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Volume 63 Number 4

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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Contents of This Issue 4 5 6 8 10 10 11 12 14 15 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 27 30 31 32

From the President’s Desk by Beverly Pochatko Chicago's Lager Beer Riots Friederich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben German Wine and Vinyards Celebrations for the highest church tower in the world Eurofighter auf der A9 Wordsearch Europe after the War Woodcuts restored by DANK Haus Literature & Fine Arts Committee Fifty years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations Chicago Mai Fest another great success DANK Chapter Milwaukee Sings and Dances into Summer

Editorial Staff Beverly Pochatko Eve Timmerhaus Eva Timmerhaus Ronald Kabitzke

Correspondents Anne Marie Fuhrig Christa Garcia Francine McKenna

Typography Ronald Kabitzke Kabitzke Familien GmbH Advertising and Classifieds Eve Timmerhaus

Greetings from the Pennsylvania shore of Lake Erie Lake County, IL Spring Luncheon DANK Convention Registration Form Bay City Convention News Aus Oma's Küche – Cherry Strudel German media star Stefan Raab says goodbye to TV 10 German words non-Germans can't pronounce Growing number of German learners worldwide Wir salutieren Alfred Schmidtke zu seinem 90. Geburtstag!

General Information German American Journal -ISSN 1086-8070 is published bimonthly and is the official publication of the German American National Congress. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago IL and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER” Send address changes to: German-American Journal 4740 N. Western Avenue Suite 206 Chicago IL. 60625-2013 Annual Subscription Rate $15.00 www.dank.org/news.html

Shop Amazon Online and benefit the DANK Education Fund Calendar of Events The Big Three at German Days 2015 The Luther Trail has been completed

DANK does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information published herein. DANK reserves the right to change or amend submissions for any reason without prior notice.

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

From The President’s Desk Beverly Pochatko, National President

Liebe Mitglieder und Freunde, Dear members and friends of DANK, August is here and we are almost at summer’s end. There are still the “dog days” of summer, but we will quickly transition into one of the most beautiful seasons of the year…autumn! Only nature can make us feel good before we face the dreaded cold days of winter’s icy blasts, Thankfully that is still a few months off and after a wet start to summer things can only get better! Most of the chapters are getting ready for fall activities including Oktoberfest and planning for German American Day. Chapter Bay City is in full swing planning our arrival for the National Convention to be held there the first weekend of October! The scenery will be very colorful and they have activities planned so all can enjoy the weekend!

For me, as my tenure as your National President is quickly coming to an end, I am proud that I was able to represent you for four years, I can’t begin to thank my Executive Board for all their support – together we made a great team. We implemented an austerity budget four years ago and I am proud of the way they stepped up to the plate to ensure that DANK National was represented on my behalf. My one regret was that I could not be there in person because I believe that one has to practice what they preach. I became a Life Member because I believe in DANK – its goals and its future. My association with the National Board began 22 years ago and I made a lot of friends (and probably alienated a few). I have great memories of the national conventions and our meetings in Chicago. Most of all, I have to thank Eva Timmerhaus for her support and friendship when I started our Erie Chapter; and Eve Timmerhaus who came back to work at DANK, for all her clerical support and yes – sometimes being my sounding board! Both Eva and Eve are DANK jewels and I love them both dearly. Ron Kabitzke stepped up to become Editor of the Journal when Eve became ill and is doing a terrific job. Bob Miske and Erik Wittmann wear many different hats – too numerous to count and are indispensable to my team.

I will be at the Milwaukee Festival on Saturday and Sunday and hope to see many of you there! Stop by and meet Russ Knoebel our Office Assistant and say hello to Erik Wittmann, Esther Markwart, Maria Thompson, Melissa Lesniewski and Donna Lippert who are also helping out at our DANK Information Booth throughout the weekend.

Remember to keep the symbolic flame in our DANK emblem always burning bright with your pride in our heritage. mit freundlichen Grüßen,

DANK seeks to bring together Americans of German descent in the pursuit of cultivating and presenting their heritage and interests on local, regional and national levels. These were the primary reasons that the German American National Congress was founded in 1959 and they are still among the organization’s primary objectives today.

DANK National Executive Board

President: Beverly Pochatko Vice President : Ronald Kabitzke Erik Wittmann Treasurer: Bob Miske Secretary: Esther Markwart Membership: Erik Wittmann DANK National Executive Office 4740 N. Western Avenue Chicago IL. 60625-2013 Phone: (773) 275-1100 Toll Free: 1-888-USA-DANK Office Hours: 9 am - 4 pm Monday, Wednesday-Friday

Executive Secretary Eva Timmerhaus Office Manager Eve Timmerhaus

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Chicago's Lager Beer Riots

By Thomas E. Reimer It all began with the election in the spring of 1855. Dr. Levi Boone, grandnephew of Daniel Boone, was elected Mayor of Chicago. His election was the high water mark of a recently formed political party which also swept control of the City Council.

The party began on the East coast.

It was originally called the American Party or the Nativitists. When a reporter asked a member what the secret party stood for, he responded, “I know nothing,” which soon became the common name of the party – “The Know Nothings.”

At the time of the 1855 election, roughly half of Chicagoans were foreign born and of those half were from Germany. The Know Nothings opposed anyone not born in America. Mayor Boone particularly opposed Germans, the Irish and Catholics. In the election it was reported many votes by the Germans and Irish immigrants were not counted in the city’s newly annexed Bridgeport area.

The new mayor fired all city employees who were not native born. This significantly impacted the Police and Fire Departments which had many employees born in Ireland, thus leaving the city under protected.

As a teetotaler, Mayor Boone revived enforcement of an old ordinance mandating that taverns be closed on Sundays. He also pushed through City Council an increase in the cost of a liquor license from $50 to $300 per year.

Mayor Boone ordered the police to shut down all German beer gardens open on Sunday and arrest the tavern owners.

Only fifty of Chicago’s 675 saloons were owned by native born Americans.

Workers labored six days a week.

Sunday was their one free day. For the Germans and Irish, an afternoon and evening in a beer garden or saloon was their due, their chance to relax and enjoy life. The Mayor’s action inflamed protest.

More than two hundred tavern owners were arrested. The first were to appear before Judge Henry Rucker on April 21, 1855. Early that day, about one hundred Germans formed to march on the courthouse downtown. Complete with a fife-and-drum-band, they paraded down Milwaukee Avenue, gathering more protestors along the way.

Confronted by police blocking them at the intersection of Randolph and Clark Streets, they peacefully disbanded. To augment the much reduced police force, the Mayor had deputized more than 250 men.

Later in the day, the crowd reformed in Ogden Park on the north side and once again marched toward the county building. Reaching the Chicago River, they encountered opposition at the Clark Street Bridge. The Mayor had assembled the police force, the Nation Guard, the Light Guard, Swift’s Artillery and the deputized men. The crowd surged onto the bridge. Half had crossed when suddenly the bridge was drawn up, dividing the protestors. The crowd was infuriated. The marchers were armed with shotguns, rifles, pistols, clubs, knives and shillelaghs. There were guns fired. Several were wounded.

In the confusion, it was not known who shot first, the authorities or the protesters. The clashed intensified, both sides fired guns. When the fighting ended at nightfall, there were scores of injuries and many arrests.

There was only one fatality. Peter Martens, a twenty-six year old German shoemaker was killed. The next day the newspaper reported that Martens had allegedly shot George Hunt, a police officer, in the arm. Martens was pursued and killed by Sheriff James Andrews.

The wounded were carried away, the arrested thrown in jail, the marchers returned home.

The following day, calm had been restored and the toll counted. Sixty rioters had been arrested. The majority were German. Of the sixty, fourteen were

brought to trial. Of the fourteen, only two were convicted. Both were Irish.

Many believe this reflected the Mayor’s fear of further riots by the Germans.

The two Irish men were granted new trials which were never held.

The Lager Beer Riot discredited the Know Nothing Party which quickly faded from Chicago politics and nationally as well. It also enhanced Chicago’s reputation as one of the great beer cities in America. Great enough to fight for their beer.

In June, voters rejected a State prohibition law. Mayor Boone, who had little success during the balance of his two year term withdrew from politics.

When Senator Stephen Douglas died in 1861, he left a substantial tract of land on the South Side. At the start of the Civil War, part of this land was established as Camp Douglas used as training ground for Union troops. Months later it was converted to a prison camp to house thousands of captured Confederate troops. In 1862, Levi Boone was arrested and held in the Camp Douglas prison camp on the charge he had helped a Confederate prisoner escape.

Boone had been born in Kentucky and was a Southern sympathizer. President Lincoln pardoned Levi Boone.

Eventually the fired Irish city workers were offered their jobs back and the beer gardens and saloons were allowed to open on Sundays. The confrontation over closing the German beer gardens became known as the Lager Beer Riots.

Mr. Reimer recently published The Know Nothings, the fourth novel in his historical fiction series about German and Irish immigrants in Chicago. The first, titled, Wild Onion, begins in 1832.

The next two books in the Wild Onion Saga, continue the story in Pitchfork Murders and San Patricios. Mr. Reimer is currently writing the next novel which will cover the lives of his fictional German and Irish immigrants during the Civil War against the background of real historical events in Chicago at the time.

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Friederich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben September 17, 1730 - November 28, 1794 National Park Service Baron von Steuben was born on September 17, 1730 in the fortress town of Magdeburg in Prussia. He was baptized with the name of Frederick William Ludolf Gerhard Augustin. Steuben’s direct descent of the male line is as follows: • Klaus Steube (great-great-grandfather - a miller • Ludwig Steube (great-grandfather) - a tenant-farmer in Hesse • Augustine Steube (grandfather) - an ambitious, self-made man, minister in the German Reformed Church, a man of letter. It was Augustine who invented the fictitious claim as a member of an old noble family, Steuben. He inserted the “Von” into his name about 1708.

• William Augustine von Steube (father - 1699-1783) - officer in the Prussian Army, Knight of the Order Pour de Merite •Frederick William Ludolf Gerhard Augustine (Baron von Steuben) - alias Frederick William Augustus Henry Ferdinand, Baron von Steuben (1730-1794). Officer in the Prussian Army 1746-63, Major General in the Continental Army 1778-84.

As can be seen from a study of his male ancestry, even though both von Steuben’s grandfather and father were of noble descent, his claim of nobility was legally rather dubious. However, it was America’s gain that the Baron or his father did little to end the falsehood started by Augustine Steube. Without this fictitious background, von Steuben would have been unable to gain the training as an officer in the Prussian service which later would become so valuable in the role he would play in American history.

