German-American Journal | June/July 2011

Volume 59, Number 3

June / July 2011

German Chancellor Merkel on Death of Osama bin Laden Source: Germany.info

By: Beth Casey No matter how tall we grow, many of us look up to our fathers. A father is a mentor, hero, guide, role model and a friend. In our society, mothers are typically given the role of shaping lives but fathers do it just as well, but in their own way.

Common gifts for fathers are the go-to necktie, tools, or sporting goods. Since Father’s Day falls in the summery month of June, this is the perfect opportunity to do what most dads love doing -grilling. Some fathers encourage their children to constantly save money and skip the gift.

Taking a little time out of your day to make a phone call or do a favor can make a father’s eye sparkle.

Jim Valvano, ESPY Award winner and college basketball coach once said, “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”

Fathers are always by a child’s side, giving advice and teach life lessons. Memories shaped by fathers can be tedious-seeming road trips across America to playing catch in the front yard.

In the United States, Father’s Day was first recognized in Westmont, Virginia on July 5, 1908 in what is now known as the Central United Methodist Church. President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to recommend the holiday be celebrated nationally in 1924 and in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed that Father’s Day should be celebrated annually on the third Sunday of June.

From a Hallmark perspective, Father’s Day in the United States is the fourth-largest card-sending occasion with nearly 95 million cards purchased last year. According to the United States Census Bureau, there are approximately 67.8 million fathers in the United States, making Father’s Day a grand celebration.

In Germany, Father’s Day, known as Vatertag is

celebrated a little differently than here in the United States. Historically, Vatertag originated in the Middle Ages as a religious procession honoring “Gott, den Vater” on Ascension Day, which typically falls in May. Today, Vatertag is more of a “boys day out” where fathers get the fleeting chance to spend time with other fathers, telling stories about their children and families over a beer or two at a local pub.

Organized by groups of men, Vatertag has a tendency of turning into a bar crawl of sorts as men can be seen in the streets, walking from bar to bar with a wagon full of beer.

In the area previously known as Eastern Germany, Vatertag is commonly referred to as Herrentag.

No matter which country you are in, you have a father or a father-figure in your life. Summer time boasts endless opportunities for great outdoor activities. A great way to spend Father’s Day would be to embrace the weather and the man who taught you valuable life lessons with a trip to the zoo, baseball game, picnic or fishing (just remember to wear sunscreen like Mom reminded you too!)

If your father has more experience in life and is not easily mobile, taking time to sit and talk can make you feel closer to a parent. Finding out answers to how he met your mother, what his first jobs was or what he wanted to be when he was younger can help you relate to your father better and bring the two of you together.

In hearing of the death of al-Quaeda leader Osama bin Laden through a US operation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was quite simply good news that the man responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, has been stopped once and for all. German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, speaking before his trip to the United States today, also recalled the 2001 attacks and called bin Laden’s death a victory of freedom and justice.

“With the killing of Osama bin Laden tonight our American friends have accomplished an important strike against international terrorism,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday in Berlin. “I conveyed to the American President Obama my and our respect for this achievement and for the successful commando action.”

In welcoming the death of the terrorist leader, Chancellor Merkel recalled the destruction and horrific images of September 11, 2001, the day on which thousands of innocent people lost their lives in the attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. Bin Laden, head of the al-Quaeda terrorist network and “the symbolic figure for international terrorism” acted then, Merkel said, and it all originated in Afghanistan.

“Still today, our soldiers fight together with many others within the framework of ISAF so that alQuaeda and terrorism can never again find a home in Afghanistan,” she said. “The message that is sent out from this day is, acts of terrorism will not remain unavenged. Today, on this day, that should become clear to all followers of terrorism.”

Even with the relief that bin Laden is dead, Merkel said, the threat of terrorism is not nearly banished.

“We will continue to remain vigilant. We will continue to cooperate internationally.”

TidBits

Associate Members

Education

Business & Tech

Auf Deutsch

Insider

Oskar & Atticus

Lifestyle

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German-American Journal

June / July 2011

Check Us Out Online!

WWW.DANK.ORG DANK Discussion Forum Official DANK Blog

Fatherhood Has Changed

Newspaper Archives And More...

Der Deutsch-Amerikaner 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 William Fuchs 1. Vice President Erich Wittmann

2. Vice President Donna Lippert

Treasurer Bob Miske

Secretary Beverly Pochatko

Editorial Staff

Dads have come a long way in the last few decades.

Today, media images of fatherhood range from the nurturing father and “male mother,” who participates equally in housework and child care, to the deadbeat absent dad, the wife beater, the father who denies their paternity and the child abuser. Legal definitions of fatherhood include stepfathers and foster fathers, with no biological connection to their offspring, as well as, many estranged or sperm donor dads with little or no emotional connection to their children.

These changes of the family dynamic have changed conventional roles in the traditional family. On the one hand, there are men who increasingly view children and fatherhood primarily as nothing but responsibility and obligation. On the other hand, there are men who value their children as a source of meaning, happiness, and stability.

During the 17th century, fathers played a dominant role in the lives of their children, assuming a broad range of responsibilities including, teaching their children to write, leading household prayers, and instructing the young in farming or an occupational trade.

Legally, fathers were regarded as the primary parent. He was authorized to correct and punish abusive or insubordinate wives, disruptive children, and unruly servants. In addition, his domestic control made him responsible for placing his children in an occupation, consenting to his children’s marriages, setting a moral code, and distributing the family property.

During the late eighteenth century, a series of forces-demographic, economic, and cultural--transformed the meaning and social experience of fatherhood. Fathers found themselves less able to influence their sons’ choice of an occupation or to determine when and whom their children would marry, as sons moved further away from their parental home.

During the first decades of the nineteenth century, the workplace continued to move increasingly further from the home. Men left earlier each day to go to work, while their wives stayed home.

Soon the mid-day meal, when an entire family gathered together, was replaced by the evening meal. Men’s roles were often referred to as breadwinner and disciplinarian (remember you mother saying “just wait until your father gets home”?).

Skipping forward to the twentieth century, men’s economic roles increasingly drew them outside the home and into the market place, limiting their day-to-day contact with their children. This absence was the beginning of a shift in responsibilities within the family and an overall erosion of the role of the traditional father, as it had previously been defined.

The rising cost of child rearing and increasing aspirations for expensive consumer goods push mothers into the workplace as well in order to “keep up with the Joneses.” Soon the evening meal together was replaced with eating fast food on the run.

The future of fatherhood is yet to be determined. One thing is for sure, a change has occurred in the way fatherhood is viewed and practiced. The father’s role is in a state of evolution. There are always going to be those that embrace fatherhood and those that avoid it like the plaque.

Being a dad is the most important thing you will do in your life, and to say it’s not easy … would be a gross understatement. After all, true greatness is not how the world views a man, but how his family views him.

Liebe Mitglieder und Freunde!

Dear Members and Friends, As I read through the last issue of the Journal, I started to think about the relevance of DANK in today’s world compared to when the organization started in 1959. There have been many changes over the past 50 years, but DANK still holds true to the goals that the founders set forth, especially to improve how German-Americans are perceived in the United States, after the very damaging World Wars that Germany and the US were involved in.

Even though DANK was, and still is not a political organization, its early leaders where quite often involved in discussions with politicians, both on the local and national level, to achieve their goals. As the organization gained membership during the 1960’s, immigrants brought with them the customs and traditions from Germany that could be shared in dances and festivals. Charter flights home to Germany became very popular with DANK members, not only for their reasonable fares, but also for the camaraderie that they provided. As the organization grew, DANK also helped immigrants with obtaining US citizenship and set up German language weekend schools.

Over the years the political overtones that were very dominant in the organization in the early years gradually changed to a more cultural and educational emphasis. Even though we are still quite often involved in discussions with politicians, the emphasis in current times has shifted more to highlight the positive contributions that Germans and German-Americans have made in the US and around the world. We continue to provide German language education in our chapters and support the same in our public and private schools.

The educational and cultural programs that DANK provides go a long way towards furthering our main goal mentioned above. In achieving that goal we can definitely say that we are proud to be German-Americans. I hope that you will continue to support the goals of DANK and keep your membership current. If you have renewed already, I thank you for your support. If not, I hope that you will reconsider, strengthen our cause and rejoin.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Correspondents Corinna Bienger Amelia Cotter Stephen Fuchs Christa Garcia Audrey L. Hess-Eberle Matthias Knobloch Editorial Staff Margita Mandel Amanda Pedersen Beth L. Casey Chapter News Editor Beverly Pochatko erieoma@verizon.net Membership Erik Wittmann erik25@comcast.net Layout & Design Stephen Fuchs Stephen@FoxTaleEdit.com Advertising & Classifieds Eve Timmerhaus eve@dank.org

Office Staff DANK National Executive Office

4740 N. Western Ave Chicago, Il 60625-2013 Call (773) 275-1100 Toll Free (866) 926-1109 Fax (773) 275-4010 Office Hours:

9am - 4pm / Monday, Wednesday-Friday Executive Secretary Eva Timmerhaus Office@dank.org

William Fuchs National President

Submission Deadline For The August/September 2011 Issue:

Office Manager Eve Timmerhaus Eve@dank.org

General Information

June 25, 2011

German-American Journal - ISSN 1086-8070 - is published bi-monthly and is the official publication of the German American National Congress. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois and additional mailing offices.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: German-American Journal 4740 N. Western Ave., Suite 206 Chicago, IL 60625-2013

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Darlene Fuchs Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief Darlene Fuchs darlene@dank.org

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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. ©2011 DANK. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher.

June / July 2011

German-American Journal

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Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was a Dutch-German-Polish physicist, engineer, and glass blower who is best known for inventing the alcohol thermometer (1709), the mercury thermometer (1714), and for developing a temperature scale now named after him.

Exploring Munich by Bike Muenchen.de Press Release

1,200 km (745 miles) of bike paths turn Munich into one of the most bicyclefriendly cities in Europe. In the downtown area, in the meadows and woods as well as along the water bicyclists can take wellmarked routes, bike paths or living streets to reach the most beautiful spots and sights in town.

Active enjoyment by bike – pedaling away and moving along by your own strength, stopping whenever you feel like it, in order to sample the special atmosphere of a fascinating quarter, to listen to musicians in squares and parks, to marvel at Art Nouveau facades, to sip a cup of latte macchiato – thus you can explore Munich with all your senses. Bicyclists enjoy the special privilege “of knowing long before they reach the beer garden, whether it will be another meal of broiled chicken or whether they can look forward to skewer-grilled fish“, explains Munich’s Lord Mayor and bike fan Christian Ude in his book Stadtradeln (2001).

A network of well- marked bicycle routes which start in the heart of the city at Marienplatz square and lead in all directions facilitate sightseeing by bike in Munich.

Short distances and numerous sights are typical for the downtown area: Worldfamous collections and museums, historical buildings and highlights of modern architecture are only a short bike ride away.

The radius of movement extends beyond castle walls, town gates and inner-city ring roads: Along 14 km (8.7 miles) the river Isar which is flanked by green meadowlands and gravel banks flows through the municipal region; at 417 ha (1,030 acres) in extension the English Garden is one of the largest city parks in the world. So take a deep breath in Munich’s green lung. Athletes are thrilled by the various ups and downs in the Olympic park and along the Isar river.

Bicycling combines fitness and fun; no bike trip would be complete without the terrific stops along the way – to enjoy a refreshing Radlerhalbe drink in a beer garden, to lick at some ice-cream at a kiosk, to fortify yourself with a picnic on a meadow or to sip a sundowner on a terrace.

Bicycle campaign of the City of Munich: According to Munich’s third mayor, Hep Monatzeder, “biking is not only fun and good for your health but it also means efficient and soft mobility and thus promotes the quality of life in Munich.”

Munich’s “bike mayor“ Hep Monatzeder is the patron of an extensive municipal bicycle campaign. Munich is planning to continue the expansion of its network of bicycle paths in the future and to invest in safety measures in order to entice even more citizens to hop on their bikes. Bicycling is classy and good for our climate, emphasizes the campaign. The objective of the campaign is to increase the proportion of bicyclists in overall traffic from now 14 percent to 20 percent. Thus Munich is on the way to becoming Europe’s bicycle capital.

Bicycle tourism: For many years the Munich Tourist Office has promoted bicycle tourism within the framework of “soft”, environmentally compatible tourism. Under the auspices of Dr. Gabriele Weishäupl the Munich Tourist Office has advanced the internationally first sightseeing tours by bike in a major city as early as 1986.

Tours are worked out in tune with current topics: “Paths of Faith through Munich” is the title of a tour which was developed in 2010 – the year of spiritual tourism – on the occasion of the Ecumenical Kirchentag and the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The tour leads to churches and places of faith in Munich (Bookings can be made at www. spurwechsel-muenchen.de). The Tourist Office also cooperates increasingly with the advertising associations for long-distance bicycle routes such as the “Via Bavarica Tyrolensis” and the “Isar-Radweg”.

