typically including
beer, schnapps, and champagne, and then leave without paying. The time I witnessed this tradition in action, the bride wore an ever-lengthening necklace of corks from the bottles of champagne consumed by the
sizable posse traveling with her.
The groom, in turn, follows a trail of carefully concocted clues, making his way to each locale, where he must pay the bar tab before receiving his next hint in the Hochzeit hunt. Obviously,
this wedding gag can get very expensive very fast – so time is of the essence! When he does eventually find the bride, the fun ends and everyone returns to the reception…
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Garmisch-Partenkirchen: Alpine Paradise
by Leah Larkin
Two towns joined as one in 1935, but individuality reigns in this Alpine paradise where even “their cows don’t socialize in public.”
Garmisch-Partenkirchen has a split personality. Not just because it is two distinct towns grown together. It is also both Germany’s premier winter resort and first-class summer playground. Not
long after the skiing winds down, hikers, mountain climbers, wellness/spa fans, and high-altitude sun seekers congregate in this town of twenty-seven thousand that lies at the foot of Germany’s tallest mountain,
the Zugspitze (9,724 feet), and is just eighty-six miles south of Munich.
In any season, it is picture perfect. The mighty mountains provide an awesome backdrop for the pretty and colorful houses, many decorated with traditional frescoes of Alpine and biblical scenes
(Luftlmalerei). In summer, brimming boxes of luxuriant geraniums in bold reds and pinks add pizzazz to the tableau. Winter’s snow, hugging the rooftops like a thick, down comforter, transforms it into fairytale
splendor.
“I love it. It’s one of the best postcard towns in the whole world,” says Chris Forbes, who has lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for two years as an employee of the American military’s Edelweiss
Lodge and Resort. Garmisch has been headquarters for the Armed Forces Recreation Center, offering R&R programs for United States military and their families, since the end of World War II. Last September,
the military opened a new, state-of-the art resort to replace the older facilities.
Suzanna Renner, from Slovakia, works as a tour guide in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the summer and a ski instructor in winter. “I like nature,” says Renner. “I like sports…cross-country skiing,
mountain biking, hiking. For that, it’s paradise.”
During the twenty-eight years that I lived in Germany, I visited the town many times. I trekked to the top of the Zugspitze. I hiked the famous gorge, Partnachklamm. I skied the slopes. I drank
beer on the terrace of the Clausing’s Posthotel in Garmisch. I indulged in a hearty Schweinshaxe at Rassen in Partenkirchen. And, I shopped. If not paradise, Garmisch-Partenkirchen is close to it.
Hitler persuaded the Garmisch and Partenkirchen mayors to unite the two villages in 1935 in anticipation of the fourth Winter Olympic Games to be held there in 1936. However, in many ways,
Garmisch and Partenkirchen remain divided. According to one guidebook, “Both sides of town staunchly maintain that they speak different dialects, and that their cows don’t socialize in public.” Each has its own
mayor, fire department and town band. Yet, there is only one Rathaus (town hall). It is “ein bisschen lustig,” notes Sigrid Pronizius of the tourist office. “Everything is in twos here,” adds Renner. “There are
two summer beer fests. It still feels like two villages.”
Garmisch’s pedestrian zone is lined with expensive and trendy shops. I still treasure a pair of furry après-ski boots and a chic Italian sweater I purchased on previous trips. Partenkirchen has
more of a traditional Alpine character. It is the place to go to see the best of the decorated houses. Ludwigstrasse is a museum of these artistic and ancient dwellings. In both parts of town you are likely to
see locals wearing their traditional garb (Trachtenkleid), Dirndls for women and Lederhosen for men…
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German American Destinations:
Columbus, Ohio
German Village: A Piece of Columbus That Remembers Its Past
by Brenda Ruggiero
Anyone can see that downtown Columbus, Ohio, has all the features a twenty-first century American could want. From shopping to dining and everything in between, the city offers all the
modern-day conveniences that one would expect to find. However, those who take the time to investigate a little further will find that the city still holds a piece of the past, as well. Nestled among the hustle
and bustle, a quiet neighborhood has not forgotten its roots. That neighborhood is German Village.
“German Village is a mixed-use historic neighborhood…that enjoyed the protection of legislation very early in the historic preservation movement in this country,” explained Katharine Moore,
executive director. “By creating it as the first historic district in Columbus, we were able to protect the streetscape and the architectural elements that give it its old world charm.”
The community’s history can be traced back to the mid-1800s, when German immigrants were settling in this country. At that time, it was a working class neighborhood occupied by craftspeople
and bricklayers. In the adjoining neighborhood, residents worked in breweries.
“It was just a very tidy neighborhood,” Moore noted. “There were lots of German singing societies, and there was a very strong sense of community and fun. Our park has been the center of
community life since the 1870s, and things were just wonderful for a long period of time.”
World War I and the resulting anti-German sentiment brought an abrupt change to the neighborhood.
“Our park is named Schiller Park, because the German immigrants contributed to a fund to raise the money and had a bronze statue of Schiller created in Germany and shipped to the United
States and placed in (the park),” Moore explained. “In a sick twist, that’s the exact spot that they were asked to bring all of their German books and have them burned. German-bred dogs were killed, and German
language was outlawed. So suddenly, the last place you wanted to live was in a German enclave, if you had any options. Those who could, got out. Schiller Park…became Washington Park, and street names were
changed.”