Following in his father’s footsteps, the Baron joined the Prussian Army in 1747, when he was seventeen years old.

In May 1756, the Seven Years War began in Europe, and Prussia and Britain were pitted against France, Austria and

Russia. At this time, von Steuben was a second lieutenant. He was wounded at the Battle of Prague, where the Prussian army was victorious, despite being outnumbered 2 to 1. In 1758 he served as General Johann von Mayer’s adjutant and principle staff officer in a special detached corps. Von Steuben was promoted to first lieutenant in 1759, and he was again wounded at the Battle of Kunersdorf during the summer of that year.

On June 26, 1761, he was transferred to general headquarters, where he served as a staff officer in the position of a deputy quartermaster. Later in 1761, he was taken prisoner when Major General von Knoblock surrendered at Treptow on the Russian front. In 1762 he was released, promoted to captain, and he eventually became an aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great. Then he joined the King’s personal class on the art of war, where young officers were trained in the complicated art of leadership. But shortly, following the peace treaty, he was discharged from the Prussian army on April 29, 1763.

By 1763, however, von Steuben had gained all of his military experience which was to be so valuable in his service to the American cause. He had learned the methods of war in what many considered to be the greatest and most advanced army in the world at the time. He had also received training with a special detached corps and as a general staff officer when the two concepts were virtually unknown to the rest of the world. This prepared von Steuben for his work with the American army, where it became his task to bring uniformity and order to the drills and maneuvers of the Continental Army.

The road to America began in 1763, when von Steuben met Louis de Saint Germain in Hamburg. Saint Germain later became the French Minister of War during the American Revolution.

This casual acquaintance was renewed in France while von Steuben was serving as Grand Marshall to the Prince of

Hollenzollern-Hechingen. He held this post from 1764-1777. As Grand Marshall, the von Steuben served as the administrative director for the Prince and his court. During this period, he received the Star of the Order of Fidelity on May 26, 1769, from the Duchess of Wurttemburg (niece of Frederick the Great), whom von Steuben had greatly impressed personally. Soon after, in 1771, he received the title of Baron, seemingly from the Prince of Hollenzollern-Hechingen.

From 1775 on, Baron von Steuben began looking for work in some kind of military capacity. He inquired about serving in the British, French, and Austrian armies, but no positions materialized. In 1777, he traveled to France, where he heard talk of glories and riches to be won in a revolution across the Atlantic Ocean. Through St. Germain, von Steuben was introduced to the American ambassadors to France, Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. These two, however, were unable to promise von Steuben a rank or pay in the American army. The Continental Congress had grown tired of foreign mercenaries coming to America and demanding a high rank and pay, based on promises made to them by the American ambassadors. These men would be promoted in rank over deserving American officers, causing discontent in the army. As a result, Congress ordered the ambassadors to stop this practice. Von Steuben would have to go to America strictly as a volunteer, and present himself to Congress. Steuben left these first meetings in disgust and returned to Prussia.

However, upon his return to Prussia, he was unable to find suitable employment. He therefore returned to France and prepared to set out for America, strictly as a volunteer without promise of pay or rank. Only his passage to America was paid by the French government. On September 26, 1777, Baron von Steuben, his Italian greyhound, Azor (which he took with him every-

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Von Steuben Day Parades are held in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and at Valley Forge National Historic Park where), Louis de Pontiere, his aide de camp, and Pierre Ettionne Duponceau, his military secretary, embarked for America to serve in the revolution. They arrived in Portsmouth on December 1, 1777, where they were almost arrested for being British because the Baron had mistakenly outfitted them in red uniforms. Von Steuben and his party then traveled overland, through Boston to York, Pennsylvania, arriving there on February 5, 1778.

When the Baron met with Congress, he presented them with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. The letter introduced him as “His Excellency, Lieutenant General von Steuben, Apostle of Frederick the Great.” Actually, von Steuben had only been a captain. Through the translation of Steuben’s position in the Prussian army, he was made a higher ranking officer in the American army’s translation. Steuben’s title while in the Prussian army as a staff officer was Deputy to the Quartermaster General. In French, it was “Lieutenant General Quarters Maitre,” so Franklin wrote “Lieutenant General” in his letter of introduction, which gave the impression that von Steuben held this specific rank in the Prussian army.

Arrangements were made for von Steuben to be paid following the successful completion of the war according to his contributions. Congress told the Baron to report to General Washington at Valley Forge. He arrived at the camp on February 23, 1778. One soldier’s first impression of the Baron was “of the an-

cient fabled God of War … he seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars.

The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea.”

Von Steuben made a favorable enough impression upon Washington to be appointed temporary Inspector General. He went out into the camp to talk with the officers and men, inspect their huts, and scrutinize their equipment.

What he found was an army short of everything, except spirit. He was quoted as saying “no European army could have held together in such circumstances.”

Thus von Steuben set to work.

His first step was to write the drills for the army. At this time, each state used different drills and maneuvers, patterned upon various European methods. As Inspector General, von Steuben’s task was to create one standard method, thus coordinating the entire Continental Army. As he could not speak or write English, von Steuben originally wrote the drills in French, the military language of Europe at the time. His secretary, Duponceau, then translated the drills from French into English, while John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton (both Washington’s aide-de-camps) rewrote them into military language. They were then given to the brigade inspectors, who made copies of the next lesson in the orderly book for each respective brigade and regiment. Copies were then taken from the orderly book to each company, and from here to each officer.

The Baron used the Commander-inChief ’s Guard and men from each state (about 120 men total) as a model company to demonstrate each new lesson.

Von Steuben would then write the new drills at night, staying only several days ahead of the whole army. He tried to fit his drills to the men he was teaching in the quickest possible time, by making them as simple as possible. In this way, uniform maneuvers and discipline was given to the army in a very rapid and orderly fashion.

Up to this time, the American officers had accepted the British practice of letting the sergeants drill the men, as it was thought to be ungentlemanly for officers to do so. Von Steuben set a precedent by working with the troops personally. The American officers felt threatened by this practice, as well as by the seemingly unlimited powers of Steuben’s office. Consequently, on June 15, 1778, Washington issued orders to govern the Inspector General’s office until Congress took further steps. The Baron’s willingness and ability to work with the men, as well as his use of profanity (in several different languages), made him popular among the soldiers.

On May 6, 1778, the Continental Army showed off its newly acquired skills when they celebrated the news of the French Alliance. Many of the soldiers, officers, and civilians noticed the marked improvement and increased professionalism demonstrated by the Please see von Steuben, page 9

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German Wine and Vineyards by

Francine McKenna, Staff Columnist A slow drawing in of the evenings in Germany when the leaves are beginning to change color, doesn't only herald the start of autumn. In the wine regions of the country vines in the hundreds of German vineyards, most of which are based around historic villages, hang with ripened grapes, so it is time for the onset of harvesting, and hundreds of different annual wine related work, customs and festivities.

The first vines were imported into the country, along with chestnuts, asparagus and idea of baths among other things, by the Romans as they conquered the continent. They established most of Europe's famous wine growing regions, however Germany is the furthermost northern country where grapes can be grown productively, with a successful wine tradition reaching back over 2,000 years.

Cooler conditions meant the majority of vines planted along the picturesque Wine Route's patchwork of small vineyards were set onto steep hillside slopes facing south or southwest to attract as much sun as possible, and the incline of the vineyards need agility and fitness; to climb to the vines, tend them during the growing season and, with the arrival of the harvest, handpicking each bunch of grapes.

Most vineyards, or Weingut, especially along the River Rhine and River Mosel, are not only protected from wind by the forested hills bordering them but also benefit from the warmth of the sun as it reflects from the water. Nevertheless the grapes in this part of the world ripen slowly and this adds to their flavor.

Over a hundred different varieties of grape are grown producing a wide variety of German wines, but the MullerThurgau grape is a type specially bred to ripen quickly in these conditions,

Deutsches Weininstitut, www.germanwines.de

Himmelsleiter, Ladder to Heaven, the 1,200 vine terraces overlooking the meeting point of the rivers Neckar and Enz in Baden Wuerttemburg and wineries produce Liebfraumilch, amongst similar a sweet, light wines that are imported by countries outside Germany, but neither drunk nor enjoyed by Germans themselves.

The Reisling grape is amongst others replacing the Muller-Thurgau, nevertheless outside the country it is the latter class of wine consumers often continue to identify as typical of Germany's vineyards and wineries.

It is not an accurate picture of present day German wines and, as good wine needs the slower ripening varieties of grape, those are what the majority of German vineyards and wineries concentrate upon.

The German wine classification for the ripeness of a grape is called Pradikat, and ranges from Kabinett which are just ripe and make a light wine, through Spatlese which are late harvest and have a more intense flavor, via several more

stages of ripeness and intensity until reaching Eiswein.

The well named Eiswein, Ice Wine, is a limited and expensive sweet dessert wine, made from over ripe grapes showing signs of a good fungus infection, 'botrytis', which have been allowed to freeze on the vine, hand picked and processed in the middle of the night and pressed while still frozen.

Both German red wines and white wines were considered on a par with the best produced by France during Germany's 18th and 19th century golden era, but outside influences, ranging from imported viruses decimating the vines and the collapse of the economy, to wars and occupation of the vineyards, led to a collapse within the industry.

The subsequent production of inferior wine, made from quicker ripening grapes, went a long way towards continuing the destruction of Germany's

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Pfalz.de Wein und Genuss

Frozen grapes in Pfalz reputation as a producer of quality wine.

By the late 1960's German wine growers were already in the forefront of organic wine development, grown without chemical sprays, as well as biodynamically raised and harvested vines, and are credited not only for the taste and variety of the wines produced but also their early focus on the protection of the environment.

Vintners now emphasize and promote the high quality and vintage wines which have always been produced in the various wine areas, and are gradually repairing the damage done to the reputa-

Deutsches Weininstitut, www.germanwines.de

Zeltinger Sonnenuhr

German - American Journal tion of German wine. Some varieties are amongst the best in the world, complementing modern cuisine and tastes perfectly, but few outside of Germany know they exist.

There is even a terraced vineyard in the grounds of the beautiful Rococo style Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, but really large vineyards are rare in Germany.