At the information counters in the town hall at Marienplatz square and the main train station the Tourist Office team provides support for planning tours and supplies information on available agencies

and topics for guided bike rides as well as places for the rental of bikes. According to expert estimates about 150,000 overnight guests in Munich use bicycles to explore the city, which means that they either participate in a guided bike tour through Munich or rent a bike in order to discover the city at their own initiative. Two thirds of bicycling guests are German tourists and one third is from abroad.

Those who would like to rent a bike or

join a guided bicycle tour can choose from a wide selection of providers, such as: Radius Tours, www.radiusmunich.com (tours and rental, such as cross bikes and MTBs); at the main train station, near platform 32 Spurwechsel, www.spurwechsel-muenchen. de in Ohlmüllerstrasse 5 - Mike’s Bike Tours, www.mikesbiketours.com (tours available only in English; rental station at Hofbräuhaus, rear entrance)

2011 Voted 2009” t of s s e F t “Bes Chicagoan by ye 1/26/10 R ed E

Food Live E , Dancing, nt and as ertainment Alw Germa n Gem ays... ütlichk eit

A Taste of Deutschland Maifest Chicago By: Darlene Fuchs

Does the word “gemutlichkeit” mean anything to you? Ok, maybe not; essentially, it means “quality time spent in a cozy place”. Anyway, any event that features a “Traditional Keg Tapping” is destined for success.

If you’ve enjoyed “A Taste of Deutschland” at Maifest Chicago during the past several years, you can expect the same type of experience this year.

Maifest 2011 will once again generate enormous media buzz, and will feature extraordinary German bands, entertainment, games and plenty of German food.

The spirit of the event is to let families

enjoy and celebrate local German heritage.

This celebration of food, fun and games for the whole family, will kick off June 2nd on Lincoln and Leland Ave. The food, which includes German potato salad, sauerkraut, pretzels and plenty of bratwurst, is always a big draw for people. Traditional German favorites will be available as entire meals or as single items throughout the event.

Maifest is really easy to get to…get off the brown line at western and you are right there.

The event will open at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 12:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the event is free

Thursday: 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM “Rock the May Fest” Preview Party Friday: 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM (8:00 PM Official Opening Ceremony, Traditional Keg Tapping and May Queen Crowning) Saturday: 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM (Live Music, Entertainment & Open Mic) Sunday: 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM (Maypole Dance, Ethnic Program) Brought to you by the May Fest Committee, President: Joe Matuschka, Vice-President: Matt Lodge Special thanks to the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce

For more information visit www.mayfestchicago.com or www.lincolnsquare.org Additional parking available at St. Matthias Church and MB Financial Bank

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German Royalty on the Prairie Miss New Ulm and Her Court By: George L. Glotzbach

The tall grass prairie of Southern Minnesota stretched for endless miles when the first German settlers arrived in 1854.

Many of them were Turners escaping the failed revolution of 1848 against the kings and princes then ruling over the numerous Germanic states. They chose a deep valley at the confluence of the Minnesota and Cottonwood Rivers, which may have reminded them of their homeland along the Danube in Wuerttemberg. They named it New Ulm, where they intended to establish a “perfect socialist society”.

Democracy soon replaced the socialist experiment, while keeping the German influence dominant. New Ulm grew and counted 640 inhabitants in 1860, only a few of whom were non-German. New Ulmers held fast in August, 1862 when Indians went on the warpath and attacked the city twice.

In 1897 the Order of the Sons of Hermann completed the magnificent statue and monument to Hermann the Cheruscan, high atop a western bluff overlooking the city.

In 2000 the 106th Congress of the United States designated the Hermann Monument as an official symbol for the contributions of Americans of German heritage. Today the population is about 14,000, 67% of whom claim German ancestry. The U.S. census has proven New Ulm the most German city in America.

New Ulm’s new-world version of a Royal Court began informally in 1937.

New Ulm’s band was invited to march in the Minneapolis Aquatennial parade. Upon arrival the the parade organizers asked “Who is your queen?” The band leaders replied “We did not know a queen was required!” The leaders asked the band’s majorette to assume the position. And so it was that Lorraine (Schuler) Oswald became the city’s first royalty. Lorraine remains alive and active in New Ulm today.

The selection process was formalized in 1939 when Frances Berg became the first official “Miss New Ulm”. A series of attractive and talented young women have reigned over the city’s Germanic celebrations during the years which followed: Fasching (German Mardi Gras); Bock Fest (at Schell’s Brewery); Bavarian

2010 Royalty: Miss New Ulm Molly Macho, Princess Morgan Zollner, and Princess Mackenzie Gronholz. Molly and Morgan are seniors at Cathedral High School; Mackenzie is a senior at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School. They are seated on 1992 Seagrave 110-foot Ladder Photo: Rick Apitz “Truck Company No. 1” in Engine House No.1

Blast (citywide summer fest); Oktoberfest (to coincide with German-American Day in America); and Christmas (around the Glockenspiel). These royalty also represent New Ulm at festivals and in parades around Minnesota and elsewhere.

Since 1969 the New Ulm Fire Department, founded in 1870, has organized the selection of the Royal Court each year in September.

Local organizations and businesses sponsor candidates.

The selection committee is made up of three independent judges from Oktoberfest in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They interview the candidates at New Ulm’s famous Veigel’s Kaiserhoff restaurant, and make their choice in secret.

The Fire Department arranges a formal event at the Civic Center, attended by upwards of 700 people. Firefighters in their dress uniforms escort each candidate onto

the stage where they are introduced to the audience. The two Princesses are named first, followed by the crowning of Miss New Ulm. The new royalty are presented with flowers and jeweled tiaras. Merriment and dancing follow into late evening.

This event is but one of the many which earn New Ulm’s reputation as a “City of Charm and Tradition”... with a German accent. The 2011 court will soon be selected - good luck to all.

Welpenschutz Adapted from www.germany.info and revised by Beverly Pochatko

Isn’t it great when an expression is created to finally describes something that we’ve seen or experienced, but could never really name?

Welpenschutz does exactly that. This expression is more commonly used in northern Germany and describes a phenomena that can be witnessed daily at workplaces all around the world.

Actually, this could be described as a phenomena that occurs within our DANK organization. Let’s see how this fits….

Picture the following: Erika and Hans, brand new members attend first meetings.

Have a lot of energy, and full of ideas to bring to the chapter, but don’t know a lot about the Chapter’s culture or just how things work within the Chapter. They just haven’t been around long enough to learn this yet.

Consequently, some of the older members in the Chapter get annoyed

by the ambitious and energetic young couple. But luckily, others start treating them like a little puppy that still needs to learn his way around in the real world.

Just as older dogs often protect their young, their mentors in the Chapter handle them with a little extra patience and gently correct and guide them.

Eventually, the young ‘pups’ learn the ropes and the established members see that now they understand and are willing to listen to ideas that will help their Chapter rejuvenate and remain active.

The literal translation of Welpenschutz is “puppy protection.” So all you “puppies” out there: enjoy it while you can!

If all our Chapters would take on this Welpenschutz attitude – think of the difference it would make. The Chapters would no longer be ‘status quo’, but up and coming with a new generation of ideas while respecting the place of the older members who have been there and struggled to get/keep the chapter alive.

Think about it!

German Pulse.com Rediscover Your Heritage

June / July 2011

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Conventions Are Not Just For Delegates Being Outside is an Important Part of Life in Germany

By: Erik Wittmann It always fascinates me how people perceive issues and think about things. In talking to a DANK member from Cleveland, while visiting family over Easter, I asked if the person was going to come to the National Convention this October, since Cleveland is so close to Pittsburgh, approximately 2.5 hrs.

Their answer surprised me and made me think how many people have similar thoughts. Their answer, rather matter of fact, was that they were not an officer in that chapter, nor a delegate. I responded “well what does that have to do with anything?” to which they replied “well, don’t you have to have some formal role in the organization?” Of course the answer loud and clear is no you do not.

DANK belongs to all our members whether you belong to a chapter, are a chapter officer or a national member at large. This is your organization and you not only are you encouraged to participate and attend our National Conventions, but are actively invited to do so.

It is an opportunity not only to meet other members and learn about your organization, but have a good time and make a mini- vacation out of it, enjoying the

social opportunities and visiting somewhere you may not have been before.

While encouraged to participate, you can choose to only partake in the social functions and skip all the formal meetings, if that is your choice and you are not selected as an official delegate.

So whether you gather a group of interested DANK members from your chapter and organize a group trip, or invite your friends, including non-DANK members, and make a long weekend of it and enjoy the amenities that the convention and city of Pittsburgh provides, it can be a wonderful weekend adventure.

Tickets to all events can be purchased ahead of time and the convention rate is available to everyone, as long as you indicate that you are attending the German American National Congress Convention or enter the GAM password on the Holiday Inn’s reservation web site.

Anyone with questions can simply go on line at germaninpittsbrugh.org and email us with questions or issues. Come Visit America’s most live-able city and mingle with and enjoy your fellow DANK members and friends.

German-AustrianEuropean Communities

By: Edith Baumhardt DANK member since 1964 & a Founding Springfield DANK member - 1967 I am a new American; the first generation in America.

My late husband loved traveling and showed our children and me a lot of the great States of America.

That’s how I found out the difference in the structure and formation of the communities here and over there.

Here, in America, the smallest community is called a town even a city; rather seldom a village. In Germany and Austria, a rural settlement from 100 to 5,000 inhabitants is called a Dorf (village).

A town is divided into: Kleinstadt (small town) from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants: Mittelstadt (medium sized town) from 20,000 to100,000: Gross-Stadt (bigtown) from 100,000 to 1,000.000 inhabitants and more. City, is used nowadays for any large town of 1,000,000 inhabitants and more. Years ago- originally city was used for the city center.

American has invaded Germany and Austria with many of its cultural features. McDonald’s, Burger

King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food operations are found not only in many larger towns, even in some medium sized ones. Young people, females and males, love to show off their “jeans”.

Fashion seems to be world-wide the same or rather similar. American music is played and preferred all over. The same applies to American movies. They are dominating the movie theaters as people like American movies. They are all synchronized, translated; German actresses and actors speak the parts of the American ones.

Even the German language has been either enriched by new words or German ones have been replaced by American ones. Girls and ladies go “shopping” now, nicht mehr einkaufen. People are stressed and not erschöpft; they are going camping and not zelten and so on. I could write a book over the invasion of American phrases into the German language.

As you may understand now, differences in people and their cultures, habits and customs and even their language are not as vast anymore as they were years ago. That is GOOD, isn’t it?

Spring, and even summer, does not often spoil Germany with warm evenings, when you can sit outside at a street café or a Biergarten.

Yet whenever the sun has been out all day, and the temperatures are still moderate enough, you are sure to find Germany’s folks sitting outside, at their local café, in front of an ice cream parlor, in a beer garden, on a manmade beach in the middle of town, or even in their own back yard.

To “chill and grill,” is the motto for warmer summer days like that. Since they are rare and eagerly anticipated, they are not wasted with visits to a museum or the cinema. Instead we love to sit outside for hours and enjoy a Milchkaffee, or a glass of wine, some ice cream, or – even better – something directly off your own barbecue.

We can sit outside with friends at a street café for hours without having to buy anything much after the initial drink. So we can really enjoy a whole evening just sitting there talking and watching others stroll by.

Equally fun is a “grilling evening” with friends where everyone brings something to share. This includes, meat, which of course includes Bratwurst, and lots of salads and breads. Bringing a bottle of beer or wine, or sparkling water for the driver, is appreciated.

Although we are allowed to drink (moderately!) and drive in Germany, the limit is low, so you are wise to stop after one beer.

It’s not really important what you drink, or what you eat, just being together is what counts, and that is probably why “Grillen” is sometimes called the number one German sport.

If we don’t have our own yard, and if we don’t own a “Schrebergarten“, a garden plot in the suburbs, we pack our stuff, including a little disposable barbeque, and go directly to the nearest public park. Barbeques are so much a part of our lives that it is allowed in most of the parks.

Take notice next time you are walking down Germany’s streets.

You are sure to hear whispering and mumbling, mingled with a whiff of music, from every direction – from behind every hedge and around every street corner. All this wonderful commotion comes from people sitting outside, meeting friends, having something to drink or a bite to eat. That at least is what I’ve experienced as a typical warm spring or summer day in Germany.

I’m looking forward to many, many evenings this year, sitting around bonfires in our yards, somebody strumming a guitar, sharing a glass of wine or champagne with friends and singing old songs until we’re exhausted. Then we’ll just sit there quietly, enjoying the warm breeze, gazing into the flames and listening to our friend’s quietly sing, as we dream…. Another German Sommermärchen.