Prohibition and lost jobs caused even more people to move on after the war. World War II brought more anti-German sentiment, and by the early 1950s, the neighborhood was blighted.
“It was mostly rental properties with absentee landlords, and very low income. Nothing was being maintained, and the interstate system was being planned. The proposal was to bulldoze the
neighborhood. And they were successful in bulldozing a third of the neighborhood for the interstate, but that’s when some preservation activists started paying attention.”
Around that time, Frank Fetch bought a cottage in the area and renovated it, then held an open house to show people what he had done. He was rewarded with a good turnout, and told people to
sign up if they were interested in helping him save the neighborhood. The German Village Society was formed in 1959, and officially chartered in 1960…
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Saxonburg, Pennsylvania:
Roebling’s Saxonburg
by Karen Ferrick-Roman
Before the Brooklyn Bridge, there was Saxonburg.
Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. The name alone heralds its German connection, but it does not breathe a word about the history imbedded in the buildings of this small, western Pennsylvania town north of
Pittsburgh. A range of festivals, though, makes much of Saxonburg being the first American endeavor of John A. Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Saxonburg provided an unlikely landing place in 1831 for John Roebling and his brother, escapees from Prussian oppression in Mühlhausen, Germany. They sought an idyllic existence on America’s
expansive lands to the west, maybe Indiana. However, Roebling’s brother became ill, so the journey west stopped in Pennsylvania. For a while, John farmed and managed to lure additional settlers from the
Fatherland, but Roebling was no farmer. A graduate of Berlin Polytechnic, eventually he reverted to engineering. In a flat, long meadow that is now a park, John Roebling experimented with twisting wire strands
together to build longer and sturdier bridges than had ever before been possible.
Roebling’s simple wire shop shows the humble beginnings of his industry. He started using wire cable on boat slips, then on the Allegheny Portage inclines that hauled canal boats up Pennsylvania’s
Allegheny Mountains for westward travelers. Pittsburghers tested his first three bridges. As the suspension bridges proved themselves, Roebling expanded eastward, to match the building boom. In 1848, he
relocated in New Jersey and chided those "dumb Germans" who remained behind. “No Roeblings have lived in the town for decades,” said Bob Kaltenhauser of the Saxonburg Historical Society. Still, those
"dumb Germans" and their descendants enjoy life in a charming village steeped in history.
The town remains as Roebling laid it out: a main street running perfectly east to west, with a church topping the rise at one end of town and a cemetery at the other. Saxonburg’s luck is to sit
off the beaten path, along Routes 8 and 228 in Butler County, about thirty miles north of Pittsburgh. With no push for commercial growth, Kaltenhauser said, much of the town remains as it was…
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Alamogordo, New Mexico:
Training Germany’s “Top Guns”
by Joe Kolb
Pilots earn their wings and gain a taste of America in New Mexico’s desert.
The remote desert of Southwest New Mexico may be a cultural and environmental shock but it is an experience embraced by nearly two thousand German military personnel and their families assigned to
the German Air Force Flying Training Center at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
The lush green German countryside and regular precipitation gives way to desert sands, cactus, desert palms, and rainy days that can be counted on your hands. However, this is the attraction said
Captain Thomas Riester a weapons systems operator and instructor at the school. "This area is much more conducive for fighter-bomber training than the densely populated and frequently inclement weather of
Germany," said the thirty-five year-old native of Memmingen.
Since 1992, pilots and weapons systems operators from the German air force and navy have been training at Holloman Air Force Base in this highly sought after assignment where a tour of duty could
last between three and five years. All fighter-bomber training for the German air force and navy is conducted in the United States in the “Tornado,” the primary fighter-bomber of the Luftwaffe. After preliminary
training at Fürstenfeldbruck in Germany, pilots are trained in Wichita Falls, Texas, and the WSO in Pensacola, Florida. Once crews arrive at Holloman they are prepared for the Waffenlehrschule, Germany's
"Top Gun" school which ranges between six to eight months in length. Pilots and WSOs are run through rigorous ground and air training where they are then assigned to a squadron in Germany or bases in
Europe.
Enlisted ground crews are selected from a highly qualified pool, which is comprised of ninety percent volunteers making the GAF-FTC the largest foreign military installation in the United States.
Each day any of the thirty-five Tornados from the squadron streak through the blue desert sky shaking the white bluffs of nearby White Sands with the distinctive Maltese cross and the Zia, the state symbol of
New Mexico emblazoned on the jet’s tail sections.
The Alamogordo/White Sands area is not unique just to the GAF-FTC. Since the end of World War II, Germans have arrived in the area to contribute to the American space program. In addition to the
pioneer of the American missile program, Wernher von Braun, numerous other Germans are depicted at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo.
Riester, who is married to an American, has not regretted volunteering for his five-year assignment despite the relative isolation. "We are two hours from a major metropolitan center,"
said Riester. "Of course I miss family and friends, but I really miss hiking and skiing in the Alps. To maintain a taste of the Alpine environment, crews must travel to Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a quaint
mountain community, which maintains a ski resort and hiking and horseback riding trails, about thirty minutes away.