There are many small vineyard owners whose vines cover no more than two acres. Some cultivate them for their own use, others as an addition to other work with their yield either sold or put into a co-operative, while any visitor to a wine region will come across the small family owned "Gasthaus" with a menu featuring red and white wine from its own "backyard" vineyard.

PAGE/SEITE 9 For the last two decades German vintners with vineyards large and small have been working together towards change.

The sloping vine covered hillsides, hand picking of grapes, vineyard sundials, no watches for grape pickers in days past, and the many customs and wine festivals, wine weeks and firework displays, including one of the Rhine in Flames celebrations, centered around harvesting have not changed.

Vintners are determined to change the out-of-date image of German wine as sickly, sweet and tasteless to reflect the quality of wine now being produced, and that was created in the Germany's vineyards in centuries past.

Some of the best wines in the world.

von Steuben from page 7 American troops. The same day, von Steuben was handed his commission from the Continental Congress, as Inspector General, with the rank of Major General. Shortly after the army left Valley Forge, they fought a battle at Monmouth Courthouse, in New Jersey. The battle was essentially a draw, but the Continental Army fought the British to a standstill.

In the winter of 1778-1779, General von Steuben went to Philadelphia to write his book of regulations. Lieutenant Colonel Francois de Fleury, a French volunteer serving in the Continental Army, assisted in writing the original French text. Duponceau and Captain Benjamin Walker translated it into English. It was illustrated by Captain Pierre Charles L’Enfant (the same man who drew the plans for Washington D.C.). The “Regulation for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States” was approved by Congress in March, 1779. It became known as the “Blue Book,” and it was used by the United States Army until 1814.

General von Steuben rejoined the Continental Army on April 27, 1779, and he served throughout the remainder of the war. He was instructor and supply officer for General Nathanael Greene’s

southern army, which fought the key battles that led to the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. Von Steuben commanded of one of the three divisions in the Continental Army at Yorktown. In 1783, he helped demobilize the army, and resigned in 1784.

Throughout the war, von Steuben had continually asked Congress for more money for his expenses. After the war, he continued petitioning for compensation for his services. Congress did pay a portion of the amount von Steuben expected, but not all. New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia granted him land, of which he sold portions, but these payments never quite offset his living expenses. Consequently, he was forced to retire from New York City to his land holdings in order to live out the remainder of his life. Von Steuben never married, and he died on his 16,000 acre farm tract in the Mohawk Valley of New York, on November 28, 1794.

Although he never received the financial rewards he expected, von Steuben will never be forgotten in the annals of American history. His administrative brilliance in organizing, training, and preparing the Continental Army for battle will ensure his legacy in the cause of American independence.

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REISE

Ulm: Party für den höchsten Kirchturm der Welt

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

TRAVEL

Celebrations for the highest church tower in the world

Das Ulmer Münster wird am 31. Mai 125 Jahre alt und ganz Ulm feiert. "Ulmer Weitblick" heißt das 1,8 Millionen Euro teure Kulturprogramm, mit dem die Stadt das Gotteshaus würdigt.

The Ulm Minster is 125 years old on May 31. The town on the Danube will celebrate the church with the "Ulmer Weitblick" - a 1.8 million euro cultural program.

An diesem Wochenende haben die Feierlichkeiten ihren Höhepunkt erreicht. Über 400 Musikerinnen und Musiker traten Freitag und Samstag bei einem Open-Air Konzert auf dem Münsterplatz auf. Eine musikalische Zeitreise, die von Mendelssohns "Elias" über Carl Orff bis Charles Iyves reichte.

Schon seit Juni 2014 feiert die Stadt das Jubiläum mit Ausstellungen, Installationen, Kunstprojekten und Aktionen. Ein Besuchermagnet im Münster ist zurzeit die Installation "Solar Equation" des kanadisch-mexikanischen Medienkünstlers Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

Im Kirchenraum schwebt ein Modell der Sonne im Maßstab 1: 200 Millionen. Die Bewegungen auf der Oberfläche der virtuellen Sonne werden live errechnet.

Den historischen Jahrestag der Fertigstellung des Münsterturms, den 31. Mai, hat die Stadt Ulm zum "Tag des Turms" erklärt. Er beginnt mit einem Festgottesdienst und anschließendem Konzert. Zahlreiche Führungen über die Dächer bis in den Keller des Münsters werden angeboten, auch die Münsterbauhütte ist für das Publikum geöffnet. Sie gewährt einen Einblick in die Arbeit der Steinmetze.

Am 31. Mai 1890, vor genau 125 Jahren, wurde das Gotteshaus mit dem Aufsetzen der Kreuzblume auf der Turmspitze fertiggestellt, der Schlusspunkt von 513 Jahren Bauzeit. Seitdem besitzt Ulm den mit 161,53 Metern höchsten Kirchturm der Welt.

The festivities start to reach their climax this weekend.

More than 400 musicians will congregate on May 29 and 30 for an open air concert in the cathedral square. The ensemble will take the audience on a musical journey through time, ranging from Mendelssohn's "Elijah" to Carl Orff and Charles Iyves. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the event.

The town has been celebrating the anniversary since June 2014, with exhibitions, installations, art projects and events. A visitor favorite at the Minster is the current installation "Solar Equation" by the Canadian-Mexican media artists Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Inside the church, a model of the sun hovers at a scale of 1:200 million. The movements on the surface of the virtual sun are calculated live.

May 31 has been declared "Day of the Tower", to celebrate the historic anniversary of the completion of the cathedral tower. It begins with a church service and is followed by a concert performance. Numerous guided tours traversing the Minster, from the rooftop to the cellar, are on offer and the Minster construction house is open to the public. It offers an insight into the work of the stonemasons.

On May 31, 1890, exactly 125 years ago the church was completed with the placement of the finial on top of the tower - the culmination of 513 years of construction. Since that time, Ulm has boasted the highest church tower in the world - at 161.53 meters.

Eurofighter auf der A9 Nach dem tödlichen Unfall bei einem Luftwaffen-Manöver im Sauerland im Juni 2014 ist der beschädigte Kampfjet am Donnerstag zur Reparatur nach Bayern transportiert worden.

Der Eurofighter war mit einem privaten Flugzeug kollidiert, in dem Learjet kamen zwei Piloten ums Leben. Der Eurofighter war nach dem Crash stark beschädigt zu einem LuftwaffenStützpunkt zurückgekehrt.

Ein Schwertransporter transportierte den beschädigten Kampfjet am Donnerstag nach Polizeiangaben zum AirbusWerk im oberbayerischen Manching, wo er wieder instand

gesetzt werden sollte. Wegen seiner Ladungsbreite von mehr als elf Metern konnte der Transporter mit dem Flugzeug trotz der dreispurigen Fahrbahn nicht überholt werden.

Wie ein Polizeisprecher sagte, war der Schwertransport mit etwa 50 bis 60 Stundenkilometern unterwegs. Er halte jedoch immer wieder an einer breiteren Stelle an, damit die Autos vorbeigelassen werden konnten. „Man fährt mit dem nicht in einem Rutsch durch. Da würden wir uns zurecht den Unmut Please see JET, page 11

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JET from page 7 der Autofahrer zuziehen.“ Dennoch komme es zu Behinderungen. Ortskundigen Autofahrern riet die Polizei, Ausweichstrecken auf den Landstraßen zu nutzen.Der Eurofighter konnte stark beschädigt zu einem LuftwaffenStützpunkt zurückkehren.

Quelle

DANK Chapter Listing ARIZONA Phoenix

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Kein Durchkommen: die Maschine auf dem Anhänger eines Lasters.

Deutsche Inseln–German Islands

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1945: Europe after the war

An exhibition at the German Historical Museum in Berlin asks: How did Europe deal with post-war life? The unfathomable ramifications of World War II are made real through personal accounts.

September 1939, the war raged on for five and a half years. The results were devastating: 45 million people were

On May 8th 1945, the 19-year-old Ernst Kohlmann flew over his parent's former home in a US military plane. He didn't know that his parents had already been deported from Cologne and murdered in Riga in 1941.

Ernst was one of the 10,000 Jewish children and teenagers who fled from Germany to the United Kingdom, saved by a British rescue mission called "Kindertransport." Ernst wasn't a British citizen at the time, but was trained by the Royal Air Force.

On the last day of World War II, he was allowed to join two American officers on their flight over his hometown.

To convince the pilots to fly over his parent's house, Ernst calculated their position in his own private logbook.

Ernst's logbook is now part of an exhibition put on by the German Historical Museum in Berlin, 70 years after the end of World War II. His story is one of the 36 personal accounts that illustrate the end of the war in Europe.

The exhibition "1945 - Defeat. Liberation. New Beginning." focuses on 12 European countries, among them Germany and its neighbors France, Belgium and Poland, as well as the United Kingdom and Russia. Italy and Greece, which was temporarily occupied by the

Nazis, aren't part of the exhibition.

45 million dead - and many displaced "We have a particular perspective on 1945 in Germany and we must preserve it," said foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the opening of the exhibition on Thursday (23.04.2015). "Our liberation is our responsibility. This responsibility has been summarized in a two-word formula which has shaped each generation of Germans since 1945: 'Never again'."

After Germany's attack on Poland in

Iconic image of 1945: The poet Jewgeni Dolmatowski with Hitler bust in Berlin killed in Europe alone, and there were 60 million victims worldwide. More than 13 million of them were victims of Nazi crimes. In no other war did so

Millions of Europeans didn't know where to go - freed forced laborers among them

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 many people die.

At least 20 million half-orphans and orphans, seven million freed camp

tions contributed to Jewish property being looted? The farmer who collaborated in a mass shooting of partisan fighters?

PAGE/SEITE 13 Poland also started important Auschwitz trials early on, in 1947 - they started in the middle of the 1950s in Germany - and most of the defendents were sentenced to death.

"Not many people know that almost nine out of ten victims of Nazi crimes came from Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic and Poland", says Quinkert.

Remembering lost classmates

Warsaw in January, 1945 laborers and around 400,000 concentration camp inmates were homeless, spread out all over Europe.

Post-war challenges The exhibition at the German Historical Museum demonstrates well how each country had to face unique challenges after the end of the war.

Germany lost the war - and its sovereignty as a nation-state. The country was split into four by the Allied forces. Soon after, diverging interests among the Allies and the Cold War led to the foundation of two separate German states.

Vast areas of Poland were also devastated. Three million Poles were displaced.

The Soviet Union gained power and Stalinism tightened its grip around the Eastern block.

