Kaiserslautern American
Page 14
A German marine school ship serves as a museum and swimming hotel.
March 10, 2023
Hafenwelten in Bremerhaven
The old harbor is full of historic vessels to admire.
Story and photos by Gina Hutchins-Inman 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Anyone that has moved to Germany will sooner or later hit upon the term “Bremerhaven,” either in conjunction with a vehicle being shipped there or household goods arriving at the port. Some may have personally traveled to the city at the mouth of the Weser River to pick up or deliver a car. The U.S. Army also utilizes a separate section of the port to bring in equipment and heavy vehicles. The joint port “BremenBremerhaven” is Germany’s second largest port after Hamburg. One of the eight terminals is the Vehicle Terminal that handles up to two million vehicles a year, including many thousands of DOD members’ POVs arriving from or departing to the United States. In addition to cars and ships, Bremerhaven also has a world of wonders at its “Hafenwelten” (harbor worlds). Emigration changed the world Another very exciting terminal is the Columbus Cruise center, one of the most modern cruise ship terminals in the world. Ships from around the globe dock there to continue onto voyages in Scandinavia or across the Atlantic Ocean. The terminal also has a long tradition of being one of the busiest ports for emigration to the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries and is Visitors can meet researchers at an icy camp in Antarctica. The Pingel lighthouse is an attraction along the dike.
now an inspiring place to visit. With a sharp increase of European emigrants seeking their fortunes in the New World in the mid 1850s, the port in Bremen became too small and Columbus Kai was opened in Bremerhaven in 1854. Millions of European emigrants left the port with hopes and dreams of a better life on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean and shaped the future of the United States. Trace your roots at the Emigration Center According to a 2020 census 191 million Americans, making up 57 percent of the population, have European roots. The largest group at 17 percent are said to be descendants of Germans, followed by Irish and Italians. The “Deutsches Auswandererhaus” (German Emigration Center) opened its doors in 2005 at the exact spot where emigrants began their voyage, the first center in Germany to focus on emigration. The center holds ship manifests of over 7.2 million passengers from 1830 to 1974 and is currently digitalizing the records for further reference. Their destinations were Buenos Aires, Argentina and Sydney, Australia, but over 75 percent emigrated to the United States. Although not every German departed from Bremerhaven, approximately five million Germans alone set sail bound for the New World, among them over 500,000
from the Rheinland-Pfalz region. Other emigrants that embarked in Bremerhaven came from The Netherlands, Scandinavia and eastern European countries. To name a few, Albert Einstein, best known for his theory of relativity, Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State, and Joseph Pulitzer, famous journalist and politician, who also funded the Statue of Liberty pedestal, are famous emigrants. Isidor Straus, originally from Otterberg in Kaiserslautern County, became coowner of Macy’s department store in New York City. If you expect this museum to be an old-fashioned library full of illegible, dust covered records, you couldn’t be more mistaken. It is, in fact, a multimedia center with interactive elements that will let you discover the world with new eyes. For example, you can board an emigrant ship, touch and feel the confinement of a typical windowless cabin full of wooden berths. Third class passengers were put in cabins with five people to a berth and up to 20 berths per cabin. On the other hand, first class passengers were pampered in luxurious suites, with fine porcelain, silver dish ware and dance parties on deck. You can tackle the storms of the rough North Atlantic Ocean on a rolling ship, to finally be greeted by the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island after a twoto-five-week perilous voyage. You can embark on a journey in time and wander the row of shops