Twelve-year veteran environmental mechanic Master Sergeant Marc Göing of Mönchengladbach found the transition to New Mexico quite pleasant. "Compared to Germany, life is easier and less
hectic here," he said of the casual approach to life in the desert community. Thirty-year-old pilot Patrick Kuhlman of Flensburg, echoes Göing in his enjoyment of the slower lifestyle. "It is so much
more relaxing," he said. Kuhlman, who will be at Holloman Air Force Base for three years, knew what to expect from the desert locale after being there for seven months in 2003. His wife has initially had a
difficult time with the language but he believes that will change as she becomes more involved in the community. While Kuhlman enjoys the slow lifestyle as a married man with a family, it may not be so good for
the single students at the flight school. "There's no real release valve for them," he said of the base's isolation and limited social amenities in the city.
While the majority of servicemen and their families appear to have adjusted to America, commanders still must remain cognizant of morale issues.
Among the most widely reported items missed from home was the food. The base maintains a fully stocked commissary with items imported from Germany. However, the unique Mexican cuisine so prevalent
to this part of the country from burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, provided a unique opportunity to explore foods they would never see in Germany. Each year, the annual German air force sponsored Oktoberfest
draws nearly five thousand visitors who come from all over the southwest to enjoy entertainment, food, and beer flown in by the German military direct from Munich. "This is one of the biggest events in
southern New Mexico," said Chief Master Sergeant Jeorg L. Rump…
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Vancouver, British Columbia:
Vancouver’s Rich German History
By Jean Sorensen
German culture is alive and well just across the border.
According to early history books, one of the first notable German-born immigrants to British Columbia was entrepreneur Francis W. Laumeister in the mid-1800s, who arrived with two camels from
California to help build the trail to British Columbia’s Interior Gold Rush. While inspired, the concept failed to curry favor with fellow four-footed trail mates, the packhorses, which bolted at the strange
site and strong odor of the camels. The story exemplifies one of the reasons Germans, as well as others, arrived in British Columbia – entrepreneurial opportunity.
Two German-born brothers fared better when they arrived from California to cash in on the rush. Their mercantile empire, followed by construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Fraser
Canyon, provided the revenue needed to purchase large chunks of real estate throughout what is the now the city of Vancouver. Jewish brothers David and Isaac Oppenheimer would play a strong role in forging the
city. David promoted incorporation of the city in April 1886. The brothers built the city’s first brick building to house a wholesale grocery, but a great fire that destroyed much of the city swept over its
foundation. Upon its completion, the new structure became a much-needed city hall. The building, no longer a city hall, exists in Gastown, the center of Old Vancouver, which is now a draw for tourists with its
cobbled streets and steam clock.
Both brothers served on the council; but David became one of the city’s most dynamic mayors as he served four terms from 1888 to 1891. During this time, he was instrumental in setting up the
city’s needed services ranging from sewers to water. Many of the city’s organizations, such as the YMCA, Board of Trade, and prestigious Vancouver Club, owe their existence to Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer realized
the long-term benefits of setting aside parklands and dedicated Stanley Park on October 29, 1889. A bronze bust sculpted stands at the park entrance and acknowledges Oppenheimer as the "father" of
Vancouver.
Up until 1914, British Columbia celebrated the birthdays of both Queen Victoria (her husband, Prince Albert, was the second son of the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) and Kaiser Wilhelm. Upon the
Kaiser’s death, March 9, 1888, flags flew at half-mast.
The efforts of Alvo von Alvensleben – a land speculator born in Westphalia in 1877 and reputed to be the “second son” of a count, boosted Vancouver’s international reputation. He arrived in
Vancouver almost penniless in 1904 but set out to wheel-and-deal his way to riches. He took out full pages of advertising in German newspapers and brought millions of investment capital into the province prior
to World War I. Through his efforts, developments such as the Dominion Trust building at Hastings and Cambie in downtown Vancouver was built, docks and fish processing plants appeared, and the Wigwam Inn (a
stately heritage inn now under private ownership) was built on Indian Arm. His investors, according to author Kevin Griffin who profiled Vancouver’s various ethnic communities in Vancouver’s Many Faces included
such notable Prussian families as Emma Mumm of Mumm’s champagne and Kaiser Wilhelm II, who invested $2.5 million in forestry. The outbreak of World War I reversed his fortune and he eventually moved to the
United States. At the same time, the many German names were anglicized including such landmarks as the Blanshard Hotel in Victoria, which was once the Kaiserhof.
The two world wars brought in waves of immigrants including German Jews (1933 to 1939) and post-war German-speaking immigrants. The availability of land in the Fraser Valley brought in Mennonites
in the early 1930s and formed the beginning of a burgeoning community still active today. Between 1919 and 1935, some ninety thousand German-speaking people arrived in Canada. Over fifty percent of these were
again from eastern and southern Europe and Russia, with the balance directly from Germany. After World War II, massive numbers of immigrants from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland entered Canada in the 1950s and
1960s. According to census figures, by 1971, almost nine percent of British Columbia’s population was German-speaking, the second largest group behind the English…
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Fredericksburg, Texas
Always On a Sunday
by Regina Cole
These modest dwellings in town were the perfect answer to maintaining a community lifestyle while making a life working distant farmland.
The Sunday Houses of Fredericksburg, Texas are charming architectural oddities. Unique to this historic town in the Texas Hill Country, they were built by nineteenth century German immigrants as a
solution to the competing needs of the farm and of the community. Modest one and one-half story wood structures, their defining characteristics include an outside stairway, one large downstairs room, no kitchen
or a vestigial lean-to cooking area, and an upstairs sleeping loft. Built primarily between the 1850s and 1930s, Sunday Houses have become cherished reminders of Fredericksburg’s German past. But this house
style doesn’t exist anywhere in Germany: the Sunday House was developed here, deep in the heart of Texas.
