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Celebrating German Heritage in America Today
Nearly 43 million people in the United States identify German as their primary ancestry, the US Census Bureau reported in July 2004. Americas of German descent live in nearly every American county. From the East Coast, where the first German settlers arrived in the 1600s, to the West Coast and in all the states in between, German-Americans have been realizing the American dream for more than 300 years. German-Americans and those Germans who settled in the US have been influential in most every field, from science, to architecture, to entertainment to commercial industry. Some, like Brooklyn Bridge engineers John Augustus Roebling or architect Walter Gropius left behind visible landmarks. Some people of German origin who are now considered citizens of the world, like Albert Einstein, set intellectual landmarks. Others are prominent celebrities, like actress Kirsten Dunst. This InFocus takes a look at the colorful history of German immigration through the centuries, the contributions of some influential German immigrants, the vibrant US communities that continue to nurture their German-American heritage, and the exemplary stories of some Germans and German-Americans in Hollywood. Each topic would in itself be worth a book, so this feature is not meant to be exhaustive, but will hopefully leave you with a better impression of how German-Americans are woven into the American fabric.
Look back at over 300 years of German immigration to America – why they came, where they settled, and the way of life the new immigrants and their descendents have made for themselves.
Here are the stories of just a few figures who have left an indelible impact on the American, indeed the world landscape ? Albert Einstein, architect Walter Gropius, Nobel winner G?ter Blobel, and the German-American industrialists who transformed the American brewing industry.
People have been coming to Hollywood to realize their dreams in the entertainment industry since motion pictures were first filmed there in the early 1900s. Germans were among the new immigrants who helped put this oasis on the world map, and today Germans and German-Americans continue to impress cinemagoers.
In ?Germans in America, Insights Into a Friendship,? photographer Gunter KléIzer depicts how contemporary German immigrants, from business people to artists to scientists and others, are finding their place in their adopted society. The German Embassy in Washington is sponsoring a private sneak preview of the exhibition on October 6 with the exhibition opening to the public at Georgetown University on October 18.
German-American communities have become woven into the fabric of American life in remarkably different ways. This section aims to give you a glimpse into some of the communities that are keeping German culture alive in modern-day America.
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