Press Releases

October 05 , 2007

German American heritage comes alive with the New Web site www.germanoriginality.com

The new site www.germanoriginality.com recently launched by the German Information Center USA and the German National Tourist Office honors the 400th anniversary of Germans coming to America.

The web site provides an overview of Germany's rich contributions to America's culture, politics, and economy since 1608, when the first Germans arrived at Jamestown. As record numbers of Americans travel abroad to explore the lands of their ancestors, www.germanoriginality.com is an excellent first stop on the Internet for German-Americans interested in exploring their heritage and for planning a heritage trip to Germany.

Nearly 43 million people — about one in six U.S. residents — identified their ancestry as German in the most recent U.S. census in the year 2000. Now, for the first time, German Americans have a portal to research their own heritage. The site provides links to ancestry websites, personal profiles of famous German Americans, an overview of German products and inventions, a transatlantic emigration time-line and an interactive map of Germany. Community features will include recipes and a forum for sharing stories and photographs, a calendar of German events in America and lists of German American societies.

German Americans have been making waves in America since they first arrived. The first settlement of Germantown, outside Philadelphia, earned Germans their lasting reputation as skilled craftsmen and Rittenhouse, the first millwright, was among them. And, they were the first settlers to officially protest against the institution of slavery in America.

From that time, German Americans have continued to make significant contributions to the development of America’s political and social institutions, the arts and architecture and industries, such as movie-making, brewing, timber, banking, fashion and more. General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, for example, was instrumental in leading George Washington's continental army to victory in the Revolutionary War. Carl Schurz helped Abraham Lincoln to win his presidential campaign. Levi Strauss invented blue jeans; Richard Hellman invented mayonnaise and Henry Heinz invented ketchup while Adolphus Busch and Eberhardt Anheuser founded Anheuser Busch brewing company.

Jacob Astor came over and made New York City a better place and Thomas Nast left his indelible mark by creating the caricatures of Uncle Sam, the Republican elephant and Democrat donkey. On the West Coast, Carl Laemmle made waves in Hollywood and founded Universal Pictures. And, everywhere, Marlene Dietrich held sway over the American troops in WWII with over 500 appearances. German architects shaped America’s landscape. John Röbling, the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, was a star among the 1848ers as was Adolf Cluss, the architect of the Smithsonian. In the 20th century, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Helmt Jahn, shaped American cities with their minimalist buildings.

While focusing on America's historic links to Germany, www.germanoriginality.com also presents modern Germany as a captivating travel destination. Resources for planning and booking a trip to Germany are just a mouseclick away.

Plan your trip to Germany with help from the German National Tourist Board. www.cometogermany.com. And, learn more about contemporary German culture, politics and business at www.germany.info.

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