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Prices of books are set by the publisher and not the retailer.

Publishers have the opportunity to give up the fixed price 18 months after the book’s publication.

Auf Deutsch bitte

“We love to entertain you”, “Ladies Night” or “Coffee to go”.

Deutschlands Werbewelt hat sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten stark verändert. Was für viele Marketingstrategen einfach nur gut klingt, mag für so manch Anderen den Alltag ein wenig erschweren. Das soll jetzt nicht heißen, dass viele Deutsche einfach Matthias Knobloch eine Wissenslücke im Angelsächsischen haben und daher nicht wissen, wofür denn „Infotainment“ nun wirklich stehen mag. Jedenfalls bin ich mir sicher, dass mein 84 Jahre alter Opa nicht weiß, was VW ihm da versucht zu verkaufen. Eine ähnliche Deutschabweichung lässt sich auch auf der Internetseite von VW.de feststellen. Dort wird der „The 21st Century Beetle“ angepriesen. Meine beiden Großväter haben sicherlich keine Ahnung, was ihr guter alter Volkswagenhersteller damit meint.

Die englische Sprache hat sich zu einem Werkzeug deutscher Marketingexperten entwickelt. Aber nicht einmal die Hälfte der Konsumenten weiß, was die Hersteller damit eigentlich meinen. Viele werden jetzt vielleicht denken, dass damit die Generation 60 plus gemeint ist. Ganz im Gegenteil. Der Spiegel hatte diese Thematik in einem Artikel aufgegriffen und herausgefunden, dass die eigentliche Zielgruppe die meisten der untersuchten Werbebotschaften gar nicht oder bisweilen grottenfalsch verstanden haben.

Und das immerhin bei über 1000 willkürlich ausgewählten 14- bis 49-Jährigen, deren Muttersprache Deutsch ist. Ein lustiges Beispiel ist der Werbespruch von Douglas: „Come in and find out“ – „Komm rein und finde wieder raus“ wollten viele der Befragten verstanden haben. Jediglich 18% der Befragten wussten die eigentliche Bedeutung von

Mitsubishis Werbebotschaft „Drive alive“. Der Rest fühlte sich angehalten, die Fahrt in einem Mitsubishi eher zu überleben.

Deutschlands Werber, Vorstände und Konsumenten finden die englische Sprache modern, schick und irgendwie dynamisch. „Job Center“ klingt ja auch besser als Arbeitsamt, oder? Vielleicht liegt es daran, dass es sie an New York erninnert und nicht an Berlins dreckige Straßen. Hatte die Berliner Stadtreinigung deshalb einmal „We kehr for you“ auf ihren Fahrzeugen stehen? Reine Botschaften in englisch mögen vielen vielleicht zu öde geworden sein. Mixen sie deshalb nun beide Sprachen

In German Please

By: Matthias Knobloch

“We love to entertain you”, “Ladies Night” or “Coffee to go”. What seems to be a smart move for TV stations, night clubs or car producers truly complicates the day-to-day life of Germans who have little knowledge of the English language. I am not claiming that some Germans lack the IQ to figure out what “Infotainment”, for instance, actually means. But, I am sure that my 84-year-old grandfather would never know what Volkswagen is trying to sell him in a supposedly German brochure.

The same German-deviation applies to Volkswagen’s dot-de website which advertises “The 21st Century Beetle”.

Now try to understand that without any English education. I’m sure that both of my grandfathers would entirely miss what their good old German car producer is talking about.

The English language has become the favorite linguistic tool of German marketing specialists. However, only a bit more than half of their customers really know what companies are talking about.

You might think that this represents the over-60 generation. Far from it; an article

by Germany’s leading newsmagazine „Der Spiegel“ reported that the target group of advertisers –14 to 49-year-olds – are experiencing difficulties in understanding slogans in English. Many of them even interpret something totally wrong in the

advertising messages. “Douglas – Come in and find out”—the more or less catchy slogan of a fragrance store chain—was interpreted as „come inside and try to find your way back out“. Another example is Mitsubishi’s slogan, “Drive alive.”

Only 18% of those asked knew the right meaning. The remainder actually thought of surviving the drive in a Mitsubishi, which is surely not the anticipated goal behind the idea.

Germany’s advertisers, consumers and executives find the English language modern, nice and dynamic. Maybe it’s because it reminds everyone of New York instead of Berlin’s dirty streets. Perhaps it is for this reason that Berlin’s street and sanitations department advertised their delicate services with “We kehr for you!”, which would translate to “we sweep for you”. Interesting how they mixed German with English, isn’t it? Advertisers may have noticed that perhaps their target group has some issues with comprehension, and for this reason, they chose a German-English mix. I work as a Marketing Specialist for a German airline, and I represent my employer with ads and commercials in the media in the US as well as in Canada. Well guess how I create slogans? I mix German with English.

The German language is permeated with anglicisms, with business English and vogue words. “Glühwein to go” is by far one of my favorites. Even though not

miteinander? Dieses Phänomen macht nun auch vor dem Weihnachtsmarkt nicht halt: „Glühwein to go“ ist bei weitem mein absoluter Lieblingsspruch geworden. Obwohl nicht viele die wahrhaftige Bedeutung angelsächsischer Wörter bzw. Botschaften verstehen, so haben die meisten doch Gefallen an der englischen Sprache im Deutschen gefunden. Schließlich haben wir „Meetings“ und keine Besprechungen und telefonieren mit unserem „Handy“ anstelle des Mobiltelefons. Selbst der klassische Anrufbeantworter heißt bei vielen nur noch „Mailbox“.

In der deutschen Sprache wimmelt es geradezu von Anglizismen, Business-Englisch und Modewörtern. Viele meinen, dass die deutsche Sprache in Gefahr sei und fordern dehalb die Verankerung unserer Muttersprache im Grundgesetz. In Gefahr? Diese und noch andere Fragen waren Gegenstad einer vom Goethe-Institut durchgeführten Podiumsdiskussion. Sprachen verändern sich nunmal im Laufe der Zeit. Besonders in einem vereinten Europa und einer globalisierten Wirtschaftswelt. Viele neue Wörter sind auch aus dem Bereich der Informationstechnologie heraus entstanden. Download, E-Mail und Internetbrowser - um nur mal ein paar zu nennen. Internetnavigator würde wohl kaum jemand sagen. Einige Politiker fordern eine Deutschquote im Radio oder eine Regel, die es verbietet englische Wörter im Bundestag zu benutzen. Andere wiederum kritisieren diese Vorschläge. Ich bin der Meinung, dass eine solide Kenntnis der englischen Sprache eine Grundvoraussetzung dafür ist, in einer globalisierten Welt mehr oder weniger erfolgreich sein zu können. Für mich ist es aber auch wichtig, die deutsche Sprache weiter zu pflegen und an meine zukünftigen Kinder weiterzugeben.

Dr. Matthias Wermke (Leiter der Duden-Redaktion) meint, dass die Pflege der deutschen Sprache vor der eigenen Haustür beginnt und nicht in Brüssel oder Straßburg.1 Meine Frau und ich werden unsere Kinder unbedingt zweisprachig erziehen – um sozusagen das Fundament für ein Leben in einer globalisierten Welt zu legen.

very many understand the true meaning of English messages, some do find them nice and attractive. Germans have meetings instead of “Besprechungen”, they have Handies (the made up word for cell phone) instead of “Mobiltelefon” and they listen to their mailboxes (voicemail inbox) instead of their “Anrufbeantworter”.

Many are of the opinion t h a t the German language is under threat, and they argue that it should be enshrined as a cultural asset in the German constitution.

Really? A threat? Specialists addressed the above-mentioned problems in a recent panel discussion organized by the German language organization “GoetheInstitut”. Languages change in the course of time, especially in a united Europe and a globalized world. The fast pace of development in the IT sector can be held accountable as well. Downloads, E-Mail and Internet browser – Germans would never use the true German words of these fairly new nouns.“Internetnavigator” simply doesn’t sound right.

Some politicians want to create a quota for German songs played on the radio, or even a “must speak German” rule in the Bundestag. Others criticize those ideas.

In my opinion, it is just as important for any young German to know enough English to be more or less successful in a globalized world. I do want to preserve

the German language, but as Dr. Matthias Wermke, head of the Duden Editorial Department, pointed out, cultivating the German language must begin at home, not in Brussels or Strasbourg.1 My wife and I want to raise our future children to be bilingual in order to prepare them for a life in a fast moving and globalized world.

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During WWII the Germans couldn’t get Coca Cola syrup. So to fill the void, they threw together everything juicy they could find and called it Fanta.

Friedrich Hecker Freedom Award GAHS honors Hermann H. Eisele and Barbara E. Nahlik St. Louis, MO - The German American Heritage Society (GAHS) of Saint Louis honored Hermann H. Eisele with its 2011 Friedrich Hecker Freedom Award presented by president, Lansing Hecker on March 5 at the organization’s 21st Anniversary celebration of its founding at the Racquet Club - St. Louis in 1990. The gala celebration was attended by 54 members, Charter Members and guests.

The award is presented each year to an outstanding individual who has worked for the promulgation of cooperation and understanding between Germany and the United States . The award is named for an 1848 German revolutionary leader, who immigrated to America and later fought in the Civil War as a Union officer.

As a practicing attorney for more than 26 years specializing in estate planning, Mr. Eisele has been admitted to practice in Missouri, Illinois, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) and the U.S. District Court (eastern Missouri). He is a GAHS Charter Member and has served on the Board of Directors since 1997, as well as the Endowment Committee Co-Chairman (2004 – present), Nominating Committee Chairman & Legal Counsel (1989 – present).

In addition to GAHS, he is a Member, Board of Directors and Legal Counsel, of the St. Louis Strassenfest Corporation (1989 – 2003), and Vice President (2000 – 2003). He is on the Referral Register of German Speaking Attorneys in the USA for the German Consulate General in Chicago (1995 – present). He is also co-founder of the largest and fastest growing German American genealogy organization in the St. Louis metropolitan area, The German Special Interest Group (G-SIG). Mr. Eisele is married with two children, still plays the accordion with professional finesse at GAHS events and is fluent in German.

At the 5 March black-tie event , the German American Heritage Society of Saint Louis also honored Barbara E. Nahlik with the Stemmler-Hecker Founders Award presented by president Lansing Hecker. This unique award is presented annually to an individual or organization “In Recognition of Special Service to German American Friendship“. For more than 25 years, Ms. Nahlik has served as Executive

Lansing Hecker and Hermann H. Eisele

Director of the St. Louis Optometric Society and with other optometric organizations.

Recently, she was named the 2010 Friend of Optometry by the Missouri Optometric Association.

While initially involved with GAHS as a guest of her good friend, Dr. Robert Koetting, Ms. Nahlik soon joined the ranks of GAHS in July 2000 and has been one of our most active, involved members. In 2007, she joined the Board of Directors, and was appointed Board Secretary in 2009.

For the past two years, she has also been our “unofficial” event chair, making things happen smoothly behind the scenes. She is also an active member of the St. LouisStuttgart Sister Cities. Ms. Nahlik enjoys her family and particularly activities with her grandchildren.

The event’s guest of honor was, Dr. HansUlrich von Schroeter, Deputy Director of the German Information Center at the German Embassy in Washington , D.C. Dr. Schroeter provided fascinating insights on the mission of the German Information Center (GIC) in the United States, as well as in other selected German Embassies around the world.

In addition to providing a weekly,

The Cold War is Visible By: Chris Sturdevant

The Cold War Museum will again host a booth at the EAAAirVenture in Oshkosh, WI The Midwest Chapter of the Cold War the week of July 25- August 1. Members of Museum is happy to announce its new CWM present at several forums around the location at the New Berlin Public Library grounds during the week as well. Nearly 1 in New Berlin, WI. The library boasts a million visitors from around the world visit wonderful Veterans Room where two Cold AirVenture during the week. Be sure to War Museum exhibits are open for viewing. stop by Hangar B and say hello if you visit One exhibit features a Cold War time line one of the world’s most exciting and largest which traces the early formation of the era fly- in events. from the days of the Bolshevik Revolution Interested in an exciting day trip from through 1940. Among the highlights are the greater Chicago area? The Midwest early Soviet spy rings in America, the first Chapter offers guided group tours of the Red Scare, and development of the Gulag former nuclear equipped Nike missile base system in the USSR. We also have an in Waukesha, WI. Call ahead to schedule exhibit of Civil Defense items featuring an appointment for a tour led by a former survival kits, Geiger counters, and civil Nike missile veteran. Chris Sturdevant defense era posters. The Veterans Room is 262-389-1157 open daily with no appointment necessary.

Barbara E. Nahlik and Lansing Hecker

electronic English language “window on the world” with The Week In Germany (TWIG), the GIC also provides extensive support of annual public diplomacy programs primarily to remind high school and university students of America ’s contemporary ties to Germany over the past 60 years.