When one hundred twenty Germans settled Fredericksburg in 1846, each pioneer’s piece of the New World included ten acres of farmland plus a lot in town. Their real estate was divide in this
way because the new settlers, brought here by the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, headed up by John O. Meusebach, expected their American lives to follow a traditional German path: they
would work on the farm by day and return home to the village in the evening. In fact, they named their new settlement after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Texas farming, however, turned out to be harsher, bigger,
and more challenging than anything they had anticipated. Their New World farms demanded round-the-clock attendance, and the journey into town was no stroll through the countryside – certainly not something to
undertake every morning and evening.
But to these resourceful settlers, land ownership was only one aspect of the good life. Regular, friendly interaction with friends and neighbors mattered, too. These early Texans had come as
members of a community, and they were determined to maintain social ties that included Sunday morning church services, not to mention Saturday evening beer-hall get-togethers. So the German-Americans of
Fredericksburg developed a unique solution to the competing demands of their farms and of their social and religious lives: the Fredericksburg Sunday House.
Sunday Houses were just that: places where farm families could sleep during weekend trips into town. On Fridays and Saturdays they would pack up their wagons and head into Fredericksburg to
do their shopping, to visit with friends and family, go out dancing on Saturday night, and to attend church on Sunday morning. For the first decade or so, they bunked in with friends or relatives, but guests who
descend every weekend become tiresome to even the most hospitable. Eventually over one hundred families built a place in town just big enough to provide sleeping space, without any of the storage or work areas
needed in their regular homes. In time, the little houses proved convenient for children being educated in town, or when a family member needed medical attention, but, always, their primary function was to serve
as sleeping space…
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“German” Philadelphia:
Places to Visit, Sites to See, Things to Do
by Robert A. Selig
Over three hundred years since its founding, Philadelphia still maintains a significant link to its German foundation.
America abounds with towns and cities whose history, monuments, and buildings bear witness to the millions of German-speaking immigrants who helped to establish the United States. Still, few
cities can rival Philadelphia, America's first capital and the city where the first German-speaking immigrants stepped ashore in 1683, in the richness of its German-American religious, business, scientific,
artistic, and culinary connections.
Within months of the founding of Philadelphia in 1682, thirteen Quaker families from Krefeld, seeking the religious freedom offered by William Penn, founded Germantown. They were led by Francis
Daniel Pastorius, the agent for the Frankfurt Land Company. In 1683, their five thousand seven hundred acre German Township along Germantown Avenue from today's Wister Street to Washington Lane lay six miles
northwest of Philadelphia but it has long since become part of the city. Any visit to Philadelphia should include Historic Germantown and the monument to Pastorius and his followers in Vernon Park at the
intersection of Germantown and Chelten Avenues.
Among the early settlers are names famous in Colonial history such as the printer Christopher Saur. His press was the largest in the colonies: in 1753, his German-language newspaper reached some
four thousand readers. Saur printed the first German-language book in the New World and in 1743, the first English bible in the colonies. His home and print shop are no longer standing, but there is a historic
marker at 5253 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia.
The paper for Saur's printing press was provided by Wilhelm Rittenhausen who had arrived from Mühlheim on the Ruhr in 1688. Together with his son Nicholas, he built the colonies' first paper mill
in 1690. Called Rittenhouse Town, it is today part of Fairmount Park. Rittenhouse, America's first Mennonite minister, was until his death in 1708, pastor in the Meeting House on 6119 Germantown Avenue. The
first protest against slavery in the New World was reputedly signed by the Germantown settlers in 1688 on the church's communion table, then at the home of Thones Kunders.
Soon Germantown also held congregations of Brethren or Dunkards, and Lutherans. The Church of the Brethren on 6613 Germantown Avenue is the mother congregation (1723) of the Dunkards in America.
The front portion dates to 1770. In the meetinghouse are tablets commemorating Christopher Saur the younger, Bishop of the Church, and to his father, Christopher the printer. Alexander Mack, founder of the
Dunkards is buried in the cemetery…
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A German Treasure Trove: The National Gallery of Art
by Dorothea S. Michelman
When Andrew Robison joined the National Gallery of Art back in 1973, his assignment was nothing less than “to build a great national collection of prints and drawings like the great national
collections of Europe.”
The first challenge the new curator faced was the task of familiarizing himself with the collection, which meant six months of commuting between Washington and Alverthorpe, home of distinguished
philanthropist and art collector Lessing J. Rosenwald. The son of German immigrants, Rosenwald had brought together a remarkable collection of several thousand master drawings, prints, and rare books. Eight
thousand of these were donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1943. Thirty years later, about half of the Rosenwald collection – in itself comprising approximately half of the Gallery’s graphics collection –
was in Washington, with the other half still at Alverthorpe, outside Philadelphia. So for six months, Robison’s initial undertaking was to examine these treasures, learning the collection as each box was opened.
Charged with building a great national collection, Robison explored opportunities to expand the museum’s holdings in each of the major schools, including Italian, French, German, British, and
American drawings. However, as he recalls, “In addition to that, I wanted to find some way that the National Gallery could do something special in an American context. In other words, we wanted to have a great
collection of Italian drawings – but would we ever have a collection which was distinctively better than that of the Met or the Morgan?” As for the Gallery’s French, British, and American drawings – fine as they
were – other museums again had a decided edge in the scope of their collections of each of these schools.