Although the United Kingdom belonged to the winning forces, the postwar years were grim and marked by poverty and suffering. As a reaction, the Labour government slowly transformed the country into a modern welfare state.

France also needed to reform its republican government.

Who should be punished?

Despite the different outcomes, all countries shared one major question: Who should be punished? The average state employee whose administrative ac-

The illustrator who drew anti-Semitic cartoons? Or just the SS commander who oversaw the mass killings of Jews in the concentration camps? Many of these cases were brought before court in different countries in Europe.

"Particularly in Germany, the general population was very reluctant to face what had happened," says the curator of the museum, Babette Quinkert.

This was handled differently in Norway, for example, which had been occupied by Germany as well. It had the most thorough investigations and sentences for war criminals and collaborators of all European countries.

Larisa Popovičenko returned to Leningrad, her hometown, when she was 14 years old, only to realize that all her friends were either dead or had left. Out of 32 classmates, only eight of them had survived the siege of Leningrad.

The photo of her school class can be seen at the exhibition. "To this day, it pains me to see this," says the 84-yearold Larisa Popovičenko as she stends among the visitors of the exhibition on opening day. "But the memory of my classmates and this terrible time is kept alive. I grateful for this."

"We thank you deeply for coming to Berlin, to the country where this national and racial madness which caused this immense suffering all started," Steinmeier told the eyewitness during his opening speech.

She is not resentful towards the Germans. "They were suffering and starving, too," she says, remembering how she and other inhabitants of Leningrad would bring bread to the German prisoners of war, after the war ended.

Larisa Popovičenko's class in Leningrad

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Woodcuts restored by DANK Haus Literature & Fine Arts Committee In 2012 the DANK Haus’ Literature and Fine Arts Committee restored and conserved eight woodcut prints by Lithuanian artist Franziskus Skvirblys.

Skvirblys was born in 1951 in the Memel Territory before his family migrated to Berlin. Later on, he lived among others in Boston and Chicago. In the seventies, Skvirblys produced numerous woodcuts. He belonged to the group of Victor Patrovich School of Wood Cutting founded in Paris. The wooden cuts conserved by the DANK Haus are lovely and hand colored scenes depicting the energy of modern Berlin around the fall of the wall in 1989. Although there are only eight woodcuts at the DANK Haus, his collection originally consisted of nine pieces. Unfortunately, the ninth print was water damaged and thrown away before the organization could preserve

it. Nevertheless, DANK Haus kept hoping to find a donor for this ninth piece to complete the collection.

Last month, these expectations were exceeded by far when Otto Kaiserauer from The Beverly Hills Gallery, who after 45 successful years closed it’s doors, made a generous donation by giving the complete original wooden cuts to the DANK

DANK Haus will miss Nicki Dombrowski Dear friends and supporters of DANK Haus: It is with mixed feelings that DANK Haus announces the departure of Nicholle Dombrowski as the Executive Director, however we are happy to be able share an exciting new chapter for both Nikki and DANK Haus.

As DANK Haus strives to move forward as an organization, so does Nicki in her abilities to serve other non-profits in Chicago and beyond. While these decisions are always difficult for any anybody, we are excited for Nicki on all of her new endeavors.

We support Nicki in this change and see her helping other organizations just as much as she has helped DANK Haus over the past 7 years.

At the same time I am very happy to share that Dörthe Erdbeer accepted a position as Director of Operations. Dörthe’s contact information remains the same and she can be reached at Doerthe@DankHaus.com.

Furthermore Marlen Lux accepted the contract employee position of Director of Development. If you need to get in touch with Marlen, you can contact her at Marlen@ DankHaus.com.

As always, DANK Haus is committed to its mission and vision and will continue to work tirelessly to preserve and promote German culture, heritage, and language. Dörthe and Marlen will be two keystones to the success of the organization in the future and we look forward to serving our membership through this transition process and beyond.

Join me in congratulating Nikki on her new endeavors to make Chicago organizations as successful as DANK Haus.

We’ll miss you Nikki, and we wish you the best with future plans.

Sincerely, Peter Winkler, President DANK Haus German American Cultural Center 4740 North Western Avenue Chicago, IL 60625

Haus. Although The Beverly Hills Gallery closed down at the end of June, Kaiserauer still sells his remaining art pieces from home (9208 S. Oakley Avenue, Chicago / 773.239.2679).

Donations of every kind are always important and essential for a nonprofit organization and that is why DANK Haus wants to thank Mr. Kaiserauer for his significant contribution and his support to preserve and promote German culture in Chicago.

DANK Benton Harbor, MI 2015 Fish Fry Schedule Aug. 7 · Sept. 4 Oct. 2 Cancelled Nov. 6 · Dec. 4 More dates to follow

The House Of Gemütlichkeit DANK Haus - Benton Harbor 2651 Pipestone Rd. Benton Harbor, MI

(269)926-6652 · www.dank13.org

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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Fifty years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations were celebrated in Chicago on June 23

By Ursula Hoeft DANK Chapter Lake County, IL An e-mail invitation from German Consul General Herbert Quelle forwarded to Chicago-area German-American groups prompted me to attend an event held in downtown Chicago to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of GermanIsraeli diplomatic relations. The celebration was organized jointly by the German and Israeli Consulates together with Action Reconciliation Service for Peace and was hosted by Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Chicago was one of several U.S. cities where German Consulates partnered with ARSP to hold 50year anniversary celebrations recently. A number of additional anniversary events organized by the German Embassy in

Chicago Mai Fest another great success

George Nagata Photos

The Maifest committee president Josef Matuschka (DANK Life Member) Maifest Queen Kerstin Reig and vice president Matthew Lodge, DANK Chicago

(©germany.info/chicago)

Left to right, Mark McGuigan, German Consul General Herbert Quelle, Israeli Consul General Roey Gilad and Katharina von Münster Washington and other German Consulates General were also held in the U.S. this year.

In his remarks Consul General Quelle described the historic circumstances in Germany that led to the establishment of official relations with Israel 50 years ago. He pointed out that negotiations to develop diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel were initiated by Konrad Adenauer, West Germany's first Chancellor, and the first Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, but were not implemented until 1965 by their successors, German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israel's Prime Minister Levi Eschkol.

Israeli Consul General Roey Gilad talked about the positive relationship Israel and Germany enjoy today, stating that Germany is Israel's most important trade partner and that their relationship is "second only to the relationship we have with the United States." Both men further highlighted the strength of the German-Israeli relationship, not only on political and economic levels but also through the civic and cultural ties that exist between the two counties.

The importance of the 50-year anniversary and benefits of the German-Israeli relationship were further articulated by Mark McGuigan and Katharina von Münster, both of ARSP, and by Hadas Cohen, an Israeli Political Scientist living in Berlin.

The combination of German-Israeli diplomatic history, interesting conversation over German and Israeli wines during the social hour that preceded the program, and delightful cabaret songs performed in English and Hebrew by renowned singer Rebecca Joy Fletcher made it a meaningful as well as enjoyable evening. It was well worth the grueling drive from the northern suburbs to downtown Chicago on a weekday afternoon!

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Chapter Chatter DANK Chapter Milwaukee Sings and Dances into Summer

By Jane Nacker DANK Chapter Milwaukee DANK Chapter Milwaukee continued its activities of singing and dancing as summer approached.

The DANK Milwaukee Folk Dancers, directed by Doris Mueller, were invited to perform at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee on May 27 for the Ducks Unlimited national convention. The dancers joined other ethnic performers to give the visitors a taste of Milwaukee’s multiple cultural activities. It was the first time on “the big screens” for many of the DANK dancers.

The following month, the Milwaukee DANK Chor hosted the Wisconsin Sängerbezirk (WSB) 2015 Kommers and Sängerfest on June 20 and 21. This was the culmination of many months of preparation led by Milwaukee DANK Chor President Jill Shearer and a planning committee consisting of Chor members Ursula Günther, Helen Gyarmaty, Brigita Roth, and Sally Shearer. The annual German choir singing competition was held at Hart Park, Wauwatosa, WI. The performers were the eight Wisconsin German choruses of the WSB: Gesangverein Concordia Sheboygan, Madison Männerchor, MGV Harmonia Kenosha, Milwaukee DANK Chor, Milwaukee Damenchor, Milwaukee Liederkranz, Milwaukee Liedertafel, and the Schwaben Männerchor.

WSB Vice President Günther Ruch presided over the event, for President Gary Luther who was unable to attend.

WSB Second Vice President Victoria Ohde (also DANK Milwaukee Chapter Treasurer) announced each of the performing choruses. The winner of the Kommers trophy this year was the Madison Männerchor. Milwaukee DANK Chor President Jill Shearer stated that, “The Milwaukee DANK Chor is very pleased with its fourth place win.” The Milwaukee DANK Chor is directed by Dr. James Norden.

Approximately 275 singers and guests were in attendance on competition day, enjoying a day of camaraderie and singing, a lunch and buffet dinner, and dance music to the Kenny Brandt Band in the evening. The park setting offered outdoor relaxation and observation of sporting events also taking place at the venue. DANK Chapter Milwaukee appreciated the help of members and volunteers, including students from Brookfield East and Brookfield Central high schools that received monetary donations from DANK Milwaukee in support of their German education programs.

The Kommers/Sängerfest program continued on Sunday, June 21 which was Father’s Day. The choruses were invited to the Father’s Day celebration at the Schwabenhof, Menomonee Falls, WI, where the Madison Männerchor was presented with the trophy and the WSB Massed Choir performed several songs, under the direction of Dr. James Norden. This was a pleasing finish to a memorable two day Kommers/Sängerfest event celebrating German culture.

The following week, DANK Chapter Milwaukee held its

annual picnic on Sunday, June 28 at Sacred Heart Parish in Milwaukee. Members and volunteers from throughout the year were treated to a picnic lunch, music, and fun activities.

DANK Milwaukee’s activities continued as preparations were made for Milwaukee’s German Fest. The 35th anniversary of German Fest will take place July 24-26 on Milwaukee’s beautiful lakefront. DANK Chapter Milwaukee Folk Dancers and Chor will perform and a DANK Milwaukee display will be in the Culture tent. DANK National will have a booth on the grounds. DANK members will be volunteering in many areas of the Fest, including, but not limited to, the Konditorei (cake and tortes), German pizza booth, and information booth. If you’d like to join in the Gemütlichkeit, volunteer with DANK Milwaukee while enjoying the Fest. To volunteer, contact one of our members or DANK Milwaukee President Ron Kabitzke at 262.675.6336. Visit www.germanfest.com for more details.