In recent years, these programs have included: The 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift; The 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall; 20 years of German Unity; and in 2011, Germany’s hosting of the Women’s World Cup Soccer matches, as well as focus on the advantages of learning German as a second language.

Born in Saarlouis, Germany, Dr. von Schroeter served as an officer in the German Military Police from 1986-87. He studied at Universities in Trier, Germany; Nancy, France; and Lisbon, Portugal before receiving his Doctorate of Law at the University at Osnabreuk, Germany.

After joining the German Foreign Service in 1996, he has served with increasing responsibilities at different posts in Bonn; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Luanda, Angola; and Berlin. Dr. von Schroeter has served in his present post since July 2009 providing of Germany through the G.I.C. He is married and has three children.

Biergarten with Southern Hospitality German-American Club Gesangverein By: Patsy Stout The German-American Club Gesangverein holds Biergartens throughout the year at our beautiful club house and grounds located at 1840 Lincoln Ave., Louisville, KY. We offer a delicious assortment of German foods consisting of Schnitzels, Bratwursts, German Potato Salad, Red Cabbage, German Hot Slaw, Sauerkraut, our famous Sauerkraut Balls and much more.

A variety of German-American entertainment is provided at each Biergarten from Louisville’s own Rheingold Band, Cincinnati’s Gebhard Erler, The Knappers from Indianapolis and the Eagle Mountain Band, playing country and oldies from the 50’s and 60’s. There is ample room for dancing and plenty of Gemütlichkeit, “southern style”.

All Biergartens are held from 6pm until 10pm EST and there is never a cover charge. Our scheduled Biergartens for the months of June & July are as follow:

June 11, 2011 (The Knappers); June 25, 2011 (The Rheingold Band); July 9, 2011 (Eagle Mountain Band) July 23, 2011 (Gebhard Erler).

For more information, please contact 502-618-1950 or email patsys@ mwmcorp.com.

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German-American Journal

June / July 2011

Germany’s territory covers about 137,850 sqm which is just slightly larger than the state of Montana.

The DANK National office in Chicago is eagerly awaiting the warm weather of spring and the start of summer in June. The warm weather will bring everyone outdoors in time to celebrate the different festivals.

In Chicago the 12th Annual Maifest will take place a few blocks from our DANK offices on June 3-5. Milwaukee will celebrate its 30th Annual Germanfest in July.

DANK National will be represented again this year with a booth at the fairgrounds. If you will be there, please stop at our booth and say hello to show your support for our wonderful organization.

Many of our chapters have picnics and outdoor events planned all summer long. We encourage you to join in these celebrations.

We all enjoy good food, drinks, music and friends. If you are not an active member these events are the perfect opportunity to make new friends.

In case you haven’t heard, DANK is on Facebook (Facebook.com/DANKNational).

If you “like” us on Facebook you will be able to keep track of updates on Chapter activities, DANK and German news on your Facebook feed, as well as being able to interact with us by leaving comments or post news, and pictures. Your participation

is what makes this fun.

The second notices for membership dues were recently mailed. Thank you to those who have already paid their 2011 dues. If you have not had an opportunity to pay, please do so as soon as possible in order to keep your membership active. If you have decided to let your membership laps, this will be the last German-American Journal you will receive.

Have you recently moved? Contact the National Office if your current address is incorrect or if you will change addresses in the next few months. The post office does not forward 3rd class mail such as the Journal. Only first class mail, such as regular letters, are forwarded. The Journal is one way we keep our members informed about DANK’s activities and initiatives and we want to make sure all mailings reach you. By keeping DANK updated costs are kept down and our database is kept current with the most up to date information. You can email (office@dank.org), call (Toll Free: 866-926-1109), or mail it to us at DANK Executive Office, 4740 N. Western Ave. Suite 206, Chicago, IL 60625.

Both Eva and I would like to wish you all a safe and happy summer.

Erie Chapter Celebrates 20th Anniversary By: Beverly Pochatko On April 27th, members of the Erie DANK Chapter (the German Heritage Society of Erie) met in the Crystal Room of the Erie Männerchor Club to celebrate their 20th Anniversary with an Open House, Awards Night and a Kaffee Klatsch. Prior to the celebration members enjoyed dinner in the main dining room of the Club. Our Greeter for this informal evening was James von Loewe.

Membership Certificates and pins were presented for 20 years to: Elsa Bayer, Robert & Carolyn Brabender, Charlotte Chase, Emil & Gretel Daeschner, Luise Dudkiewicz, Geza & Marianne Gruenwald, Hilde Huttel, Beverly Pochatko, Heddy Quest, Charles and Susan Roehrl, Siegfried and Carole Wunner; 15 years: Margaret Carter, Paul & Doris Gerbracht, Melissa & John Lesniewski, and Robert Wiegmann; and 10 year pins to Gerald & Deborah Chase. Special recognition certificates were presented to: Ursel Altsman, Heidi and Don Cowey, Luise Dudkiewicz, and Margaret Potocki for their outstanding contributions to the chapter.

A discussion on attending the upcoming Convention in Pittsburgh was met with a lot of enthusiasm and we hope to have

a nice contingency representing our Chapter. Also discussed, were the five awards that are presented during the national convention.

At the end of summer, we will once again be promoting our heritage at the annual German Heritage Festival over Labor Day weekend. It will be our 15th year doing this. We remain true to our purpose keeping the event as German as possible, and promoting family attendance. While many heritage venues tend to use the event to raise large sums of money, we are proud to say that in Erie our only goal is to bring in enough money to restart the following year and contribute to several organizations that help preserve Erie’s German history.

As is customary at our regular meetings, a 50/50 was held thanks to the assistance of Luise Dudkiewicz, Heddy Quest, and Diana Healy. The winner was Lois Tibbitts, who was the guest of Ursel Altsman and a prospective member at this gathering.

Following the 50/50 drawing, our attention turned to the Dessert Table.

Thanks to Renate Gaiser, the evening’s dessert hostess, along with Ursel Altsman and Bev Pochatko, we were able to enjoy the most delicious desserts with fresh cups of coffee for the rest of the evening.

Erie Chapter Welcomes German Visitors By: Beverly Pochatko

is “black and white” while usage within the culture has many “shades of gray”.

They were able to visit Harrisburg, Hershey, Lititz, Lancaster, Gettysburg, Philadelphia; Washington D.C. and Florida before their return to Germany.

At the recent Fasching Party held in Erie, we were pleasantly surprised to the introduced to several young people visiting from Germany. The students were introduced by Becky Travis, Sandrina Bumm and Matthias Röger are both teacher candidates from Bavaria. They were sponsored by PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association). While here, they observed classes in public schools in order to become more familiar with American schools and to compare them with German schools. They have also done presentations about themselves and Germany in schools where they have done observations.

Pauline Lötzsch is a high school student from Berlin. She is living with DANK member, Becky Travis (but not as a foreign exchange student....just a personal family friend). Her parents wanted her to be immersed in American English and American culture. She is Sandrina Bumm, Matthias learning that text book English

Röger and Pauline Lötzsch

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German-American Journal

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DANK Haus Prepares for Complete Faรงade Renovation

By: Amelia Cotter This year, the DANK Haus will continue its mission of preserving and promoting German culture, heritage, and language by completely remodeling our first floor faรงade.

The DANK Haus was fortunate to be one of the Lincoln Square businesses to win

the late 2010 lottery for a SBIF Grant from the City of Chicago. The new faรงade will cost approximately $250,000, up to 50% of which will be reimbursed by the grant.

Work on the faรงade began in May with the goal of being completed before winter.

This large-scale endeavor will improve not only the appearance of the building, but hopefully help to revitalize the organization

itself and preserve the DANK Haus as a lasting legacy for the German American community.

Several neighborhood businesses will also be positively affected, including the Athenian Shoe Store and Becker Pharmacy, which are next door and part of the building.

We are excited to watch the transformation

occur and truly appreciate your support of our efforts. We ask that you take part in the DANK Haus legacy as well, and help us to complete this project with your taxdeductible contribution, which can be made out to: DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60625.

Advertise Your Business Here Discounted Rates Available to Chapters & Associate Members

Contact Eve Timmerhaus National Office Manager (888) USA-DANK Fax: (773) 275-4010 office@dank.org

Check Us Out Online Head on over to our National Website to get the latest updates and information on DANK and the Germanic-American community.

www.dank.org dank.org/forum dank.org/blog

If you are gifting a membership:

Your Name

Your Phone #

Sign Up For Membership Online @ www.DANK.org

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German-American Journal

June / July 2011

Members Enjoyed a Spring Day Trip By: Ursula Hoeft Chapter Lake County, IL

Good food, great entertainment, warm camaraderie was enjoyed, and special occasions were celebrated on April 14, as twenty-five DANK Chapter Lake County Illinois members met at White Pines State Park in Morris, Illinois. They were there to enjoy a buffet lunch and live stage show at the White Pines Inn. Chapter president Cobi Stein’s recommendation to have only a light breakfast was good advice. The buffet was plentiful and delicious, and the fellowship was enjoyable, as it always is when DANK members get together. The entertainment was outstanding, too.

Talented and well-known singers Kate Rafferty and Ron Mills took the audience back in time to enjoy American tunes - and American trivia - from the 1930s and 40s.

The most remarkable bit of trivia was the fact that gasoline cost only 15 cents a gallon in those days! Wishful expressions seen on faces in the audience were quickly followed by a collective groan as people remembered what it had cost them to fill their gas tanks for the trip to White Pines.

Special occasions also were celebrated.

It was Ernst Weber’s birthday and Chapter Board members Brigitte and the Rev. Richard Kaeske’s 43rd wedding anniversary.

Chapter Board members Hanni and Bernd Kraemer deserve a big “thank you” for recommending this very enjoyable destination for a Chapter day drip. It seems that White Pines State Park is one of their favorite places for a close-to-home vacation. After the musical program, Hanni and Bernd took folks on a mini tour of the site. They even managed to get a key to one

of the rustic log cabins so that people could take a peek inside.

The twenty-five guest cabins that are available for rental, as well as the White Pines Inn and gift shop, were built in the mid-1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program put in place during the Great Depression to provide

work opportunities for the unemployed.

Other White Pines State Park attractions attributed to the CCC program are “fords” built instead of bridges that allow visitors to drive through several sections of Pine Creek, one of the park’s two streams. These fords are among the park’s most unique features.

Back: The Rev. Richard Kaeske, Brigitte Kaeske Front: Erna and Ernst Weber

Anita Walthier, Eva Timmerhaus, Marianne Dietz, and Gary Dietz, DANK Chicago South President

Neighborhoods of the World German Chicago Now By: Anita Walthier Public Relations

The city of Chicago sponsored a cultural neighborhood event that was held at Chicago’s famous Navy Pier in the Crystal Gardens. In order to celebrate Chicago’s diverse ethnic communities in an allnew tribute, Neighborhoods of the World, presentations were held each Sunday starting on February 6th.. The series, which showcased nine different Chicago ethnic communities, concluded on April 3, 2011 with German Chicago Now. Approximately 1,000 people visited this event and enjoyed authentic live music, dancers and entertainers. There were performances by Pieptone!, Paloma Band, Amazonen, Fanfaren Corps of Chicago, BGTV D’Lustigen Holzhacker Buam, Egerlander

Tanzgruppe, and Amazing Mike.

German Culture was celebrated and represented by Chicago’s Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce, which partnered with DANK Chicago North, Dank-Haus German American Cultural Center and DANK National.

The DANK National booth displayed festive balloons, flags, a map of Germany, literature of upcoming events, DANK school information and of course our newspaper, The German-American Journal along with membership brochures.

The volunteers for this booth were Eva Timmerhaus, DANK Chicago South President Gary Dietz, Marianne Dietz and Anita Walthier. All of us had an enjoyable afternoon talking about our organization, DANK, at this unique, first ever performance series.

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German-American Journal

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Convention 2011 Schedule Information from Chapter Pittsburgh

By: Erik Wittmann Chapter President/National Vice President Convention Dates: October 28-30, 2011 Convention Hotel is Crown Plaza Hotel South Hills, a four star hotel located at Ft. Couch Rd., Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Hotel Rate will be $99 a night. The non-convention rate is $129 if you do not provide the GAM code at the time of registration, which can be done on line by going to either the Priority Club or the Holiday Inn web sites. You can also call (412) 833-5300 or 800-Holiday.

Schedule of Events: Thursday, October 27th Arrivals and social evening at the Hofbräu, Pittsburgh

Friday, October 28th Arrivals - Delegates will have scheduled meetings.