Happily, German master drawings presented a rather different picture.
“No American museum seemed to be actively pursuing German drawings, and we already had very good Renaissance drawings – from Dürer to Holbein – as well as very good Expressionist drawings.” In
considering these two very different poles at each end of the temporal scale, Robison realized he had found his “something special.”
“What we could do,” continues Robison, today the Andrew W. Mellon senior curator, “was to try to bridge the two, to try to show the whole panoply of German art through the centuries, which would
mean particularly trying to build up late sixteenth-century Mannerism, the Baroque period, Rococo in the eighteenth century, and nineteenth century Romanticism.” Enhancing areas of both strength and weakness,
both individual drawings and groups of artworks have been obtained, as well as entire collections. An impressive example of the significance of this last type of acquisition – a critical element in developing a
national collection – is the survey collection of German-born art historian Professor Julius Held. A gathering of German drawings across the late sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the arrival of these works
effectively closed the immense gap between the Gallery’s two strengths – the German Renaissance and German Expressionism…
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Rediscovering the Baltic Beauty of Mecklenburg
by Maria Lisella
The aroma of smoked fish, a crisp beer, and a refreshing sea breeze welcome visitors to Germany’s undiscovered seaport destination.
Back in the bygone “cold war” era when there was an “Iron Curtain,” Germany's Baltic Sea coastline was “off-limits” to Americans. Few of us realized what we were missing.
Germany's Baltic coastline ranges from ruggedly handsome cliffs to sandy beaches and is shared by its two northernmost states – Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the land of a
thousand lakes.
Of these, Mecklenburg is home to Rostock, the most important German port. Greater Rostock counts five hundred thousand residents in its environs, which was once ruled by dukes of Mecklenburg. The
dukes are long gone, but the city continues its life as a romantic seaport rather than a bawdy one, a gateway to Mecklenburg's small sanctuaries such as the castle-island Mirow scattered on its lakes like the
amber stones that, according to local legend, arrive naturally on the Baltic shores.
When northern Europe's Hanseatic League enriched savvy merchant families centuries ago, their prosperity influenced German seaports such as this one. That is still evident in the gabled, red brick
architecture of Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, and Lübeck. A visit to this unsullied region promises and delivers an unhurried vacation with enough excursions to keep a small family stimulated and refreshed.
Rostock is a good place to start since it captures the intense magical energies seaports seem to have. Alongside working seamen and fishermen hauling in freshly caught fish, you will find dashing
young captains of cruise liners (tourism executives expect almost one hundred port calls in 2005) from all over the world dropping anchor here. One thing they all have in common: they arrive long enough to taste
the beer, shop a bit, and return to the Baltic for more seaside adventures.
Fortunately, this gem has gone largely unnoticed by mass tourism and big, fat motorcoaches it draws. At the same time, Rostock and its environs have quietly attracted artists and photographers
attempting to capture its serene light much as painters pursued the unusual metallic light found in Skagen, Denmark.
Because Rostock suffered heavy damage during the Allied air raids of 1942, it was rebuilt on a grand scale and was transformed into the GDR's showpiece since nearby Szczecin had been lost to
Poland. Its brick gothic architecture reminds visitors of its solid and long-lasting culture and history that are new to those of us who are now venturing north. A delightful departure from the dark, deep red
brick structures are the pretty, bright-colored gabled buildings that arrived in later years similar to those found in Scandinavia. And it is no wonder, since Rostock had established trade links with distant
ports such as Bergen, Norway; Riga, Latvia; and Bruges in Belgium as early as the fifteenth century…
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Heidelberg: Where Mark Twain Overcame Writer’s Block
by Lucy Gordan
This famed city along the Neckar River cast a spell over Mark Twain and forever held a special place in his heart.
Mark Twain suffered from frequent bouts of writer's block. His method of writing was to start several books at the same time. Customarily, he ran out of inspiration before he could finish
any of them. When Tom Sawyer (1876) was not the success Twain had counted on, he developed a particularly severe blockage. Nothing helped; not his beloved wife, Olivia Langdon; not her considerable wealth; not
even their adorable daughters, Clara and Susy.
In extremis, in March 1878, Twain decided to embark on a second trip to Europe. His goal was to write a second travelogue and to finish his several pending novels, among them The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn and The Prince and the Pauper. In the opening paragraph of his amusingly self-illustrated A Tramp Abroad, he explains:
- “One day it occurred to me that it had been many years since the world had been afforded the spectacle of a man adventurous enough to undertake a journey through Europe on foot. After
much thought, I decided that I was a person fitted to furnish to mankind this spectacle. So I determined to do it.”
After all, written during a steamship cruise, Innocents Abroad (1869), an autobiographical satire of Mediterranean culture, had put Twain’s name on the map as America’s first travel writer.
In fact, a decade later it was still America’s most popular travel book. Twain hoped that his intended “tramp” or walk across Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy – places he had never seen – would be its
sequel. In a note “To The Reader” he explains his choice of title:
- “Perhaps you were about to say that formerly I went Abroad as an Innocent, but that this time, fortified with experience and guile, I went Abroad as a Tramp...When I chose my book’s title, I
only intended to describe the nature of my journey, which was a walk, through foreign lands, – that is a tramp...I had a couple of light minor purposes, also: to acquire the German language and to perfect
myself in Art.”