DANK Chapter Milwaukee is on Facebook! See photos and chapter news. “Like” us at www.facebook.com/dankmilwaukee.

DANK Milwaukee Kommers/Sängerfest planning committee: (L to R) Sally Shearer, Ursula Günther, Helen Gyarmaty, Milwaukee DANK Chor President Jill Shearer. Seated: Brigita Roth.

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Chapter Chatter Greetings from the Pennsylvania shore of Lake Erie Where has the summer gone? After a wet, soggy spring with a too early – but thankfully brief – hot summer temperatures, things began to settle down to more like late spring.

Planting was late and of course the local strawberries were in and out before you knew it! We were blessed with a good cherry crap but the rain did cause a lot of farmers to lose out

keit.

We hope to renew old friendships and make new ones at the Bay City Convention in October. Hope you are all planning to attend this important event!

Our first Bavarian Fest at the Turnwald Picnic Grove in 1996.

Pictured (l to r) Luise Dudkiewicz, Hildegard Bahl, Herta Danowski and Heddy Quest.

2014 opening ceremonies Roland Zuschlag (Austria) Philip Susann (USA) Fred Huttel, Jr. (German)

as some late bearers were splitting and ruined the end of the crop. We are fortunate to live in a great fruit growing area and August brings in the blueberries followed by the grapes and apples. We are just hoping that the weather holds out on Labor Day weekend and doesn’t rain for our big German Heritage Festival.

As our chapter’s members are aging, it is more difficult to get them out to events – the lament of most chapters of DANK. We had a small 25th anniversary celebration in May and had a great dialogue with those attending. Thanks to Pat & Tim Schlaudecker who will be hosting our annual picnic at their home on August 1st. They have a great day planned and the food theme is everything German! We look forward to having a great time.

We are gearing up for our 19th annual German Heritage Festival on Sept 5th & 6th. Having kept it family oriented, our adult visitors usually number around 6,000 for this two-day event. Actually, we started with a Bavarian Festival and had that for three years before we went big with the German Fest.

It’s an all-German affair from the vendors to the food, drink and entertainment. The festival opens with a Parade of Flags, including the 16 German State Flags! We have been rated as Erie’s Number One ethnic festival! (Erie also celebrates with Russian, Greek, Italian, Polish, Slovak, and Irish festivals)!

I must say we are pretty proud of our volunteers who have helped us through the years and the many visitors who return year after year. So, if you are in the Erie area on Labor Day weekend, be sure to stop in to enjoy the fantastic gemütlich-

His parents were immigrants from Germany.

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Chapter Chatter Lake County, IL Spring Luncheon

Pin recipients – From left: Francesca Hau Sauter, Markus Veile, Hildegard Pieger, Baerbel Love, Thomas Love, Fini Schmidt, Karl Schmidt. In front, Helmut Appelt.

Ursula Hoeft DANK Chapter Lake County, IL We gathered in the club house of the Bonnie Brook Golf Course in Waukegan, IL on May 17 to enjoy a delicious lunch and recognize Chapter members who are celebrating milestone DANK membership anniversaries this year.

The list of members eligible for anniver-

sary pins was long. Unfortunately some were not able to be with us, but we want to recognize them all.

For 50 years of uninterrupted DANK membership, Helmut Appelt, Renate and Helmut Fallak, Kurt Gebert, Victor Kordas, Victor Pfluegl, Fini and Karl Schmid; for 45 years, Manfred Bode, Hildegard Pieger, Walter Veile (deceased); for 25 years, Anna Kordas, Verena and Peter Owen, Francesca Hau Sauter; for 15 years, Erika Eddy; and for 5 years, Baerbel and Thomas Love.

After welcoming everyone and thanking Ludwina Homer for planning another very enjoyable luncheon, Chapter President Greg Hoeft turned the microphone over to Honorary President and current Vice President Karl Schmidt. Karl presented anniversary pins to the members who were present.

He also recognized Markus Veile who had come from Springfield, IL to accept a 45-year membership pin for his father, Walter Veile, who passed away in February. Walter and his wife, Verena, also

recently deceased, had both been active Chapter members who always worked at our Chapter's dances and other events.

Walter served as Chapter Treasurer for many years. The Veiles also are remembered for the parties they hosted at their Lake Bluff, IL home for DANK members who had marched in the town's 4th of July parade.

We were pleased to have former DANK National Presidents Christa Garcia and Ernst Ott with us. And we were inspired by the Reverend Richard Kaeske's meaningful invocation which included good wishes for our Chapter's continued success.

There was much reminiscing and many good times were remembered.

Hildegard Pieger shared an enjoyable memory of a two week trip to Hawaii that she took with DANK in 1982. She recalls that about 30 people from Illinois, Wisconsin and Arkansas went on the trip which had been organized by former DANK National President Elsbeth Seewald.

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Chapter Chatter Registration Information & Review of 2015 DANK National Convention Program Join us October 2 - 4, 2015 in Bay City Michigan

By Thomas Bork DANK Chapter Bay City Secretary It’s hard to believe that August is already upon us, and with it the realization that in just a couple of months DANK Chapter delegates and their guests will be arriving in Bay City, Michigan to participate in the National Convention to be held October 2-4, 2015.

In the past several Journal editions we have offered information about the host city and the program, events and activities associated with this important and historic occasion. This article hopefully will summarize everything and relate this information to the registration process and the decisions that the attendees will have to make regarding the extent of their participation during the Convention.

Space permitting, a sample of the Registration Form accompanies this article. In it you’ll see that the Basic Registration Fee for each delegate and each guest attending is $70. This fee, as you might expect, covers the real and anticipated expenses associated with the Convention Program and includes the Saturday noon luncheon.

A number of “optional” events and activities and their associated costs are also identified on the Registration Form, the first of which is the Friday (Oct. 2) Fall Color & Sunset Cruise aboard The Princess Wenonah cruise ship which will be docked immediately adjacent to the DoubleTree Hotel. Beginning at 6 p.m. this 2 ½ hour cruise on the Saginaw River and out into Saginaw Bay/ Lake Huron includes a delicious catered dinner as well as live entertainment.

This will undoubtedly be an excellent and unique opportunity for the delegates and guests to “meet & greet” each other and only costs $25 per person.

Following the cruise, all Conven-

tion attendees are invited to join us at our Hospitality Suite at the hotel hosted by the Great Lakes Bay Region Chapter #78. Hofbrau Bier, an assortment of wines, non-alcoholic beverages, snacks and sweet treats will be served free of charge, and there will be live entertainment.

For those guests not attending the Saturday (Oct. 3) morning Convention Agenda we have arranged for an optional 2-hour (10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) trolley bus tour. A step-on guide will narrate points of interest during the tour which will cover many important and historic areas, aspects, and locations in and around our city. The nominal cost for this tour is $5, which will be refunded if fewer than 15 people participate. The tour will begin and end at the hotel, and participants will be back in time for the Saturday noon luncheon.

Following the luncheon all delegates and guests are invited to attend a showing of the film “The Immigrant Story: Settling In” at the historic State Theatre in downtown Bay City. Although the theatre is within easy walking distance of the DoubleTree Hotel, transportation will be made available in case of inclement weather or if an attendee has mobility issues.

Another “optional” event, which we are sure no one will want to miss out on, is the Convention Banquet & Party which will be held Saturday evening at the Atrium Restaurant. Beginning at 6 p.m. a Grand Buffet featuring all sorts of traditional German cuisine will be offered, followed by introductions, brief comments and presentations from National Officers and special invitees including Mr. Frederick Hoffman, Honorary Consul to Michigan for the Federal Republic of Germany.

A highlight of the evening will be

the popular 12-piece German Connection Concert Band who will entertain everyone with many favorite and recognizable songs. There will also be a 50/50 drawing and the raffling of gift baskets generously provided by our sister chapters.

The evening’s festivities will conclude with much “prosting” and sing-a-longs.

The cost per person for the Convention Banquet & Party is $35.

The full cost of the convention, which includes the Basic Registration Fee, the Dinner Cruise and the Convention Banquet & Party is $130 per person. There will be a $10 discount off of the full convention rate if full payment is made by September 15, 2015.

The Registration Form & Hotel Reservation Form will be available through the National DANK office, and “hard copies” will also be sent by mail to each Chapter’s President for distribution.

Please contact Al Nietzke at 989-9635545 if you have any questions regarding the registration process. If Al is not available, please leave a message and he will return your call. You can also e-mail him at anietzke@nfcpa.com Just a reminder also that there is still time for your Chapter or individual Chapter members to take out an advertisement in the planned Convention Program Book. This is an excellent opportunity to promote your Chapter’s upcoming events or whatever you wish to say. For further information/details, please contact Peter Schmidt at rtschmdt@yahoo.com The Board of Directors and entire membership of the Great Lakes Bay Region DANK Chapter #78 look forward to meeting all of our sister chapters’ delegates and guests and to hosting the 2015 National DANK Convention. See you there!

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Aus Oma's Küche 3 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ pound butter ¾ cup warm water 1 egg large oblong floured cloth (or sheet) ¾ cup melted butter 3 pounds canned cherries 2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon ½ cup currants powdered sugar sliced almonds

Cherry Strudel

Mix flour, salt and butter together as for apie crust. Slowly pour water and egg mixed together over dough. Knead well.

Roll into a ball. Let stand covered 1 hour in a floured pie tin.

Place cloth on a large table. Roll dough out flat. Brush ¼ cup butter over dough. Let stand 4 minutes. From the middle pull dough from one corner to the next until paper thin. On DANK National mourns the passing of

Werner Baroni Am 26. Mai, 2015 entschlief Werner Baroni in Marco Island, FL im 87. Lebensjahr.

Werner Baroni wurde in Pforzheim, Deutschland geboren, wo er in der Nachkriegzeit bei der Süddeutschen Zeitung als Journalist tätg war. Nach seiner elfjährigen Karriere als Journalist in Deutschland, wanderte er in die Vereinigten Staaten aus, wo er als Chefredakteur in Philadelphia und New York fungierte. In Chicago erwarb er die Amerika Woche und war als aufschlussreicher und talentierter Journalist in den Vereinigten Staaten bekannt und beliebt.

Für seine Beiträge und wegen seines großen Engagements um die atlantische Freundschaft, erhielt er mehrere Journalistenpreise und wurde 1986 mit dem Bundesverdienstkreuz ausgezeichnet.