Non-delegates will have other options, from visiting sites, to gambling at local Casinos. Evening of the 28th will feature an Oktoberfest at the Crown Plaza Hotel; admission to the event will be $10, which will cover entertainment and some food. Cash bar will be provided by the hotel

entrees, which will be announced in future notifications or can be found on the Pittsburgh Chapter website www. germaninpittsburgh.org

Saturday, October 29th Delegates will have morning meetings, etc. Afternoon has 3 hours open time for relaxation and hitting the health club,which is included in your hotel room rate.

Or you can take advantage of one of the side trips being planned.

As stated in an attached Journal article, entertainment for the cocktail hour and dinner will be provided by a segment of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra with The Hank Haller Ensemble, providing dance music and intermittent performances by the Pittsburgh Alpen Schuplattler.

All events are open to DANK members and their guests, from the hotel discounted rates to the various social events.

So please make sure to make your reservations and visit the Pittsburgh chapter web site to either order your Oktoberfest or Banquet tickets, or just stay abreast of the convention’s various activities.

Saturday evening: 30th Chapter Anniversary /Convention Banquet Cocktails at 5:30 pm - cash bar Dinner at 6:30 pm – there will be a choice of two different

Sunday, October 30th Brunch is offered at a discounted rate for convention attendees, as well as for those staying over on Sunday. A dinner theater is available in the late afternoon.

It’s Ladies Happy-Hour

From The Heart Birth of Baby Lauren Heralds Five Generations In South Bend of Women All Alive and Well

By: William R. Troutman

All 5 generations from the same family. Left: Isabel Meyer, Gail Sonnichsen, Darlene Fuchs, Christina Willis, Lauren Willis

Thursday, May 12th, was an exciting day in the life of Isabel Meyer now 94 years young, born in 1915. Girl power is alive and kicking now that infant Lauren Isabel Willis was born on July 31,2010. She is among five generations of women from the same family who are still alive and well.

Ninety-five years separate the baby from her great-greatgrandmother Isabel Meyer, who was 20 when she had her first daughter, Lauren’s great-grandmother Gail Wagner Sonnichsen in 1937.

The third generation started with Darlene Fuchs, 25 followed by Lauren’s mother Christina Willis, 28.

The women say they feel honored to be part of a highly matriarchal family of five generations and are lucky to have the extra emotional and practical support.

Mrs. Fuchs said: “We thought five generations was unusual 28 years ago when we celebrated with Christina’s great-great-grandmother, Lilian Ferry, at her 90th birthday party.”

“Everyone is surprised and amazed that five generations of women has surfaced once again in our family, how lucky

we are.”

‘We do, think our situation is very unusual - no one else we know has five generations in their family.”

“Isabel, “Nana bell” is our rock, and we call her our prayer champion because she prays for each one of her family members daily and place each of their needs before God.” “My daughter Christina is blessed to have her greatgrandmother still alive, so for her daughter, Lauren, to have her great-great-grandmother, it is a rare and beautiful privileged.”

75 years ago, Isabel married a German immigrant, Joeseph Wagner and the rest is history. The following generations have kept German traditions alive in their families and have been actively involved in the German community and supportive DANK members.

This strong female lineage has survived two Wold Wars, seventeen presidents, starting with Woodrow Wilson and the invention of the television, the internet and smartphones. Ladies, we raise our glasses to you.

Our much-loved and cherished friend Anna Bozvary has passed away. She was an active member of D.A.N.K. for 34 years, cooking and helping at all functions.

Born on September 18, 1919; Anna Steinleitner grew up with a sister and seven brothers in Natternberg Deutschland by Deggendorf and the beautiful Donau river. Anna was married to Ferdinand Aussprung but lost her husband tragically in World War II. Mother of two daughters, Trudy and Anna, she met Laszlo Bozvary and immigrated to the United States in December of 1952. Laszlo and Anna were married in February of 1953 and both took jobs at Healthwin Hospital in South Bend where they achieved 60 combined years of service as cooks and bakers. She was a hard worker and took great pride in her home including vegetable and flower gardens.

Anna dearly loved her seven Grandchildren and thirteen Great Grandchildren and also her Creator for she was a former member of Our Lady of Hungary Parish, where she was a member of the Sacred Heart and Rosary Society and later attended St. Pius X Catholic Church.

Anna died at age 91 on February 25, 2011 ten years after Laszlo. We will surely miss you.

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German-American Journal

June / July 2011

5 Annual German Heritage Celebration th

By: Marianne Dietz

his dedicated and hard working executive board along with all the volunteers that On May 7th DANK Chicago South made the celebration possible. Mayor collaborated with the Village of Frankfort of Frankfort Jim Holland thanked Tom and the Frankfort Park District for the Cartstens, President of the Frankfort Park 5th annual German Heritage Celebration. District, and Mary Cannino, Community Frankfort was founded by German settlers Manager, for all their help as well as the and Mayor (and member) Jim Holland has Frankfort community. Without everyone’s felt the importance to promote the town’s attendance the event could not take place. heritage by co-sponsoring this day with our Our distinguished guests consisted of our chapter. own DANK German Youth Ambassador Chapter President Gary Dietz welcomed Miss Andrea Dietz, Chicago’s Karneval the hundreds of people that came to share Geselschaft Rheinische Verein with Prince the day with us at Founders Center in Manfred & Princess Jennifer and their downtown Frankfort. He warmly introduced court, the Chicago Niedersachsen Club and

their Junior Miss Niedersachsen, Shelby Guntermann-Chesko, members of DANK Fox Valley and DANK Chicago. Our German culture was proudly shown by the Egerländer and D’Lustigen Holzhacker Buam dance groups along with our vendors Ingrid Fashions displaying trachtenwear, BT-Music featuring German CDs, Lenz German Imports, KinderCone-children hands-on art supplies and Cottage Creations with various gift items.

The Germans are known for their good food and drink. Chef Klaus’ Bier Stube offered culinary delights of pork roast and bratwurst dinners, while the Bienenstich,

If You Don’t Play, You Can’t Win!

German Movie Nights are Most Welcome

DANK National Raffle By: Bob Miske, Raffle Chair

Members and friends of DANK will once again be able to win big this year by participating in the DANK “German Americans, A Proud Heritage”. Tickets will be mailed to every DANK household over the next few weeks, at a price of $5.00 per ticket. Here is the opportunity to help your organization by supporting this worthy fund raising event. Funds from this event will be used to further the aims and goals of the organization!

Chapters ordering raffle tickets in blocks of 20 or more, for their own sales efforts, will be offered a 20% rebate when the raffle funds are received by the National Executive Office along with the ticket stubs. That means that for every ticket sold, the chapter would earn a dollar for their efforts (500 tickets sold = $500). We encourage chapters to sell raffle tickets at their functions since more tickets sales means more income for the chapter.

Please order your ticket blocks by calling the National Office at 773-275-1100 or toll free at (888) USA-DANK (872-3265), or by sending an e-mail to: office@dank.org.

Your envelope with the raffle stubs and money must reach our National Executive Office no later than October 15, 2011.

Please mark the envelope “Raffle.”

Prizes this year: First Prize is a big screen TV, Second Prize is $500 cash, Third Prize is $250, Fourth Prize will be a $100 gift certificate, and Fifth Prize will be $50 gift certificate.

The drawing for prizes will take place during the National Convention in Pittsburgh on the weekend of October 2830, 2011. Tickets will be sold until October 15th and in person during the weekend of the National Convention.

Again, thank you for your support and participation. This year may be your opportunity to win the big prize! We wish everyone “Good Luck” in the drawing.

Laurel Highlands Sub-Chapter Activity 2011 Pittsburgh’s Laurel Highlands subchapter held its first meeting of 2011 on March 1. The sub-chapter decided to hold at least four additional meetings during 2011. One of which will be a picnic meeting at the home of Bill and Cindy Russell. Bill and Cindy will provide the sausages and beverages and each member will bring an authentic German dish.

German conversation sessions were resumed on Thursday April 7 to be continued every Thursday evening until June 2. Bill Russell is conducting the sessions. Emphasis is on pronunciation and useful phrases with a minimum of grammar. Currently six members are taking part.

apple strudel and authentic pretzels were prepared by the Austrian Bakery and DANK South’s own pastry chef Richard Ach offered his palatable tortes, especially his Schwarzwälderkirsch torte--yum! After all that, one had to quench their thirst with Spaten Beer. Everyone enjoyed the musical talents of Peter and his Alpine horns and dancing to Phenix Band. President Dietz encouraged everyone to attend our upcoming events for more German fun and excitement and to continue our proud German heritage.

By: Stephan Pigler, Chapter President Our chapter managed to do quite a bit during this long harsh winter.

We had three movie showings that were all successful. The first one we had to postpone by one week, because of a huge snow storm, but the others went as planned. The first two movies were scheduled in connection with the Lenten Fish Frys at Lenau Park.

On the 4th of March, we showed “Downfall”, a highly acclaimed German production of the last 10 days in the bunkers of the Reichskanzlei, leading up to the surrender of Germany, on May 8th 1945.

On the 25th, we showed the highly acclaimed “Mostly Martha”, a “slice of life” movie from the year 2002.

On April 16th, we showed a double feature at the Cleveland Männerchor. First it was “Hallo Dienstmann”, an Austrian film, with Paul Hoerbinger, Hans Moser and Maria Andergast, from the year 1951(!)

This movie was a nice little comedy.

This was followed by the second movie, “Kirschblueten” (Cherry Blossoms), a film that was shown at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2008, and which was received very well.

We tried to get German films with English sub-titles and a variety of themes. For future events, we also welcome suggestions.

So far we have been well received, as we averaged 30 people per showing. Everyone said they would spread the word about future showings.

There is an “Altenheim” here in

Cleveland, which was founded by a German Women’s organization back in the 30’s and still serves a lot of Germans. We are going to show a movie there in the near future, because many of the people are unable to leave the buildings they live in.

Our “Kino” is actually a “traveling dog and pony show”, as it exists of a 50 inch plasma flat screen TV set and a DVD player. This way we can show the movies in various locations.

On May 7th, we are hosting a 1950’s dance at the Cleveland Männerchor. “The Geezecats”, a well known local band, will perform for us.

After that it will be time to start getting ready for the German-American Fest on June 17th and 18th, at German Central.

This is usually our biggest undertaking of the year.

All our activities are announced free of charge on our various German radio programs and we also advertise in the local monthly “Germania”

June / July 2011

German-American Journal

13

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, discovered X-rays in 1895 and was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901

History Teachers Can Connect the German Past to the America’s Future By: Anne Marie Furhig Every year on a Thursday in early May, over 1,000 Illinois middle and high school students climb on a school bus, many before dawn, to take their history projects to Springfield for the annual History Expo.

Once there, they set their project up on their assigned spot on one of the long rows of tables, in time to have them judged by 30 or 40 experts. Not just projects accompanied by an exhibit, also performances and electronic media and video projects are brought to the competition. Projects which fulfill established criteria, have a chance at winning any of a large number of prizes and/ or be nominated for entry in the National History Day at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, scheduled this year for June 13 – 17 (www.nationalhistoryday. org/Contest.htm).

In order to have a convincing project, the student has to state a thesis or a reason why this was interesting and develop this point in a step-by-step process, not just tell a story.

Most projects are exhibits that use illustrations. Usually, these are mounted neatly on a card board panel of specified dimensions and explained by text. An accompanying paper outlines the process, their insights, and lists the resources—such as books, the internet or interviews they used.

Why is this of interest to German-American organizations? The answer is simple: if our organizations do not push projects on German-American topics with the young, the knowledge about this country’s largest ethnic group and its contributions will disappear. As those of you who have tried to give prizes for papers or projects know,

German-Americans are rarely on students’ and teachers’ radar screens until they get involved in such a way.

At last year’s Illinois History Expo in Springfield, DANK, the German-American National Congress headquartered in Chicago, again awarded a $100 US Savings bond for an outstanding piece of work, this time on the history of the Schwinn Bicycle Company in Chicago. The two young ladies who cooperated on this project shared the prize. They won because among all the others with eligible topics, they had researched Ignaz Schwinn was an example of an immigrant who brought his experience of bicycle mechanics with him. They also had picked a focus and organized their information and accompanying notes in such a way that their project proved the point they had chosen; it is certainly not enough to simply tell a story. Students also need to record the sequence of their steps in the accompanying notes. When I met them, it was clear that they were aware of the importance of German immigrants and were proud of them.

The DANK education committee is in its fourth year of awarding this prize, named for Ernst Ott, a two-term president of DANK. It was established by a Board decision in 2006. This award brings attention to DANK and helps fulfill the charge repeated

by President Bill Fuchs in his November 2009 letter that “our mission remains to … strive to increase the general public’s awareness of the enormous accomplishments of German-Americans.”

Of course, this initiative is not limited to this one group; any group can promote participation in the Illinois contest or establish a similar process for their state’s his-

tory competition. The benefit of integrating student contests into a larger, established process—compared to a locally awarded prize—is that teachers in the entire state become aware of this opportunity and include it in their lists of possible topics for future participants. Another advantage is that, as students work on their project for several months, they learn much about their topic and discover the importance of Americans of German background. They are also forced to think through the evidence they collected in search of a point, then organize and illustrate their information accordingly.