Supposedly looking for a quiet village, where people did not know him, neither of which fit Heidelberg, he arrived with his family on May 6 for the day and stayed three months. His
biographer, Justin Kaplan, asserts Twain was aware that Heidelberg derived from “Heidelbeerenberg,” meaning “Huckleberry Mountain,” which may explain his affinity.
- “Nobody really knows,” writes Werner Pieper in his updated Mark Twain’s Guide to Heidelberg, “what made Mark Twain stay in Heidelberg for such a long time. Maybe he was prompted by old dreams from the times he was passing Heidelberg, Mississippi, while working on the steamships? Did he plan to stay here or did he and his family just fall in love with this city?”
If so, Mark Twain would not be the only one. Today more than two million five hundred thousand visitors crowd its streets every year. Sigmund Romberg set his operetta The Student Prince in
the city; Carl Maria von Weber wrote his lushly Romantic opera Der Freishütz here. Composer Robert Schumann was a student at the university. Queen Victoria, Turner, Longfellow, and Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson were
all guests at the luxurious Hotel Prinz Carl, no longer in existence, on the Kornmarkt. Crossing the Neckar, Goethe called the view from the Alte Brücke or Old Bridge the most beautiful he had ever encountered,
while Alan Ginsburg wrote a poem about the view of Old Heidelberg from the Philosophweg or “Philosopher's Walk” Goethe preferred to write in the Castle garden. Indeed, in 1816, he composed some of his finest
verses, West-oestliche Divan there…
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AT HOME:
Alsatian Tarte Flambée (Flammekueche)
by Sharon Hudgins
Alsace is a geographic region in northeastern France, just across the Rhine River from Germany. At various times in its history, Alsace has belonged to either France or Germany – and many of
its people still speak Alsatian, a Rhenish dialect of German.
Renowned for its regional cuisine, Alsace is a culinary destination for tourists from near and far. Hungry travelers to Alsace sometimes come across small, usually handwritten, signs posted
in the windows of restaurants, announcing "Tarte flambée aujourd'hui" (tarte flambée today) or "Tarte flambée ce soir" (tarte flambée this evening).
However, if you order tarte flambée, don't expect to be served a sweet dessert pastry set aflame at the table by a pyromaniac waiter armed with a bottle of cognac and a blowtorch. Instead,
this classic country dish is actually Alsace's answer to pizza.
Known in Alsatian dialect as Flammekueche, Flammkuchen, Flammebreli, or Fierbreli, it consists of a large, very thin round or rectangular layer of bread dough covered with a layer of crème
fraîche, fromage blanc, or a mixture of the two, topped with thinly sliced onions and small pieces of smoked bacon, drizzled with a soupspoon of huile de colza, and baked in a very hot oven until the edges of
the crust are crisp. (Créme fraîche is a kind of very thick, mild-tasting, slightly soured cream; fromage blanc is a fresh, soft, white cheese, similar to farmer's cheese in the United States; and huile de colza
is a vegetable oil closely related to rapeseed oil.)
The best Flammekuechen are baked in an old-fashioned wood-fired oven – which is how this dish got its name. Originally made in the farm villages of northern Alsace, Flammekuechen were cooked
in the local baker's oven on Saturday, after the regular loaves of bread had come out. The fire of pine wood or old grapevine cuttings was rekindled, and then pushed to the sides of the oven. The flat pieces of
dough, covered with their creamy topping, were then baked on the hot stone floor of the oven, next to the wood fire, which lightly burned the edges of the tartes and gave them a slightly smoky flavor. Hence the
dish was called "tarte flammée" or Flammekueche, meaning baked dough "touched by the flames." Only later did the name become corrupted to "tarte flambée," which means "a
flaming tarte."…
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LANGUAGE:
Jokes from Germany
Collected by Gert Niers
Anybody who is in the writing business knows that it is much harder to write funny things than sad things, to create comedy instead of tragedy. This may have to do with the fact that life can be
much more easily tragic than comic. The whole news industry is mainly an industry of reporting bad things rather than happy or funny events. We decided to give this language column a lighter note and dig out
some jokes heard or read in Germany. Of course, even such a project is not free of problems, particularly when it comes to different languages and nationalities. Therefore, we beg the reader to relax and not to
be too critical. After all, these are just jokes.
“Ihr Jungen haltet ja überhaupt nichts mehr aus,” sagt der alte Vorarbeiter zu den Lehrlingen. “Nach jedem bisschen Anstrengung macht ihr schlapp. Als ich in eurem Alter war, lief alles ganz
anders. Da hieß es Anpacken und Sich-Bewegen – wenn nötig, 25 Stunden am Tag!” – “Aber hören Sie doch auf, der Tag hat doch nur 24 Stunden.” – “Ich weiß, ich weiß,” kontert der Alte, “Wir haben haben eben eine
Stunde früher angefangen!”
* * *
“Hast du meinen Rat befolgt und dir den preiswerten Anzug mit zwei Hosen gekauft?” – “Ja. Aber das kann ich dir schwören: Nie wieder! Glaub mir, du schwitzt dich tot darin.”