In den letzten Jahren hat er Beiträge an die deutsche Wochenzeitung Eintracht und anderen Publikationen zugeschickt. Der Tod seiner geliebten Gattin Edith hatte ihn schwer getroffen. Trotz Krankheit und Einsamkeit, verblieb er in Marco Island, Florida, wo er sich so lange unter seinen Freunden wohlgefühlt hat.

Seinen Kindern und Angehörigen entbietet der DANK, die Redaktion der Eintracht, samt seinen vielen Freunden in Chicago und Umgebung, herzliche Anteilnahme. Möge er in Frieden Ruhen!

edge nearest you put cherries. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixed. Add currants. Brush ¼ cup butter on fruit and dough. Pick up closest edge of cloth so dough will roll into a tight roll. Tear off outer edges. Place in buttered pan. Brush on remaining butter. Bake at 350º for 1 hour. Brush top of strudel with cherry juice from pan. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Serve warm. Makes one large or two small. Serves 10-12 DANK Chicago South mourns the passing of

Emma Brezina Allen unseren Mitgliedern und Freunden übermitteln wir die traurige Nachricht, dass unser Mitglied Emma Brezina an dem 15. Juni 2015 verstorben ist. Wir möchten unser tiefstes Beileid zu Ihrem Verlust aussprechen. Unsere Gedanken sind in dieser schweren Stunde bei Emma’s Mann Gerhard und Sohn Peter. Sie war so eine nette Frau und wir werden sie sehr vermissen. „Was man tief in seinem Herzen besitz kann man nicht durch den Tod verlieren“ — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

DANK Benton Harbor mourns the passing of

Ella A. Schulke Ella A. Schulke, 90, of St. Joseph passed away Monday, July 6, 2015, at her home where she lived with her son.

Ella was born Feb. 28, 1925, in St. Joseph to Rudolf and Emily Podzuweit. On Aug. 23, 1947, she wed Edward Schulke in St. Joseph. Ella worked for the state of Michigan for 20-plus years; her last assignment was as a Michigan unemployment job counselor before retiring.

She was the treasurer and secretary at the DANK for 15 years and was also a member of the FRAUEN Group.

Ella was a worshipper at St. Peter's United Church of Christ, where she was a member of Women's Guild.

She is survived by her sons, Roger Schulke of St. Joseph and Mark Schulke of Grand Rapids; daughter, Ginger (Pam) Schulke of Ryan, Iowa; grandchildren, Benjamin (Lauren) Schulke of Grand Rapids and Sarah Schulke of Grand Rapids.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Edward, in 1973; sister, Hildegard Wolske, in 2010; and brother, Herbert Schulke, in 1948.

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TELEVISION

Stefan Raab kehrt dem Fernsehen den Rücken

German media star Stefan Raab says goodbye to TV

Schluss mit lustig: Der TV-Entertainer Stefan Raab beendet zum Jahresende seine Fernsehkarriere.

Dann werde er nach mehr als 16 gemeinsamen Jahren die letzte TV-Show moderieren, erklärten der Sender ProSieben und Raab.

Comedian Stefan Raab has announced plans to end his 16-year long TV career at ProSieben.

Executives at the German channel, where Raab earned his fame as a TV personality, called the decision an "end of an era."

"Ich habe mich entschlossen, zum Ende dieses Jahres meine Fernsehschuhe an den Nagel zu hängen", teilte Stefan Raab in der Presseerklärung mit. Der Fernsehsender ProSieben habe ihm eine mehrjährige Vertragsverlängerung angeboten.

Dennoch habe er seine Entscheidung nach reiflicher Überlegung und mit Überzeugung getroffen.

Wolfgang Link, ProSieben-Senderchef und Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung der ProSiebenSat.1 TV Deutschland GmbH, betonte: "Mit Stefan Raabs Entschluss, seine TV-Karriere zu beenden, geht eine TVÄra zu Ende." Raab habe ProSieben und das deutsche Fernsehen geprägt. "Er hat uns viele neue Shows und unzählige magische Momente geschenkt."

One of the biggest TV celebrities in Germany, Stefan Raab, will host his last television show at the end of this year, the entertainer and his host channel announced Wednesday night.

Alle Türen offen Mit "TV total" habe Raab mehrere Generationen begeistert, unterstrich Link. Die Sendung "Schlag den Raab" habe die Samstagabend-Unterhaltung verändert.

"ProSieben und ich werden Stefan Raab sehr vermissen. Sollte er jemals einen Rücktritt vom Rücktritt in Erwägung ziehen: Bei ProSieben stehen ihm alle Türen offen."

Der Entertainer etablierte bei ProSieben neben der Unterhaltungssendung "TV Total" auch die Spielshow "Schlag den Raab" und diverse Spektakel wie die "Wok WM". Damit baute er sich eine treue Fangemeinde auf. Auch bei dem Songwettbewerb Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) zeigte sich der TVProduzent aus Köln als geschickter Fernsehmacher: Aus seiner Castingshow "Unser Song für Oslo" ging 2010 die deutsche ESC-Siegerin Lena Meyer-Landrut hervor.

Wichtige Preise gewonnen Stefan Raab hat im Lauf seiner Tätigkeit beim Fernsehen mehrere renommierte Preise gewonnen, so den AdolfGrimme-Preis, den Deutschen Fernsehpreis, den ComedyPreis und den Bayerischen Fernsehpreis.

Noch im vergangenen Jahr hatte ProSieben eine neue große Show mit Raab angekündigt. Zuletzt hatte es Spekulationen über ein Zerwürfnis zwischen dem Entertainer und seinem Haussender sowie über einen möglichen Wechsel zum Konkurrenten RTL gegeben. Raab, der seine Bildschirmkarriere Anfang der 90er Jahre beim Musiksender Viva begonnen hatte, hatte bei "TV Total" zuletzt mit sinkenden Quoten zu kämpfen. Insgesamt moderierte er das Format 2.180 Mal. © DW

Stephan Raab in 2010 "ProSieben has offered me a long-term extension of contract. I feel very honored," Raab said in a statement announcing his intentions to step down.

"However, I have made my decision with conviction and after serious thinking," he said, without providing reasons for the move.

Since first appearing on German TV in the 1990's, Raab has been involved a string of successful shows, including a Saturday night hit "Schlag den Raab" (Beat Raab). In the live event, the famously competitive comedian draws millions of viewers by playing games against guests who are trying to win large money prizes.

First broadcast in 2006, the format has since been exported to several European countries.

He also produced a show that decided a German representative for Eurovision song contest in 2010.

Raab, who won several awards during the 16-year long carrier at German channel ProSieben, said that he and his employers in the network part ways "on best terms possible."

In turn, ProSieben executive Wolfgang Link called his decision to resign an "end of an era," and thanked the comedian for his "artistic strength and loyality" "If he ever considers retiring from his retirement: all the doors at ProSieben are open to him," Link said. © DW

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German - American Journal

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

10 German words non-Germans can't pronounce There's no doubt about it, German can be a challenge for language learners. With four cases, the grammar is tricky - but the pronunciation can also trip up those who haven't been listening to the language since birth.

Brötchen

Just how good is your spoken German?

We've compiled our favorite hardto-pronounce German words. Careful! Many look easier than they really are. If you want to sound like a native, watch out for these tongue traps. Click on each word to listen to its proper pronunciation, spoken by native German Stephan Kaiser.

zschächtelchen simply means "small match box," though it looks like it should mean so much more.

Happy

While mile-long words may be tiring for the eyes, it's often the short and seemingly simple ones that give nonnative speakers away in no time.

Brötchen are the bread rolls that are typically eaten for breakfast with cheese, cold meats or jam.

Since Germans often buy them fresh every day, it's a word that - unfortunately for the language learner - needs to be spoken very often, even though the "ö" followed by "tch" is a very unnatural combination for a non-native.

Rechtschreibung

Streichholzschächtelchen

German is world-famous for its unbelievably long compound words. While the length of a word isn't necessarily proportional to its tongue-twisting capacity, the sheer mass of letters is enough to bring even the most advanced language learner to their knees.

This one is a particular doozy due to the abundance of "ch" - a combination not found in English. Streichhol-

Increasingly, Germans are adapting more and more English words, in some cases adapting their meaning.

However, for an English speaker, speaking an English word with a German accent in the middle of a German sentence can be quite a challenge - and a clear sign of non-native Germanness if the English sounds too native.

One trick: German vowels tend to be pure and rarely form diphthongs. Convincingly pronouncing "Das hat mich so happy gemacht" - "That made me so happy" - is bound to make you, well, happy.

While the word for spelling is a feat for non-Germans, spelling itself is actually quite difficult for natives.

That's because the official spelling rules have been officially changed several times over the past few decades.

A child studying for a spelling exam in Germany shouldn't ask his grandmother for help because her tips for words like Rad fahren (to ride a bike) and Schifffahrt (shipping) may be outdated.

They used to be spelled radfahren and Schiffahrt, respectively.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

German - American Journal

Eichhörnchen

blame it on the French.

The Germans borrowed the term from their neighbors, which is why it sounds somewhat exotic to the German ear, but narrowed the context to mainly refer to theater or the silver screen.

A female director is called a Regisseurin - though that's no easier to pronounce.

While we are still stumbling over "ch," it's worth mentioning a classic when it comes to pronunciation difficulties.

While the word Eichhörnchen doesn't come up in conversation that often, at least English speakers can be assured that Germans have just as much difficulty with its English equivalent: squirrel.

Frucht

Schlittschuhlaufen

"Ch" and "sch" form entirely different sounds, but both are nearly impossible for non-natives - particularly when the combination turns up multiple times in the same word.

Depending on how coordinated you are, however, saying the German word for ice skating could actually be easier than doing it - and certainly easier on your behind.

Just six letters can spell the end of making people think you're German.

Once again, that troublesome "ch" comes into play in the word for fruit.

The short "u" and "t" at the end only add to the hidden challenge. Hint: Talking with your mouth full of the word doesn't help.

But if your lips just can't form a proper Frucht, then try Obst, which also means fruit.

Zwanzig

Regisseur

A soft "g" followed by a double "ss" is killer in this word for film or stage director. In this case, however, you can

This one is not a word at all, but a number: 20. The German "z" is pronounced like "ts" - another sound that doesn't exist in English and can be a dead giveaway that you're not from around here.