In connecting the past to the future in this way, students widen their perspectives on realities in this country in general and develop appreciation for the importance of everyone’s connection to the past in particular.

They also see this as a case of this country’s connection to the rest of the world.

What does it take for a German-American award to get incorporated in a state’s history project competition? It takes some planning. The only formal qualification is to be a representative of the group who sponsors the special prize, but the coordinator has to find out where and when the competition is held and cooperate with the organizers of the Expo or Fair on setting it up and find a prize winner every year.

The individual or group then needs to become familiar with something teachers call rubrics—short descriptions of the characteristics of a good project. Experience has shown that a dazzling display alone does not prove that the student has internalized the project’s importance and gained the insights that form the organizing principle; it only proves basic artistic skills. To make

The GSC Benefit Event By: Christa Garcia

It all started with an innocent “Save the Date” - GSC Benefit Event on April 15, 2011 at the Germania Place in Chicago. The proceeds of this Benefit Event are going to the expansion of additional classrooms for the coming school year.

German School Chicago (GSC) is an independent, notfor-profit, dual-language school with the curriculum mainly taught in German with a multi-cultural approach. A group of professional women founded this non-profit organization

Consul General Onno Hueckmann and his wife Martina and Dr. Annegret Harnischfeger, School Director

which became NFP in 2008. Qualified teachers - native speakers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland - were hired to teach the pre-school, Kindergarten and first grades.

Plans for second and third grade are also under way.

The School welcomes students of all backgrounds and nationalities. Students learn in a supportive, intimate, individualized environment that nurtures curiosity and creativity and fosters global awareness. GSC students ˆ fluent in German and English ˆ will become well-rounded, responsible global citizens.

Mr. and Mrs. Irene Rotter at the GSC Benefit Event enjoying themselves (Germania Place is where they met some fifty years ago)

this easier, the student may need to write two papers to reach the insights: first a report (which then serves as the behind the scenes source) and then the project with the focus that reflects the insights to be in the piece.

This, however, is an evolution for all participants. Good teachers know how to guide their students to this goal, yet, for younger students, one sentence sometimes needs to suffice, though it does not get a top score. In selecting for the German-American prize, advisors/teachers will want to look for the project that makes its point most convincingly--organizing the material effectively, which is not always achieved before high school. A student will also need to work fast; lingering may keep you from finishing!

Once a group interested in sponsoring a prize has a representative or a committee with experience with rubrics that is also able to attend the history fair on a weekday, leaders will need to decide how much they can invest every year in this positive PR. I have so far not noticed that in Illinois, the fact that we award only $100 has interfered with interest in the award, but other groups do award more. In Illinois, DANK’s participation allows me to speak about the award and its focus, German-Americans, before the 1,000 or larger audience of teachers, parents and students at the final awards ceremony every year, and that is a beautiful start! Another return on the investment is that we have invited the winners to bring their project to the DANK convention every other year in November, where their projects have been exhibited along with ones others from younger students.

German Students Win Awards on AATG National German Exam By: Christa Garcia This year, 38 German students from the DANK German Language School Chicago and DANK German Language School Northern Suburbs took the National German Exam, sponsored by AATG, the American Association of Teachers of German.

The Exam is offered to students in levels 2, 3 and 4; students in level 5 are eligible to take the level 4 test and are ranked and scored separately from students in level 4. The exams test students’ knowledge of German through listening comprehension, grammar and comprehension of reading passages.

The AATG National German Exam is given to high school students, age 14-18. (The DANK School students are still in middle or junior high school.) This year, eight students on level 2, four students on level 3 and one student on level 4 will earn certificates and medals from the German American Education Fund (GAEF), a NFP since 1974. The German American Education Fund has awarded the AATG Junior Award to deserving students for over a decade. The Board of the German American Education Fund wishes each student continued success with the study of the German language. Congratulations to the teachers and their deserving students!

14

German-American Journal

June / July 2011

Oskar & Atticus lieben Lesen und Lernen!

By: Amelia Cotter

Oskar & Atticus Love to Read and Learn!

By: Amelia Cotter

Summer is the perfect time to read a good book. Dani and Elmar took Oskar, Atticus, and Guten Tag to the library to collect some good books and become members of the summer book club.

Oskar and Atticus wanted Guten Tag to learn many new words and discover the world through different books. Guten Tag had already learned three new words and a new phrase during spring: “one,” “two,” “Dad,” and “Auf Wiedersehen! [Until next time!]”

The three animals collected books in German and English. They were excited about classic German children’s books like The Sams by Paul Maar, The Robber Hotzenplotz by Otfried Preußler, and The Trip to Panama by Janosch.

They collected books about all possible topics, such as dogs, reptiles, Germany, outer space, ghost stories, and most important of all, how to raise lizards.

The summer was sunny and warm, but in the evenings it was cool and comfortable enough to sit in the yard together and read.

On a particularly nice night, Oskar, Atticus, and Guten Tag sat outside together and read

their books. They were fascinated by the great diverse world of literature.

Oskar found the planets particularly interesting, while Atticus was most interested in the snake sciences. Guten Tag loved the Tiger Duck the most, a character from the stories of Janosch.

Dani and Elmar were also close by and so excited about spending time with their big little family. The beautiful summertime reminded the whole troop that the future has so much to offer.

“There are always many possibilities on the horizon,” Dani told the little ones. “You might make an unlikely friend, discover new places, help other people (or animals), and even find a lucky penny or a beautiful star—if you look very close and always keep smiling.” „Even if it’s not always easy,” Elmar added.

Oskar, Atticus, and Guten Tag sipped their lemonade and nodded.

We’ve had so many experiences in such a short time, Oskar and Atticus thought happily.

They look forward to what lies ahead and know that anything is possible.

“Until next time!” says Guten Tag.

Der Sommer ist es die perfekte Zeit ein gutes Buch zu lesen. Dani und Elmar gingen mit Oskar, Atticus, und Guten Tag zur Bibliothek, um viele schöne Bücher zu sammeln und Mitglieder des Sommerbücherklubs zu werden.

Oskar und Atticus wollten, dass Guten Tag viele neue Wörter lernt, und die Welt durch verschiedene Bücher entdeckt. Guten Tag hatte schon während des Frühlings drei neue Wörter und einen neuen Ausdruck gelernt: „eins“, „zwei“, „Papa“, und „Auf Wiedersehen“!

Die drei Tiere sammelten Bücher auf Deutsch und auf English. Sie hatten sich auf klassische deutsche Kinderbücher gefreut, wie Das Sams von Paul Maar, Der Räuber Hotzenplotz von Otfried Preußler, und Oh, Wie Schön ist Panama! von Janosch.

Sie sammelten auch Bücher über alle mögliche Themen wie Hunde, Reptilien, Deutschland, der Kosmos, Geistergeschichten, und vor allem, Eidechsenerziehung.

Der Sommer war sonnig und warm aber abends war das Gras kühl und angenehm genug, um zusammen im Garten zu lesen.

An einem besonders schönen Abend saßen Oskar, Atticus, und Guten Tag draußen zusammen und ließen die Bücher. Sie waren von der großen und vielfältigen Welt

der Literatur fasziniert.

Oskar fand die anderen Planeten besonders interessant, während Atticus sich am meisten für die Schlangenwissenschaften interessierte. Guten Tag mochte am liebsten die Tigerente, eine Figur aus den Geschichten von Janosch.

Dani und Elmar waren auch dabei und freuten sich darüber, Zeit mit ihrer großenkleinen Familie zu verbringen. Die schöne Sommerzeit erinnert die ganze Truppe immer daran, dass die Zukunft viel zu bieten hat. „Am Horizont liegen immer viele Möglichkeiten“, sagte Dani den Kleinen. „Man kann unwahrscheinlich viele Freunde kennenlernen, neue Länder entdecken, anderen Menschen (oder Tieren) helfen, und sogar einen Glückspfennig oder einen schönen Stern finden—wenn man ganz nah hinguckt und sein Lächeln nie verliert.“ „Auch wenn es nicht immer einfach ist“, fügte Elmar hinzu.

Oskar, Atticus, und Guten Tag schlürften ihre Limonade und nickten.

So viele Erlebnisse haben wir in so einer kurzen Zeit bereits erlebt, dachten Oskar und Atticus.

Sie schauen mit Spannung nach vorne, denn sie wissen was die Zukunft alles bringen kann. „Auf wiedersehen“! sagt Guten Tag.

This is the last edition of Oskar & Atticus. We are sad to end the telling of their adventures, but be assured that they go on! A special thanks goes to Micheal Randall and Matthias Knobloch for all their help. Thanks to the German-American Journal for featuring the series, and of course, thanks to the real Oskar and Atticus for being such inspirational pets! They send all their fans a BIG hug!

This series is dedicated to people of all ages who enjoy reading fun, happy stories and who love exploring German language and culture. Vielen Dank und viel Spass beim Lesen! Thank you and have fun reading!

Love, Amelia, Oskar & Atticus

If you want to read more silliness by Amelia Cotter, check out Breakfast with Bigfoot from Barclay Bryan Press, coming in winter 2011! Find out if Bigfoot really exists—and what he thinks of peanut butter and jelly—in this story that explores some of the natural and processed foods we eat (grades K-2). Other books by Amelia include This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost and the forthcoming Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State (spring 2012).

June / July 2011

German-American Journal

15

Melitta Bentz, a German entrepreneur, didn’t enjoy coffee grounds in her cup of coffee. So in 1908 she came up with the invention of the coffee filter

Europe’s Silicon Valley

By: Kurt de Swaaf | magazine-deutschland.de The future is concealed in the unspectacular. Very little in this coolly lit, grey room in the basement of Building 445 provides any inkling of the trailblazing technology that people are working on here: a minute apparatus implanted in the human eye is to replace weak lenses and the muscles that enable sharp eyesight. It would make reading glasses superfluous. “We plan to have a prototype ready by 2014,” says Helmut Guth. The physicist belongs to the interdisciplinary research team that has been developing this artificial accommodation system since 2004. Guth works at the Institute for Applied Computer Science (IAI) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He demonstrates the technology in the lab, where two large artificial eyes have to focus on a picture from different distances. It works surprisingly well. As soon as the picture card is moved, the lenses adjust and a few seconds later the recorded image of a rabbit is once again sharp and in focus on the computer screen. Using the angular position of the artificial eyes, the system identifies where to look and how near or far the object is, explains Guth. In the pro cess the technology uses the Earth’s magnetic field to orient itself.

The development work requires truly remarkable feats of microtechnology. Guth explains that the artificial lens, mechanical components, electronics, sensors and naturally an energy supply too all have to fit together in a disc one centimetre in dia meter and four millimetres thick. Programming the requisite software was also particularly challenging. “Things get complex when lots of different subsystems have to work together reliably.” A microcomputer calculates the necessary lens adjustments on the basis of a constant supply of sensor data.

The KIT and this artificial accommodation system are just two examples of the activities of the booming information technology industry in southwest Germany.

The region has developed into a top-rank IT location and is often described as Europe’s Silicon Valley. In addition to 17 scientific institutions, the region is also home to major firms such as Europe’s largest software producer SAP, Software AG, which is also a world-leading company for software solutions, as well as numerous smaller busi nesses in the IT sector. In January 2010 they all joined together in the Software Cluster Rhine Main Neckar designated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). A total of 350 partners are pursuing the goal of strengthening the development of software innovation for “the digital company”. The BMBF will be supporting projects of this kind with up to 40 million euros a year until 2015. When it comes to business software, firms from southwest Germany

Comparing Markets DOW

already have a 36% world market share. Joint research projects and cooperation within clusters are crucial for the future success of the region’s software industry, emphasizes Karl-Heinz Streibich, CEO of Software AG in Darmstadt.

“Growing international recognition of the region helps us to move our projects forward.”

Streibich’s company has primarily specialized on developing software that facilitates the digital management of business pro cesses. Harald Schöning explains that the latter should be better connected with concrete reality. “You need to know how things happening in the world affect your business,” he says. Logistics processes are a good example here. Imagine a truck full of frozen food, says software expert Walter Waterfeld. It’s the middle of summer and the truck is stuck in a traffic jam. Sensors in the storage area report rising temperatures to company headquarters. What can be done? Can the shipment still reach its destination on time? Is there a warehouse nearby? Or should the driver turn around and take the goods back? Intelligent software supports decision-making chains like these.

“Our vision of the future is that every product knows its life history,” says Harald Schöning. The idea is that all relevant details are stored on special chips on the packaging, therefore enabling the product to communicate with the world outside. Are supermarket shelves emptying faster that expected? No problem. The warehouse manager has already been notified and is organizing fresh supplies.

