SGAS YEAR 2000 CONFERENCE IN BREMERHAVEN

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This year for the first time, the Society for GermanAmerican Studies held its annual conference abroad.  The 24th annual symposium was held in Bremerhaven, Germany on the theme: German emigration to America through the port of Bremerhaven.  About 200 persons attended the conference, 110 of them from the United States.

The year 2000 conference was in planning for 5 years.  The spark for this came first from SGAS member, Dr. Dirk Schroeder who has been working in GermanAmerican relations in Germany.  Schroeder convinced the SGAS Executive Committee that it was time to meet in Germany, and especially in the port city from which millions of immigrants left for America.  In Bremerhaven the Foerderverein Deutsches Auswanderer Museum (FDAM) was interested in cosponsoring the conference, and the planning on both sides of the Atlantic began.  Jürgen Rudloff and Horst Rössler of FDAM were lead planners in Germany. All of the local Bremerhaven travel arrangements were made by Wolfgang Grams of Roots to the Roots.  The conference was cosponsored and financially supported by 27 organizations and firms.

Usually the SGAS annual conference begins on a Thursday evening and concludes on Sunday at noon.  The year 2000 conference was lengthened to a week, with additional related site visits available before and after the core days of the conference.

Although the conference took place in Bremerhaven, it moved its meetings from place to place when sites relating to the presentation were available.  Most presentations took place in the Bremerhaven Hochschule.  The school's building includes what was left of the Auswandererhaus, the old emigrant's boarding house.

In the early 19th century Bremerhaven was not a city, it was simply the dock up the river from Bremen, where emigrants sailing to America boarded the ships.  Sometimes passengers had to wait days for their ship to sail, and there was a need for a place for them to stay overnight, so in 1849 the Auswandererhaus was built to solve this problem.  The Auswandererhaus was described as being able to house easily 2000 people, and served emigrants until 1865, when the new railroad made it possible for emigrants to ride to ships quickly from Bremen.

According to Chistina Deggim (in Vom Auswandererhaus zur Hochschule), it was the emigrants passing through it, not those that worked on the docks, who had nostalgic feelings for the building, because for the latter taking leave was the daily routine.  Holding conference presentations on emigration from Bremerhaven in a building that was in part the old emigrant boarding house added a certain ambience to the conference.

The conference began on Sunday 11 June with the traditional evening gettogether, the "Gemuetliches Beisammensein."  On Monday morning three sessions of presentations focused on: 1) German immigration, 2) Bremerhaven and the German emigration and 3) GermanAmerican literature.  That afternoon three more sessions were held:  4) SchleswigHolstein, which included a paper on New Holstein, Wisconsin, 5) The German language in America, and 6) From the Civil War to the 21st century.  The latter session included a presentation on the influence of the American Civil War on Germany, by Martin Kuehn, a presentation on the National GermanAmerican Alliance and the Prohibition debate, by Charles T. Johnson, and a presentation by Gert Buergel, a TV and film producer from Dresden, who is researching the use of the name Dresden in America in preparation for a production he plans for Dresden's 800th anniversary celebration in 2006.

Monday evening the official welcoming reception took place in the Weser Forum, which overlooks the old harbor.  Jürgen Rudloff, 1. Vorsitzender of the FDAM welcomed the group and introduced Christopher Lynch, the Counsel General of the United States, who reflected on the personal meaning of his GermanIrish ancestry.  Jörg Schulz, the mayor of Bremerhaven also welcomed the group, as did SGAS President, Don Heinrich Tolzmann.  The SGAS Award for outstanding contributions to the field of GermanAmerican Studies was presented this year to Prof. Dr. Antonius Holtmann, University of Oldenburg.  A special award was also presented to Dr. Dirk Schoeder, of EXPO 2000 for his work in fostering GermanAmerican cooperation.

Tuesday morning the conference moved to the museum village Cloppenburg, an open air museum containing rural north German  buildings of all kinds:  from farmstead to hired hand's house, to church, to blacksmith's shop, some dating back to the 16th century.  The buildings have been moved to large parklike grounds and are being preserved.  Interpreters who knew the group was coming were busy in several of the farmsteads preparing a thick soup served with black bread that was the staple meal in centuries past.

Tuesday evening a special book presentation was hosted by the publisher Temmen to introduce Hollandgänger, Sträflinge und Migranten: Bremen und Bremerhaven als Wanderungsraum written by Horst Rössler.  The book was carefully reviewed by Hartmut Bickelmann, Bremerhaven city archivist; the publisher then expressed his delight in publishing the work.  Horst Rössler responded and then was toasted with champagne.

Wednesday morning sessions focused on 7) Pennsylvania, 8) the Ohio Valley, and 9) the FortyEighters.  In these sessions the presentations included, as example, one on Fegley's photography of the PennsylvaniaGerman farm, one on the German aid given needy immigrants, and one on immigration to Knox Co., Indiana.  Also relating to the Ohio Valley, Giles Hoyt spoke on the hyphen issue in Indiana.  Steven Rowan described his search for details relating to the Baron Ludwig von Reitzenstein family. Von Reitzenstein is the author of the risque novel, The Mysteries of New Orleans, which Rowan just recently translated into English.  Annette Hofmann presented a paper on the American Turner Society's trip to the 1880 Turnfest held in Frankfurt, Germany.