In cafés and bars, it's common to say the amount you want to pay, including your tip, while handing over cash. If you haven't been practicing zwanzig, then you'll probably have to skip lunch and stick to drinks.

PAGE/SEITE 25

Röntgen

While getting an x-ray can certainly be a nightmare for anyone, just having to pronounce the German word for it, röntgen, is bound to cause any non-native speaker a few sleepless nights.

In this case, you can blame Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the doctor who patented the process in the late 19th century. In honor of his medical contribution, his name hence landed in the German dictionary as both a verb and a noun.

If you have more suggestions for hardto-pronounce German words, send them to us at feedback.english@dw.de. You can also join the discussion on Twitter with DW at @dw_culture and with the author at @katemueser.

Günter Grass, Giant of Postwar Literature, Dies at 87 For some, Günter Grass is a towering literary figure, a magnificent storyteller, who in the words of the Swedish Academy's Nobel Prize committee "has done mankind a genuine service." For others, he is a self-appointed moralist for postwar Germany, a righteous polemicist who attacked his fellow countrymen for their collective amnesia of Nazism while at the same time failing to own up to his own lapses in recalling the past.

Grass, who died from an infection at the age of 87, was arguably one of Europe's greatest living writers with over half a century of literary success and political commitment.

Born in 1927 of German-Polish parents in Danzig, now Gdansk, in Poland, he was the last Nobel literature laureate of the 20th century.

Grass lived with his second wife Ute near the north German port of Lübeck.

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German - American Journal

A German in Silicon Valley

LEARNING GERMAN

Growing number of German learners worldwide The number of people learning German as a foreign language has grown for the first time in 15 years, according to Germany's foreign office. The language is becoming increasingly popular in China and Brazil.

Learning German popular in developing countries Despite the notoriously difficult grammar and tongue-twisting combinations of consonants, more than half a million more foreigners worldwide are learning German than five years ago.

A survey released by Germany's Foreign Office on Tuesday showed that, for the first time in 15 years, the number of people studying German at schools,

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

to the survey report, knowledge of the language is seen to aid opportunities for employment and business deals with Europe's biggest economy.

China has seen the numbers of people learning German more than double in the past five years, to about 170,000.

Brazil has also seen a strong growth in German learners, with about 135,000 people currently studying it - about a third more than in 2010.

Poland has most German learners About 61 percent of German students worldwide are from Europe, numbering 9.4 million people.

Neighboring Poland has the greatest interest in the language, with almost 2.3 million German A German textbook learners - holding Some 15.4 million people worldwide are studying steady in compariGerman at school, university or with the Goethe Institute son with previous years. Nations with universities or Goethe Institutes has growing numbers of people studying grown to more than 15.4 million people. German include Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia"The downward trend has stopped," Herzegovina, Macedonia and Turkey.

Foreign Office Minister Maria Böhmer However, the number of German said. learners has fallen in Russia - down The study "German as a foreign lan- by 800,000 from the last survey to 1.5 guage worldwide" began in 1985 and is million. Explanations for why include conducted every five years. It showed population decline and changes in the the number of German learners grow- educational system - it's not thought the ing until a peak of 20.1 million in 2000, recent tensions in the German-Russian and then declining to about 16.7 million relationship over Ukraine have played in 2005 and 14.7 million in 2010. Ac- any more than a very minor role. cording to the survey, most people (87 "This has nothing to do with the popercent) learnt German at school. The litical situation," said Johannes Ebert, surveys did not count people studying the secretary of the Goethe Institute German individually or privately. which promotes the study of German Growth in China, Brazil worldwide.

Perhaps the most dramatic growth There are about 100 million native in the take-up of German has been in German speakers. emerging economies, where according © Reuters

Many famous entrepreneurs of German descent live in the U.S.A. But Konstantin Guericke, one of the top figures in America’s Internet industry, is still relatively unknown. He is one of the main founders of the world famous network “LinkedIn,” one of America’s 10 most-visited Internet portals, meant to help professionals maintain and cultivate business contacts. Guericke, born 1967 to a pair of teachers, grew up in the northern German town of Zeven. After high school, he applied to study in the U.S.A., and was accepted by Stanford University. There, he chose to study engineering with an emphasis on organizations, technology and innovation. In May 2003, he grounded “LinkedIn” with classmate Reid Hoffman. They then began sending E-mail invites to close acquaintances, who, in turn, spread word of the new network to their friends. By year’s end, the website already boasted over 80,000 members and 14 employees.

Today, the number of worldwide members is estimated at over 300 million.

Ein Deutscher im Silicon Valley Berühmte deutschstämmige Unternehmer gibt es in den USA viele. Konstantin Guericke, der ganz oben in der amerikanischen Internetwirtschaft mitmischt, ist allerdings relativ unbekannt.

Er gehört zu den Hauptgründern des weltberühmten Netzwerkes "LinkedIn", eines der 10 meistbesuchten Internetportale Amerikas. Es soll helfen, berufliche Kontakte zu pflegen oder auszubauen. Guericke, Jahrgang 1967, wuchs als Sohn eines Lehrer-Ehepaars im norddeutschen Zeven auf. Nach dem Abitur bewarb er sich um einen Studienplatz in den USA. Er wurde von der Universität Stanford angenommen und studierte dort Wirtschaftsinformatik. Im Mai 2003 gründete er gemeinsam mit seinem Studienkollegen Reid Hoffman "LinkedIn". Sie begannen zunächst damit, ihre besten Bekannten per elektronischer Post einzuladen. Die machten wiederum weitere Freunde auf das neue Netzwerk aufmerksam. Schon Ende 2003 gab es über 80.000 Mitglieder und 14 Mitarbeiter. Heute schätzt man die weltweite Mitgliederzahl auf über 300 Millionen.

Quellen: Internationale Medienhilfe (www.medienhilfe.org) und Magazin "German World" (www.germanworldonline.com)

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

German - American Journal

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Shop Amazon Online and benefit the DANK Education & School Fund Are you an Amazon shopper? Well now you can do all your shopping on Amazon while helping the DANK Education and School Fund at no cost to you. All you have to do is go onto Amazon/Smile.com and register your Amazon account for credit to the DANK Education & School Fund. Amazon will donate one half percent of your purchase price to the Education Fund. As most of you may know the DANK Education Fund is a totally independent organization, separate from DANK, whose purpose is to support German culture and language, under an independent Board of Directors. It does not receive direct monies from DANK, the National or-

Wir salutieren Alfred Schmidtke zu seinem 90. Geburtstag!

On June 19th, Alfred Schmidke celebrated 90 years young!

Many of our ‘senior’ members will remember Alfred as an organizer par excellence. Alfred along with Adolf Gunesch and Kurt Bohrlock, were the driving force in 1959 in founding Chapter West. Their goal on that founding day was one thousand members in the west suburbs of Chicago.

A goal + a mindset/determination = success! Extensive advertising in the western suburbs was a resounding success and they quickly reached their Chapter goal. In the early sixties, the group registered its one thousandth member!

Alfred Schmidke is a German Russian, having been born and raised in the Wolynia District and came to live in the United States. After joining DANK, it was evident that Alfred was a man we would call today a “mover and a shaker”. As a DANK leader, he served as Chapter West’s first treasurer. Alfred garnered respect for his insight and bringing recognition of the German American community to the State of Illinois.

The group’s petition to then Illinois Governor, Otto Kerner, to declare German American Week in the State of Illinois on November 24th was granted. Alfred, his wife Dorothy, Kurt Bohrloch and their co-workers were instrumental in hosting a reception at the Elmhurst Country Club for the officers and crew of the German training ship “Weser” in 1964. The event, the largest ever with over two thousand guests attending!

Alfred has done much for the German American community and DANK over the years and received many acknowledgements for his efforts.

We could go on and on about the accomplishments of Alfred Schmidke, instead we salute and honor him on his 90th birthday and wish him many more!

Nachträgliche Glückwünsche zum Geburtstag und alles Gute für die Gesundheit! “Belated birthday greetings and best wishes for your good health!”

ganization, thus solely dependent on private donations from DANK members and others like Amazon in order to support German language education and German Meet Up groups.

Funds in the past have supported various Chapter language programs, scholarships to both local high school and college programs and other cultural activities relevant to the GermanAustrian and Swiss communities. Germans, who have always been supportive of education and their heritage, don’t always match that commitment by financial support. So please don’t delay registering your Amazon account to the DANK Education Fund so that we can garner funds through that effort.

Put don’t despair if you are not a Amazon shopper you can still assist by sending a tax deductible donation to the DANK Education Fund and take credit for that donation in your 2015 tax filing.

Checks should be made out to DANK Education Fund and sent to: DANK Education Fund

4740 N. Western Ave, Suite 206

Chicago, IL 60625-2013

Thank you!

DANK Education Board of Directors – Erik Wittmann - Chair

PAGE/SEITE 28

1000 Jahre Leipzig Happy Birthday!

In diesem Jahr feiert Leipzig seine erste schriftliche Erwähnung im Jahre 1015. Die Stadt blickt zurück auf zahlreiche Ereignisse und namhafte Akteure. Ihre Lebendigkeit hat sich die Stadt bis heute bewahrt.

Gegründet am Knotenpunkt der europäischen Handelsstraßen Via Regia und Via Imperii zählt Leipzig zu den ältesten Messestandorten der Welt. Bis heute prägen prachtvolle Kaufmannshäuser, Handelshöfe und Passagen die Innenstadt. Im 20. Jahrhundert verlagerte sich das Messegeschehen an den Stadtrand. 1996 eröffnete das Neue Messegelände, wo seitdem die traditionsreiche Leipziger Buchmesse stattfindet.

German - American Journal

1,000 years of Leipzig Happy Birthday!

In the coming days Leipzig will be celebrating the anniversary of being first mentioned in a written document in 1015. The city looks back on a rich history connected to famous names - to this day a lively town.

Founded at the intersection of two important medieval trade routes, the Via Regia and Via Imperii, Leipzig has always been a trade City. The cityscape is still defined by impressive merchants' houses, trade buildings and shopping arcades. In the 20th century the trade fair was relocated to the edge of town.

In 1996 the new trade fair complex was opened which hosts the annual Leipzig book fair.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Upcoming deadlines for the DANK GermanAmerican Journal To keep this magazine on schedule for on-time delivery please use the following schedule for upcoming issues: October/November: Sept. 5 December/January: Nov. 5.