Software AG is jointly developing innovations like these with other partners within the framework of an initiative called the Digital Product Flow Alliance.

A very different IT approach is being pursued by Mario Albrecht’s team at the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science in Saarbrücken. The researchers are working on representing molecular networks in medical bioinformatics.

This will make it possible, for example, to display highly complex biochemical processes in human cells in an easily understandable way. The roughly 20,000 human genes control the production of an even greater number of different protein molecules, which means it is easy to lose track if you only have lists or tables available. Handling these enormous amounts of data and recognizing relationships is much easier when it is presented in visual form. That is precisely what Albrecht and his colleagues are making possible. The experts are also allowing researchers all over the world to download the programmes they develop by making them available on the Internet free of charge. “Using our network models allows you to see which molecules interact and which proteins might function incorrectly,” explains Mario Albrecht. “Analyses of this kind can then provide valuable indicators about a disease’s cause.”

Berlin – American business executives ranked Germany the top business location in Europe for the third year in a row. For 2011, 87 percent of top American companies in Germany expect revenue growth and over half plan to hire new workers. Germany’s rapid rebound from the global economic crisis was named as a key to business success. These are the results of this year’s AmCham Business Barometer released today

by AmCham Germany and the Boston Consulting Group.

“We are honored that American executives continue to praise Germany. American companies have a long tradition here and their ability to succeed confirms Germany’s attractiveness as the top business location in Europe,” states Dr. Jürgen Friedrich, Chief Executive of Germany Trade & Invest.

For the first time, this year’s study also measures Germany’s standing on a global scale. Germany ranked second worldwide behind China as the most important investment location. However Germany was named in the top 3 more than any other country. Cited by over 60 percent of executives, Germany fares considerably better than other Western European countries and slightly ahead of Eastern Europe.

Most companies were pleasantly surprised with their performance in Germany in 2010. While an impressive 76 percent expected to increase revenue in 2010, this mark was surpassed. 82 percent saw their revenue streams grow.

When asked about future activities in Germany, more than one third plan to increase research and development.

The country’s highly qualified workforce and excellent R&D framework were cited as distinct advantages. At the same time, one fifth of companies seek to increase production in Germany.

Here executives confirm the quality of German products and productivity of German manufacturing plants.

While total investments are expected to remain constant in 2011, over half of the companies surveyed plan to employ more workers, a jump of 15 percent compared to last year. This figure could be even higher, but survey participants gave a first indication that a shortage of skilled labor could play a role in 2011. On the other hand, they credit the increased productivity of German workers in recent years and praised the government’s short-time work program during the crisis.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

iTunes Top 10 Song Downloads United States

DAX

American Executives Praise German Business Environment

Data Taken May. 21, 2011

Germany

3/25/11:

$12,220.59

3/25/11:

€6,946.36

1 Rolling In the Deep • ADELE

1 Lipstick • Jedward

5/20/11:

$12,512.04

5/20/11:

€7,266.82

2 Give Me Everything • Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

2 Call My Name • Pietro Lombardi

$ Change:

+ $291.45

€ Change:

+ €320.46

3 Party Rock Anthem • LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

3 Party Rock Anthem • LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

% Change:

+ 2.38%

% Change:

+ 4.61%

4 The Lazy Song • Bruno Mars

4 Sweat [Remix] • Snoop Dogg & David Guetta

5 On the Floor • Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull

5 Give Me Everything • Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

EUR/USD

6 E.T. • Katy Perry feat. Kanye West

6 On the Floor • Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull

3/25/11:

$1.4075

7 Just Can’t Get Enough • The Black Eyed Peas

7 Price Tag • Jessie J feat. B.o.B.

5/20/11:

$1.4158

8 Dirty Dancer • Enrique Iglesias (with Usher) feat. Lil Wayne

8 Loving You Is Killing Me • Aloe Blacc

$ Change:

+ $0.0083

9 Hair • Lady GaGa

9 Nur in meinem Kopf • Andreas Bourani

% Change:

+ 0.59%

10 Till the World Ends • Britney Spears

10 Set Fire to the Rain • ADELE

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Shaded Row: Song found on both lists

Source: iTunes

16

German-American Journal

June / July 2011

There are some 2.5 million half-timbered houses in Germany, which makes it the highest number of any country worldwide.

Family Fun at Beaches Resorts

By: Audrey L. Hess-Eberle Euro Lloyd Travel Group/Chicago What comes to mind when you think of that perfect summer or fall fun-filled family vacation or family reunion - something that will create great memories for kids, teens and adults alike? Would you think of a back yard barbecue at Aunt Frida’s Wisconsin retreat, or a non-stop car trip to hunt for antiques through 5 states looking for those illusive 1950’s string puppets of Disney characters? The options for family vacations have come a long way in pleasing the fun nature of adults and kids. If children are not having a good time, neither will the family adults. A great vacation makes great memories to be shared by all.

Kids and teens love beaches and great pools with water slides or water parks to keep

them stimulated and full of energy. A good family Caribbean or Mexican All-Inclusive Resort should offer quality child care with certified nannies, child-meal options, and fun activities such as archery, pool, water sports, basketball, ocean trampolines, euro bungee, rock-climbing walls, water slides, and lazy rivers. All inclusive Beaches Resorts have it all: activities for adults, children and teens, plus water parks with water slides. The best part is - there are no hidden charges on your final bill, like charges made to the room without parents knowing it – for resort activities, food, and beverages. That means never having to say ‘No’.

While children are having fun at Kids’ Club and other activities, adult members can enjoy daily activity programs and evening entertainment of their own, enjoy water and

EURO LLOYD TRAVEL Announcing AIR FARE SPECIALS for members of DANK If you have not traveled to Germany lately, or just thought you might skip the trip to Europe this year, you can not afford to pass up the low discounted travel airfares being offered by all airlines. Please identify yourselves as DANK members when calling our office.

Current Summer airfares (special early-bird-sales can occur at any time) for travel to and from Germany, including taxes and fuel surcharges, start from: Chicago Indianapolis Milwaukee Madison Cleveland Detroit

$1550 $1463 $1550 $1560 $1500 $1550

Audrey L. Hess-Eberle or Tiffany Nedwed EURO LLOYD TRAVEL GROUP Partner of Lufthansa City Center The Monadnock Building 53 W. Jackson Blvd. - Suite 863 Chicago, Illinois 60604

*Call for special airfares to other European cities and beyond. *Low discounted Domestic and international airfares. *European Rail passes and single tickets. *Car rentals with special low dollar rates in most European countries. *Cruises world-wide. *Worldwide tours – independent, hosted and fully escorted.

Call now for information: 1-800-572-3149 or 1-312-362-0218 email: chi@eurolloyd.com Visit us at: www.eurolloyd.com

Rates are subject to availability for your date of travel, with various airline non stop or connection options.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Weekend surcharges apply for each direction.

land sports, a full-service European Spa, gourmet restaurants, golf, tennis, or just lie on the beach, read, relax, or enjoy activities that parents and children can do together.

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa is a multi-faceted fantasy world of pastel pink bungalows, nestled in tropical gardens resplendent with graceful palms.

Set on Grace Bay’s unspoiled white sand beach and home to some of the best scuba diving, this resort offers something for couples and families alike. Considered as a one-world resort with 16 dining-venues, accommodations are set in an authentic Caribbean Village setting, a chic French Village or their six-star award winning new Italian Village, with a vast piazza and a half-acre-zero-entry pool. Bordering a protected reef (no mechanized water sports are allowed) , this resort is considered as #3 in the world for snorkeling, and offers the largest and best white sand beach with 30 feet visibility ranking as #10 for scuba diving. As the world’s #3 dive destination, you will be backed by the Caribbean’s most comprehensive PAGI scuba program for certified divers and even a dive school for kids. Everyone goes wild at the Pirates Island Waterpark – largest waterpark in the Caribbean - which boasts waterslides and a surf simulator. Teens take in Liquid Nightclub, DJ Scratch Academy and Trenchtown Center. Family-size suites include plasma TV’s, separate kids’ rooms with bunk bed and Xbox 360 game consoles. Beloved Sesame Street characters offer educational and entertainment experiences. Rates per person per day: Children - $105 / Adults - $345 Beaches Negril Resort & Spa in Jamaica is a fun resort that offers something for everyone. Set on the widest and most breathtaking stretch of world-famous Seven Mile Beach, you can try your hand at Canoeing, Kayaking, Sailing, Windsurfing, Paddleboats, SCUBA Diving, Snorkeling,

Glass Bottom Boat Tours, Hobie Cats, Knee Boards, Water Trampoline – oh yes - motorized Water Sports. On shore, try Croquet, Billiards, their Fitness Center, Shuffleboards and tennis. With their complimentary Children’sActivity Program, Kids Camp with certified nannies, Sesame Street activities, Pirates Island Waterpark, Game Garage arcades and Beach Science programs, your toddlers and kids will be well entertained. Teens can chill out in their own lounges and club activities. Rates per person per day: Children - $105 / Adults - $279 Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club in Jamaica is consistently recognized as one of the world’s leading all-inclusive Family Resorts by the World Travel Awards. Appealing to spa-lovers and golf-enthusiasts, this resort offers Luxuryincluded amenities along with many other features offered by Beaches properties.

From romantic wedding services, water and land sports, a PADI scuba diving course and family-friendly activities including 9 water slides in the largest water park in Jamaica, to a protected Marine Sanctuary with scuba and snorkeling, the Sandals Golf & Country Club, and last but not least, those familiar Sesame Characters with whom kids can bake with Cookie Monster and dance with Zoe - your family will experience a vacation born of dreams. Rates per person per day: Children - $105 / Adults - $195 Beaches Resorts offers periodic specials of 55% off, and $150 Spa credits. You and your family deserve a unique vacation to remember.

Call today for more information, varied itineraries and lengths of stay, all travel destinations. Identify yourselves as a D.A.N.K. member. Ask for Audrey or Tiffany.

Phone: 312-362-0218 /// Toll Free: 800572-3149 /// Email: chi@eurolloyd.com

June / July 2011

German-American Journal

17

World Climate Tour The Klimahaus Bremerhaven, a very special museum that enables visitors to feel the heat and cold of different climate zones on a virtual journey around the world.

© Jan Rathke/Klimahaus Bremerhaven

By: Tanja Krämer magazine-deutschland.de A cold, wet wind is blowing from the North Sea and it’s drizzling. Yet the rain cannot make you overlook one of Bremerhaven’s main attractions: the building rises out of the historical harbour grounds like an enormous dinghy made of glass and metal. It’s Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8 Grad Ost, an exciting new hands-on museum. The rain takes on a totally different meaning here – after all, the science centre aims to explain the links between weather and climate.

On 11,500 square metres of exhibition space, visitors can learn everything about storms and volcanic eruptions, wind and ocean currents and the physics of weather and climate – playfully and at their leisure. Klimahaus Bremerhaven is a very special kind of museum with exhibits that encourage experimentation and objects that are meant to be touched. As a blend of aquarium, technology museum and

The War Room Book By: Bryan Malessa An epic cycling and coming-of-age novel about a young boy’s painful relationship with his family and its past, The War Room embarks on a disturbing journey across America and deep into the world of modern competitive cycling and the enormous German influence on American culture.

Sam is a curious boy growing up in an Ohio village. Trying to understand his father’s seemingly anonymous past, he is confronted with the rarely discussed fact that Germans form the largest ethnic group in America. After recognizing that his fa-

do-it-yourself show, the Klimahaus aims to both educate and entertain. The special feature of a tour of the museum is that visitors can experience the Earth’s different climate zones first-hand with heat, cold and humidity part of a virtual world tour.

In the space of a few hours you are taken around our entire planet. The journey begins and ends in Bremerhaven, 8 degrees 34 East, 53 degrees 32 North. Visitors wander through different countries and regions along the eighth degree of longitude until they reach the Antarctic and then travel back up again on the other side of the globe. In a total of nine stages they follow the expedition team that visited places and people on behalf of the Klimahaus all over the world – for example, Isenthal in Switzerland, where glacier melt is already creating problems. They visit the municipality of Seneghe in summery warm Italy and roam the dry Kanak region of Niger in the Sahel where temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius make the sweat pour and you can feel what a water shortage means.

ther’s obsession with the subject is merely a way to avoid facing his own past, Sam delves deeper with violent results.

As his family slowly disintegrates around him, Sam embarks on a personal odyssey that spans the North American continent, from Mexico to Canada. Venturing deep into the heart of the Old South, on to the great expanse of Colorado and into the labyrinth of the US Cycling Team at the Olympic Training Centre, Sam finally reaches California, certain the West Coast will solve all his problems...

An epic investigation of America’s underbelly, The War Room examines the painful conflicts that arise in exploring one’s identity - whether ethnic, national, religious or sexual - and the dramatic consequences of such actions.