In the afternoon the sessions were moved to Cuxhaven, Steubenhöft.  Cuxhaven was the "dock up the river" for Hamburg, as Bremerhaven was for Bremen.  In Cuxhaven in rooms where immigrants traveling to America from Hamburg on the HAPAG line would have passed through when boarding their ship, Elizabeth Sroka gave her presentation on the new passenger-list database of the Hamburg Historic Emigration Office.

Wednesday evening Bremerhaven pastors of many denominations provided an ecumenical church service in the large gothic Ev.-Reformed church.  Many people from Bremerhaven attended the service along with those attending the conference.  The church also hosted one of the exhibits during the conference.  

Thursday morning sessions included 11) a second session on the Ohio Valley, 12) a session held in the German Plattdeutsch dialect, which is enjoying a revival in America,  13) The immigration process, and 14) Texas.  Those who went to session 13 saw Diethelm Knauf's presentation,"The Norddeutsche Lloyd and the Company's image as presented in its films." This presentation included film footage shot by poet and writer Manfred Hausmann in 1928 while aboard ship on the way to America.  Hausmann shot many photos of steerage passengers.

Thursday afternoon some chose to visit the Cuxland area, and others chose to visit Bremerhaven or Bremen sites relating to migration.  Inghilt Traenkle, whose father was brought to the US after World War II as part of Operation Paperclip, retraced steps of her childhood migration through the port of Bremerhaven.  In Sievern (Cuxland) another group visited the Johann Andreas Wagener local history museum.  Wagener had emigrated to S.C. in 1833 and played a leading role in Charleston.  He also founded Wallhalla, S.C.  One of the extensive exhibits at the conference was prepared by Helene Riley of Charleston, S.C. on the ties between Sievern, Germany and Charleston, South Carolina.  The Cuxland visitors also saw the dykes at the water's edge, and a new wind park where where now new style windmills are used to create electricity.

Columbusbahnhof II was the venue for the Friday afternoon sessions and the banquet that night.  The Columbusbahnhof II is the newest Bremerhaven pier used by emigrants.  After the World War I waves of immigrants left from the port of Bremerhaven on large oceanliners.  Columbusbahnhof II served the next wave of immigrants who left after World War II.  After the 1960's oceanliner travel gave way to air travel, and all the noise and bustle has given way to mostly silence at this pier.

Four members of SGAS recalled their departure from this pier after World War II and their life in America.  Ernestine Dillon's life was that of a war bride.  Ernst Schuerer desired to have the opportunity to go to the university, so he emigrated to Canada and worked his way through school.  Dieter Sevin's immigration was an example of chain migration.  Edgar Grunwald, although German, came to the United States under the quota of Displaced Persons from Poland, and he recounted the terrible treatment his mother had suffered in the final stage of the war.

Besides this interesting oral history session, GermanAmerican poets read from their works.  Ingeborg Carsten Miller read, "We the immigrants," "Das Indianerland des 20. Jahrhunderts," and "Die Fische singen in der Nacht." Chrisiana Seiler read her lively "In meiner Heimat bin ich nicht Tourist."  Other poets reading their works were Eddy Borchart, Horst Ludwig, and Norbert Krapf.

The banquet began at 6 p.m. Entertainment included the Gruppe Schallmeyer, who played medieval music and the Rellingen band and color guard.  The Weuenwalder dance troupe wearing wooden shoes presented a number of folk dances, and the Marinechor Blaue Jungs of Bremerhaven, who have toured in the US, sang sailors'songs.  The banquet was the final event of the conference.  The next morning several groups continued on to view sites relating to personal interests.

One large group chose to visit the world's fair, EXPO 2000, in Hannover.  They had accepted the invitation for a tour of the German Pavilion and were greeted by the Dirk Schroeder and the German Pavilion's Director of Publicity.  The German building is the largest national exhibit.  Its building has glass walls, to symbolize national activity open to view, and the walls curve like a wave outward to symbolize a desire to contribute to the world.  Behind the glass walls there appears to be a large sculpture workshop.  Busts of thinkers and doers and the image of work-in-progress symbolizes cerebral and physical work done in Germany.

EXPO 2000 is too big to see in one day, and some exhibits had long lines waiting to enter.  The Austrian exhibit was closed to provide security for the visiting Austrian president.  The United States chose not to be represented.  Mexico's exhibit was one with long lines.  Outside, it tipped its hat to Germany by exhibiting VW Bugs built in Mexico.  One of the themes that was voiced by numerous nations was the need to preserve the earth.  The Japanese exhibit was one such;  its twostory building was constructed entirely of recycled paper.  The Swiss exhibit was built out of lumber that will be reused. 

The 24th annual SGAS meeting will be remembered by all who attended for its richness of information and experience, and for the international ties that were forged.

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Created: 16 November 1998, LDB Updated: 17 November 2007, BAS Comments to: IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center, mkgac@iupui.edu This page sponsored and maintained by IUPUI University Libraries. URL: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/SGAS/sgas2000.html

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