* * *
Der Großwildjäger führt seine Gäste in den Salon und deutet auf einen mächtigen, ausgestopften Löwenkopf über dem Kamin. “Diesen prächtigen Burschen da wollte ich eigentlich gar nicht erlegen,”
erklärt der erfolgreiche Jägersmann. “Aber als wir uns dann in der Steppe unvermutet gegenüberstanden, gab’s kein Zurück mehr. Ich hatte nur eine Wahl: entweder er oder ich. Und so schoss ich.” – “Das war eine
hervorragende Entscheidung,” sagt beifällig einer der Gäste mit ernster Miene, “Ihr Kopf hätte sich über dem Kamin nicht so gut ausgemacht.”
* * *
“Sie kommen schon wieder zu spät zur Arbeit. Wissen Sie denn nicht, wann die Arbeit beginnt?” – “Nein, wenn ich komme, arbeiten die anderen schon.”
* * *
“Warum stellt ihr immer ein paar leere Flaschen in den Kühlschrank?” – “Damit wir auch Besuchern etwas anbieten können, die nichts trinken wollen.”
Translation
“You young guys don’t get anything together anymore,” says the foreman to his apprentices. “After every little bit of work you need a break. When I was your age, things were different. We had to
roll up our sleeves and do real work – if necessary, 25 hours a day.” – “Come on, the day only has 24 hours.” – “I know, I know,” replies the old fellow, “we just started an hour early.”
* * *
“Did you follow my advice and buy that bargain-priced suit – with two pairs of pants?” – “Yes, I did. But I can swear to you: Never again! Believe me, you sweat to death in such an outfit”
* * *
The big game hunter leads his guests into the salon and points to the huge stuffed lion’s head over the fireplace. “I really didn’t have any intention of shooting this magnificent guy,” explains
the successful hunter. “But when we faced each other unexpectedly in the grasslands, there was no retreat possible. I had only one choice: either he or I. And so I fired.” – “That was an excellent decision,”
applauds one of his guests with a serious face. “Your head wouldn’t look that good over the fireplace.”
* * *
“You are late at work again! Don’t you know when work starts?” – “No, when I arrive, the others are working already.”
* * *
“Why do you always put a few empty bottles into the refrigerator?”– “So that we can also offer something to those guests who don’t want anything to drink.”…
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PROFILE:
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Becomes Pope Benedict XVI
by Lucy Gordan
In his article "Rome's Next Choice?" published on January 2, 2005, Time correspondent Jeff Israely wrote: "Ratzinger has recently re-emerged as the top papal candidate from
within the Vatican hierarchy in the event of John Paul's death or retirement, joining front runners such as Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan and Claudio Hummes of Sao Paolo." If elected, because of his age
(seventy-eight), he is seen as a transitional pontiff, one capable of passing new regulations allowing a pope to resign if incapacitated by health problems and of giving the world time to accept a pontiff from
the Third World.
So who is this possible successor to St. Peter's throne? One of six German cardinals in the one hundred eighty-three-member College of Cardinals, Ratzinger, nicknamed
"panzerkardinal" and "Nazinger" for his often-intransigent views and blunt approach, is a traditionalist. Having served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (the Vatican's
official guardian of orthodoxy, which oversees moral and theological issues) since November 25, 1981, Ratzinger is respected as The Church's key theological mind and doctrinal watchdog. A bane to liberals, he
defends his conservative views by saying: "I'm often accused of being an Inquisitor who suppresses freedom. But here's my counter-accusation: that otherwise I'm not doing my duty as official caretaker of
the faithful and of The Church's reality today. But let others be my judges."
Ratzinger was born on 16 April 1927, Holy Saturday, in Marktl am Inn in Lower Bavaria near the Austrian border. His father was a rural police officer – from a traditional family of farmers.
He was transferred frequently – Tittmoning, Auschau am Inn, Hufschlag – because of his outspoken anti-Nazism. Ratzinger's mother was a hotel cook.
The Cardinal, who recalls his childhood as rootless, spent his adolescence in Traunstein where he began his studies of Latin and Greek and entered the seminary in 1939. He was drafted into
the auxiliary anti-aircraft service in 1943 and spent the last months of World War II as an American POW…
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FAMILY RESEARCH:
From the Columnist’s Mailbag
by James M. Beidler
The December / January installment of “Familie Forschung” listed the author’s contact points of the first time – and it proved beyond a doubt how many German Life readers are actively
involved in tracing their German-speaking roots. A sampling of the readers’ questions:
Q: I'm trying to locate information on my father. I would like to obtain a birth certificate? I have written to the Standes Amt in Berlin but never received an answer. The problem is the part of
Germany that my father was born in is now Polish. I have the name of the dorf (village) in Polish, but don't know how to search in Poland? – Helga Alvey
A: This is a problem for many people of German ancestry: Their hometowns are no longer in Germany and often no longer bear the same names as when they were part of Germany.
One caveat is that place names as passed down in families often are altered phonetically, so you might have to be creative with spelling to find the right town. Since most of the once-German
villages are now in Poland, the best procedure is to “translate” the old German place name into the modern Polish name and pinpoint it on a modern-day map. First, use Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexikon des
Deutschen Reichs from 1912 (called Meyers Gazetteer for short) to confirm the place name. Meyers Gazetteer is available in many larger genealogical libraries, and on microfilm through the loan system to local
LDS Family History Centers. Genealogical Publishing Co. sells a reprint edition.