Bryan Malessa graduated from Berkeley, where his fiction was awarded the Chancellor’s and Eisner prizes. He also received a Master of Philosophy from the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College, Dublin for work based on this book.

For further information contact Rebecca McEwan on 020 8307 4247 or email rebecca.mcewan@harpercollins.co.uk

Note from the author, Bryan Malessa While German-Americans are central to the novel and a subject dear to me, the novel covers a wide variety of controversial topics – issues of identity, sexual identity, drug abuse, cross-cultural relationships, etc. These elements of the narrative were included to help draw younger readers to the subject of German-Americans, espe-

Speaking in interviews and video sequences, the inhabitants of the different places explain how the climate determines their lives – thereby making the abstract facts tangible. And your own body speaks a very different language: in Cameroon you feel as though you are in a sauna with 80% humidity, while in the Antarctic, where hundreds of cooling coils have formed metre-high ice walls, you shiver as you breathe the biting cold into your lungs. And on Samoa, where the air is hot and humid and the clothes stick to your skin, you soon understand why the traditional houses had no walls: even the slightest breeze then provides a little cool relief. “The journey makes impressively clear how human life on our planet is influenced by the climate and what changes face us,” is how Arne Dunker, manager of the science centre, explains the idea behind the museum.

The Klimahaus is a crowd puller: more than one million people had already visited the exhibition 15 months after it opened in June 2009. The museum is also receiving national and international recognition: the United Nations has designated it a project for its Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. It is not by chance that this handson museum opened its doors in Bremerhaven. “Here on the North Sea coast you can experience climate phenomena particularly impressively,” says Arne Dunker. “Additionally, the weather from all climate zones is felt here.”

Another advantage of the location was its proximity to the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven. Competent advice was provided by top German researchers to ensure that not only the show was good, but the facts too. Climate researchers and meteorologists were involved at the development stage. Scientists thought up experiments, designed exhibits and proofread the museum texts. Additionally, help was provided by experts from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the German Weather Service (DWD) and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg.

This collaboration between educationalists at the museum and researchers is to continue in the future. Not only is the climate changing, but Klimahaus Bremerhaven also wants to develop – and improve awareness of climate change with educational projects, touring exhibitions and conferences.

cially those facing generational issues that an older German-American readership unlikely faced.

In publishing the novel, I also wished to draw people from other backgrounds interested in Ethnic Studies to some of the issues that the largest ethnic group faces – along with the fact that many don’t realize that Germans are America’s largest ethnic group (I live in California). I studied Literature and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and the novel is partially an outgrowth of that experience; I later formulated it into a master’s thesis at Trinity College Dublin before HarperCollins purchased it. (The book is published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins.)

Despite the many explosive subjects that

arise in the narrative, I’d like to stress that my experiences – whether my own multicultural marriage to a Vietnamese woman, my work in the gay community or volunteering for homeless shelters – contributed to being able to write the book’s more demanding, and for some off-putting, scenes.

As you’ll soon learn, in no way does the book seek to represent all German-Americans – it articulates the story of an unusual man (my father) and his son and in doing so seeks to tell an epic story of a group that mainstream publishing has long ignored. It is a difficult book whose ultimate purpose is to bring people together and to share the vast contribution of America’s largest ethnic group with those who have little to no comprehension of German influence here.

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German-American Journal

June / July 2011

*** Calendar Of Events ***

This area is designated for DANK chapters and Associate Members to inform their members and the public of events they are having. We rely on the submissions of each chapter or organization, therefor all events may not be included. Please contact our National Office at 773-275-1100 or visit www.DANK.org for the most recent listing of events or for information on how to make sure your event is listed in the next issue. (Associate Member Events Listed In Italics)

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Benton Harbor, MI: Fish Fry. 6-8 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Band Plays 7-10 p.m. 2651 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI 269-926-6652 Chicago, IL: Kino, Kaffee, und Kuchen, Doors open at Noon. Vorfilm at 1 pm. Feature at 2pm. $4 for members, $6 for non-members. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Chicago, IL: Stammtisch, 7:30pm. Monthly Open Haus.No cover, food and drink available. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit dankhaus.com

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Chicago, IL: Kino, Kaffee, und Kuchen, Doors open at Noon. Vorfilm at 1 pm. Feature at 2pm. $4 for members, $6 for non-members. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

Louisville, KY: German American Club Gesangverein, Biergarten. 1840 Lincoln Ave, Louisville, KY All Biergartens are held from 6pm-10pm. Music by Eagle Mountain Band.

For more info: 502-451-3100. german-americanclub.com

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Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

Vernon Hills, IL: Anniversary Gala, Chapter Lake County, IL 45th Anniversary Celebration, Location: Forge Club, 634 S. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061. For info call Ludwina at 847-249-0073 or Cobi at 847-234-3920

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Brookfield, IL. Chapter Chicago West Annual Picnic.

Kwanis Park, Brookfield, IL. Starting at 11:30 a.m.

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Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Chicago, IL: Sportsklub DANK, 7:30pm. No cover, cash bar.

DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Table Tennis, Fussball Table, Bags – Fussball on Big Screen! For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com.

Chicago, IL: German Cinema Now. Contemporary German films with English subtitles. 7:30pm DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Info: call 773-561-9181 or visit dankhaus.com

Chicago, IL: Stammtisch, 7:30pm. Monthly Open Haus.No cover, food and drink available. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit dankhaus.com

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Frankfort, IL: Armin Homann’s Music Festival. For more information visit: www.dankchicagosouth.org

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Frankfort, IL. Summer Family Picnic. Dancing with Music

by Paloma. Fun and games for the kids! 4-9 PM. For more information visit: www.dankchicagosouth.org

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Fort Wayne, IN: Chapter South Bend attending Germanfest in Fort Wayne. Call for reservations: 271-6922.

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Louisville, KY: German American Club Gesangverein, Biergarten. 1840 Lincoln Ave, Louisville, KY All Biergartens are held from 6pm-10pm. Music by The Knappers. For more info: 502-451-3100. www.german-americanclub.com

Louisville, KY: German American Club Gesangverein, Biergarten. 1840 Lincoln Ave, Louisville, KY All Biergartens are held from 6pm-10pm. Music by The Rheingold Band.

For more info: 502-451-3100. german-americanclub.com

Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Chicago, IL: Kino, Kaffee, und Kuchen, Doors open at Noon. Vorfilm at 1 pm. Feature at 2pm. $4 for members, $6 for non-members. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Benton Harbor, MI Picnic-Food-Games-Prizes. 1 p.m. 2651 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI 269-926-6652

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Wadsworth, IL Chapter Lake County Annual Picnic at Van Patten Woods, in Wadsworth, IL

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Erie, PA: Family Picnic!

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Chicago, IL: German Cinema Now. Contemporary German films with English subtitles. 7:30pm DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Info: call 773-561-9181 or visit dankhaus.com

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Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Louisville, KY: German American Club Gesangverein, Biergarten. 1840 Lincoln Ave, Louisville, KY All Biergartens are held from 6pm-10pm. Music by Gebhard Erler. For more info: 502-451-3100. www.german-americanclub.com

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Pittsburgh, PA: Chapter Picnic. Fairview Park, South Fayette Twp, PA. 1:00 p.m.

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Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Chicago, IL: Kino, Kaffee, und Kuchen, Doors open at Noon. Vorfilm at 1 pm. Feature at 2pm. $4 for members, $6 for non-members. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more info call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Chapter Lake County, IL: Celebrate the splendor of Geneva Lake. Maximum number of participats: 50. For more information or sign-up please call 847-234-3920

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Chicago, IL: Membership Meeting, Learn about Chapter activities, Hear Committee Reports, Get involved! 7:00pm, DANK Haus 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Erie, PA: General Meeting followed by Heidi Cowey who will discuss German Trachten. Come see her German Wedding Dress!

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25-26 Benton Harbor, MI: Concertina Weekend. Tom Sandel and

his Midwest Concertina Organization will sponsor their Concertina Weekend. There will be non-stop musicians playing their famous concertinas from 12pm-8pm. Food and drink will be available. 2651 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI. 269-926-6652

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17-18 Cleveland, OH: German-American Fest. German Central

Farm, 7836 York Road, Parma, OH. Friday 5 p.m. – Midnight. Saturday 3 p.m. – Midnight.

Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

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Benton Harbor, MI: Fish Fry. 6-8 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Band Plays 7-10 p.m. 2651 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI 269-926-6652 Chicago, IL: Sportsklub DANK, 7:30pm. No cover, cash bar.

DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Table Tennis, Fussball Table, Bags – Fussball on Big Screen! For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com.

Chicago: Lost German Chicago Exhibition open to public, 11am. Free. DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. For more information call 773-561-9181 or visit www.dankhaus.com

Welcome New Members Chicago-South , IL

Timothy Schlichting

Beth & James Johanson Rose & Patrick Zarnowski, Maria Kalis

Lake County, IL

Chicago, IL

Jeff Foust Cathy Sweitzer Agnes Asafailo Don Steinkamp Brent & Jean Meierkord

Kristin Grossmann Willi Klein Helga Sandquist-Schwarz Katja Sandquist, Isabella and Eric Pineda Jamie Hestad Lori Beman Kurt Vragell Anja Fiedler

Theia Haus

Springfield, IL

Benton Harbor, MI Sonja Hendrix Elsie Krause

29-31 Milwaukee, WI: 30th Annual Germanfest For more information: www.germanfest.com

February 26, 2011 - April 25, 2011 Ann Benko & John Rimpel Theresa & Ronald Steinke Ruth Vorrath Judy & Ronald Wilson

South Bend, IN

Chicago Northern Suburbs, IL

Debra & Vincent Poczik Dawn Black

Sabine, Lukas, Lilly and Jakob Woerner Viviana Meschbach

Uniontown, PA

Cleveland, OH Gerry Slusny Reiner Mueller Rhonda, Kenneth Erika & Alexis Schlick

Claus Meyer

Herbert Myers

Erie, PA Steven Kodrzycki

Check Us Out Online Head on over to our National Website to get the latest updates and information on DANK and the Germanic-American community.

www.dank.org dank.org/forum dank.org/blog

DANK Is On YouTube www.YouTube.com/DANKNational

German-American Journal German-American Journal

June / July 2011

Sudoku Challenge Sudoku 9x9 - Puzzle 2 of 5 - Very hard

T 6. -Shi 00 rt

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Moon Landing Coin

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Silver - Sold Out

$7.50

Bronze - $19

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$7.50

Obituaries

DANK Chicago South Loses Three Members

It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news of losing three of our friends.

Each one was a long time active member, contributor and gave many hours of their time and passion to the club.

Dr. Helmut Feldmann of Tinley Park was born on October 27, 1918 and passed away on April 3, 3011. He was a DANK member for 37 years.

Ruth Schirrmacher of Oak Lawn passed away on April 17, 2011. She was a DANK member for 32 years.

Bicentennial Poster

Bumper Sticker

$12.70

$2.00

Cookbook

$17.00

All Prices Include Shipping And Tax! Call Our Office To Purchase Toll Free: 866-926-1109 Bulk Discounts Available With Purchases Of More Than 5 And Sent To The Same Address

German-American Journal Sudoku 9x9 - Solution 2 of 5 - Very hard

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Nancy Moser of Palos Park passed away on April 24, 2011 and was a member for 42 years.

Each member will be greatly missed but will live forever in our memories. Our deepest sympathies and prayers to their families.

Charles Chase - 1932-2011. Charles Chase, beloved husband of Charlotte (Jant) Chase, passed away on Sunday, April 3rd 2011. Charles was the son of the late Julia Bemis Meehan and Alston Chase, and step son of Lawrence Meehan.

Following his 1950 graduation from high school he entered the US Navy. He married his high school sweetheart, Charlotte (Jant) in 1952. Following his discharge from the Navy, he was employed by inland Container Co. until joining the Erie Fire Department in 1967 retiring in 1988.

He was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader for many years.

He enjoyed gardening, crossword puzzles and walks with his pet dogs. He was a 20 year member of DANK Chapter Erie. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Charlotte Jant Chase, five sons, Donald (Barbara), Michael (Jane), Robert, Gerald (Debbie), Jeffrey (Brigitte); and one daughter, Nancy Duchnowski (James). He was blessed with 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Following the funeral Mass at St. Ann’s R.C. Church, the interment took place at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

God looked around His Garden And He found an empty place.

He then looked down upon this earth And saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you And lifted you to rest.

God’s garden must be beautiful; He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering.

He knew you were in pain.

He knew that you would never Get well on earth again.

He saw the road was getting rough, And the hills were hard to climb.

So He closed your weary eyelids, And whispered “Peace be thine”.

It broke our hearts to lose you, But you did not go alone.

For parts of us went with you The day God called you home.

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German-American Journal

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June / July 2011