Chapter news and pictures should be sent to the editor, Ron Kabitzke at lutheran@wi.rr.com. If you need assistance of any kind please call me and I will be more than happy to assist you. My number is 262.675.6336

German - American Journal

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

PAGE/SEITE 29

New Members We welcome our newest Life Members:

Kris S. Jarantowski, Chicago Kathleen Kabitzke, Ronald Kabitzke, Milwaukee Bay City Andrew Miller

Cleveland William Bower

Chicago Chris Sleggs Denise Sleggs

Jake Sleggs Sam Sleggs

Joseph Bartelt David Gebauer

Milwaukee

Chicago South

Brian Bartelt Josie Bartelt Daniel Bartelt Emily Bartelt

Timothy Kuyper Angulo Luis Sandra Wehling-Bartels

Wordsearch is on Page 11

Deutsche Inseln–German Islands

Chicago N. Suburbs Andrew Zurniewicz

Dagmar Zurniewicz Max Zurniewicz Olivia Zurniewicz

National Richard Forster Nicholas Knibbs Timothy Wieting Kristin Youngman

DANK Early Bird Raffle Drawing

Russ Knoebel of our office staff did the honors of drawing the winners this year.

1st place, Frank & Linda Janca of Peotone, IL $150 2nd place, Dan Koza of Kane, PA $100 3rd place John Webber of Pittsburgh, PA $50 Congratulations to all of our winners in the Early Bird drawing.

German - American Journal

PAGE/SEITE 30

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Calendar Of Events August

24 Benton Harbor, Oktoberfest, 6 - 11 pm Mike Schneider Band

7 Benton Harbor, Fish Fry, 6 – 8 pm

25 DANK Haus, German Cinema Now, 7:30 pm

7 DANK Haus, KulturKuche, 7:30 pm

30 Milwaukee, Singing 7:00 pm

8 Milwaukee, Board Meeting, 3 pm 16 Chicago South, Board Meeting, 2 pm

October

16 South Bend, Picnic at Kison's Farm, 1 pm Potluck 63620 Maple Rd., South Bend

2 DANK Haus, KulturKuche, 7:30 pm

17 Chicago North, Board Meeting, 6:30 pm

7 Milwaukee, Board Meeting, 5:30 pm

21 DANK Haus, Stammtisch, Open House, 7:30 pm

11 Chicago West, Board Meeting, 1:30 pm

23 Benton Harbor, Membership Meeting, 2 pm

14 Milwaukee, Dancing, 6 pm; Singing, 7 pm

23 Pittsburgh, Picnic all members and Pittsburgh German Meet Up group, Fairview Park, S. Fayette Twp. (off Boyce Rd) members requested to bring a picnic item to serve 8 persons, 1 - 5 pm,

16 DANK Haus, Stammtisch, Open House, 7:30 pm

28 DANK Haus, German Cinema Now, 7:30 pm

18 Phoenix, Board Meeting, 1 pm

17 Benton Harbor, Oktoberfest 6 - 11 pm Virgil Baker & Just 4 Fun 18 Chicago South, Board Meeting, 2 pm

September

19 Chicago North, Board Meeting, 6:30 pm 21 Erie, General Membership Meeting, 7 pm

2 Milwaukee, Board Meeting, 5:30 pm; Singing, 7 pm

21 Milwaukee, Singing, 7 pm

4 Benton Harbor, Fish Fry, 6 – 8 pm

23 DANK Haus, German Cinema Now, 7:30 pm

4 DANK Haus, KulturKuche, 7:30 pm

28 Milwaukee, Dancing, 6 pm; Singing, 7 pm

9 Milwaukee, Dancing, 6 pm; Singing, 7 pm 13 Chicago West, Board meeting, 1:30 pm 13 Milwaukee, Membership Recognition, 1:30 pm 13 South Bend, 13 Hiking Adventure at St. Patrick's Park, 1 pm, 50651 Laurel Rd, South Bend, Coffee and Cake 16 Erie, General Membership Meeting and Program, 7 pm 16 Milwaukee, Singing, 7 pm 18 DANK Haus, Stammisch, 7:30 pm 18 - 21 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Bavarian Oktoberfest, downtown Canonsburg, volunteers needed to staff DANK booth all three days 19 Benton Harbor, Early Oktoberfest, 6 - 11 pm Eddie Korosa & The Boys from Illinois 20 Chicago South, Board Meeting, 2 pm 20 Phoenix, Board Meeting, 1 pm 21 Chicago North, Board Meeting, 6:30 pm 23 Milwaukee, Dancing, 6 pm; Singing, 7 pm

Meeting Locations for DANK Chapters Benton Harbor meets at their DANK Haus, 2651 Pipestone Rd. Benton Harbor, MI 49022 Tel. 269.926.6652 Chicago North meets at the DANK HAUS, 4740 N. Western Av. Chicago, IL 60625 Tel. 773.561.9181 Chicago South meets at the DANK House, 25249 S. Center Rd, Frankfort, IL 60423 Tel. 815.464.1514 Chicago West meets at Redeemer Lutheran of Elmhurst, 345 S. Kenilworth Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126 Tel. 630.805.1504 Erie meets at the Erie Männerchor Club, 1617 State St. Erie, PA, 16501 Tel. 814.835.1939 Milwaukee meets at the German Fest Office, W140N5761 Lilly Rd., Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 Tel 262.675.6336 Phoenix meets at Denny's, 2717 West Bell Road, Phoenix, AZ Tel. 602.569.9381 Uniontown meets at the Uniontown Chamber of Commerce, 65 W. Main St., Uniontown, PA 15401 Tel. 724.437.1049

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

German - American Journal

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The Big Three at German Days 2015

By George L. Glotzbach The Germanic-American Institute (GAI) in Saint Paul is Minnesota’s premier German cultural organization. Organized over 40 years ago, the GAI sponsors numerous events throughout the year: adult language classes, kid’s activities, cultural meetings and demonstrations, model train group, men’s choir, cooking classes, dance instructions, athletic events for runners and bicyclists, and more. The GAI sponsors the Twin Cities German Immersion School, the #1 charter school in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Each June the GAI presents Deutsche Tage (German Days), two days of music, dance, games, food, and (of course) beer. Hundreds of people, young and old, with and without Germanic ancestry, throng the grounds of the GAI to enjoy old world and new world food, entertainment, and culture.

A popular custom is to appear in tracht (one’s old country traditional costume). Pictured here are Der Grossen Drei (The Big Three) featuring three styles of bygone attire.

Photo: Gary&LauraWestlund/CharitiesChallenge.org

The Big Three The Old Bavarian, The German Emperor & Hermann The Cheruscan

DANK Decals are here!

Show everyone that you are a DANK member with this DANK Decal. Shown here is actual size and they look good on your bumper or rear window. It is a die-cut oval (there is no blue background when removed from the paper).

I have had mine on my rear window for over a year and a half and it has not faded. It still looks new. The cost is $2.00 each including shipping. For more information call 262.675.6336 or e-mail me at lutheran@wi.rr.com.

Order from and make your check payable to:

DANK Chapter Milwaukee ℅ Ronald Kabitzke 6811 Hickory Road West Bend, WI 53090-8948

German - American Journal

PAGE/SEITE 32 REISE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

TRAVEL

Wanderweg und Pilgerpfad: Lutherweg eröffnet

The Luther Trail has been completed

Der Lutherweg gilt als das wichtigste touristische Projekt in Vorbereitung auf das Reformationsjubiläum 2017. Mit der Eröffnung der sächsischen Strecke ist nun das gesamte mitteldeutsche Wegenetz komplett.

The Luther Trail is considered one of the most important tourism projects in the run-up to the Reformation Anniversary in 2017. With the opening of the section in Saxony, the entire Luther Trail is now complete.

Am Mittwoch wurde in Döbeln der letzte Abschnitt des sächsischen Pilgerpfades auf den Spuren des Reformators Martin Luther und seiner Weggefährten eröffnet. Auf rund 550 Kilometern Länge können Wanderfreunde nun insgesamt 27 Orte der Reformation in Sachsen entdecken. Zugleich ist mit der Eröffnung des sächsischen Lutherweges das insgesamt rund 2.000 Kilometer lange Wegenetz in Mitteldeutschland komplett.

Auch Sachsen sei neben Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen ein "Mutterland der Reformation", sagte Sachsens stellvertretender Ministerpräsident Martin Dulig (SPD). Das Projekt diene der regionalen Belebung und werde Gäste aus Nah und Fern anlocken. Die spirituelle Wanderung ohne eindeutiges Ziel sei zudem für jeden eine "Einladung zum Nachdenken", sagte Dulig.

In Sachsen hatte sich die Fertigstellung wegen der Flut 2013 verzögert. Das erste große Teilstück - die Westroute von Torgau über Leipzig nach Zwickau - wurde im vergangenen Frühsommer eröffnet, nun ist auch die Ostroute über Grimma, Döbeln und Rochlitz vollständig mit Wegweisern und Informationstafeln bestückt. Markiert ist der Weg wie in Thüringen und Sachsen-Anhalt mit einem grünen "L" auf weißem Grund.

The last section was opened in Döbeln on Wednesday, May 27th. Pilgrims can now follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther and his companions along some 550 kilometers of trails leading to 27 sites in Saxony, that played a role in the reformation 500 years ago. Altogether, the system of trails extends some 2,000 kilometers through central Germany.

Saxony’s State Premier Martin Duhlig (SPD) reminds us that, along with Saxony-Anhalt and Thüringen, Saxony is a "Motherland of the Reformation." The project was designed to revive the region for tourism by attracting visitors from both far and near. The spiritual hiking, without a defined geographical goal, should be considered an "invitation to think," said Duhlig.

Flooding in 2013 had delayed completion of the trail project in Saxony. The first major sections, the western route, from Torgau via Leipzig to Zwickau, was opened early last Summer. Now, the eastern route, covering Grimma, Döbeln and Rochlitz are finally ready, complete with signs and information displays. As in Thüringen and Saxony-Anhalt, trails are marked with a green letter "L" on a white background.

Exchange Rates 1 USD = 0.90545 EURO 1 EURO = 1.10442 USD 7-12-15

The Piano Tuner’s Daughter

by Ingrid Silvian

A child’s eye view of WWII through the story of two young girls—one Jewish, one Christian—in 1930s Germany and how the world changed when the Nazis came.

Order from the website www.thepianotunersdaughter.com or call (888) 795-4274 Xlibris, Publisher

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