Determining the Polish name depends on when Germany lost the village. For losses after World War I, the source is Deutsch-Fremdsprachiges Ortsnamenverzeichnis. For territories ceded after
World War II, Amtliches Gemeinde- und Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Deutschen Ostgebiete unter Fremder Verwaltung is used. Both these resources are available as books at FHL and on microfilm through the FHC loan
system. The best modern-day Polish maps are in the 1997 edition of Polska Atlas Drogowy, which is available at FHL, in some larger academic libraries, and can be bought online.
Q: I have in-laws living in the Rhoen area of Germany, in a town called Urspringen. This is a very small town. My mother-in-law has been in the town all of her life. How can I get some information
about the Hanisch family, which has been in the area for many years? – Dennis Begley
A: First check the Family History Library Catalog (at FamilySearch.org, URL www.familysearch.org), doing a Place search for records of Urspringen itself. If that does not pan out, then get a
German Atlas (such as Der Grosse ADAC Jubilaeums-Atlas Deutschland or Auto Atlas 1995/96 Bundesrepublik Deutschland), fan out from that village to those around it – records of a neighboring village may include
families from Urspringen. A surname search of the catalog can also be done to see if there are books on the Hanisch family. Whatever materials turn up either about the village or the family surname can usually
be rented from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City to local Family History Centers found mostly in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints churches. The FamilySearch.org website has listings of
where the FHC’s can be found…
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CALENDAR:
Please contact events directly to confirm dates, times, locations, and admission fees.
June
Cambridge, MA
Through June 12: Exhibition: “Repression and Expression: Literature and Art in Fin-de-Siècle Germany and Austria” at Harvard’s Busch-Reisinger Museum. For information, call
617-495-9400 or visit the website: www.artmuseums.harvard.edu .
Frederick, MD
June 3: Stammtisch. Held first Friday of every month at Brewer’s Alley, 124 N. Market Street. For information, call 301-631-0127 or E-Mail: ssbucks@hotmail.com
Philadelphia, PA
June 4: 12th Annual Mid-Atlantic Kinderfest. Cannstatter Volksfest Verein grounds. Children’s groups associated with Schuhplattler groups from the northeast region gather to
celebrate German-American heritage. For information, call 215-677-6394, E-Mail: reppin54@cs.com , or visit www.gtvalmrausch.org .
Leavenworth, WA
June 5: Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum 10th Anniversary Celebration. One of two nutcracker museums worldwide with over five thousand nutcrackers – some dating to the fourteenth
century. For information, visit the website: www.leavenworth.org .
Fort Wayne, IN
June 5-11: Germanfest. For more information, visit the website: www.germanfest.org .
Fort Wayne, IN
June 9-11: Palatines to America Seminar. Numerous topics on researching your German-speaking ancestors. For information, contact Ralph and Marge Kroehler, 6910 N. Rockvale,
Peoria, IL 61614 or E-Mail: ralphkroehler@prodigy.net .
Lancaster, PA
June 10-11: Sommerfest. Music, dancing, pig roast, food, and drink. For information, call 717-898-8451 or visit the website: www.lancasterliederkranz.com .
Lancaster, PA
June 12: Lancaster Liederkranz 125th Anniversary. Picnic and dancing. For information, call 717-898-8451 or visit the website: www.lancasterliederkranz.com .
San Antonio, TX
June 17: Gartenkonzert. At the Beethoven Halle und Garten. Sponsored by the Beethoven Männerchor. For information, call 210-222-1521.
Leavenworth, WA
June 23-25: Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration. For information, visit the website: www.leavenworth.org .
Bristol, CT
June 26: German-American Singing Societies of New England’s Sängerfest. Singing, food, and dancing. For information, call 203-574-3604.
Columbus, OH
June 26: 46th Annual German Village Haus and Garten Tour. For information, call 614-221-8888 or visit the website: www.germanvillage.com .
Philadelphia, PA
June 26: German-American Day in Philadelphia. Cannstatter Volksfest Verein grounds. Area clubs celebrate with music, singing, dancing, and food. For information, call
215-332-3400 or visit the website: www.steubenparade.com .
July
July 2-12: Kutztown Pennsylvania German Festival. Kutztown Fairgrounds, Route 222 between Allentown and Reading, PA. For information, call 610-683-1597 or visit the website: www.kutztownfestival.com .
Leavenworth, Washington
July 8-9: Leavenworth Polkaroma. Music, dancing, German food, and beer. For information, visit the website: www.leavenworth.org .
New Ulm, MN
July 8-10 & 15-17: Heritagefest. For information, call 507-354-8850 or visit the website: www.heritagefest.org .
Purling, NY
July 9-10 & 16-17: The Original German Alps Festival. For information, call 518-622-3385 or visit the website: www.bavarianmanor.com .
Pierre, SD
July 14-17: 35th Annual Germans from Russia Heritage Society International Convention. Best Western Ramkota Convention Center. For information, call 605-224-6877 or visit the
website: www.grhs.org/convention.html .
San Antonio, TX
July 15: Gartenkonzert. At the Beethoven Halle und Garten. Sponsored by the Beethoven Männerchor. For information, call 210-222-1521.
Plymouth, WI
July 21: German Night: City Park. German music, food and beer garden. For information, call 888-693-8263 or visit the website: www.Sheboygan.org .
Bethlehem, PA
July 23-24; Blueberry Festival. Burnside Plantation. Food, Pennsylvania German crafts, entertainment. Admission charge. For information, call 610-868-5044.
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