Monday, May 1, 2017

8:30 – 9:30 COLLECTION OF CLOTHING

A truck will be parked in front of the Gale to receive your donations to From Me to You.

International Day

GERMANY

Minnesota is filled with people of German heritage. How and why did they come to this part of United States?
Come hear the stories. Find out what is happening with the influx of immigrants to Germany today. Enjoy a hearty German lunch of the favorite foods of this land. Visit the coat room for a fine exhibit of German artifacts where you will find items for sale. Bring your curiosity and some stories.

9:30 – 10:30

1848ers, Democratic Revolutionaries, and the German Mass Migration to the Midwest

Speaker: Dr. Joachim (Yogi) Reppmann, Former German Professor, St. Olaf College, Founder of the Stoltenberg Institute for German-Americans Moin-Moin.us

A small group of German individuals called “Forty- Eighters” immigrated to the United States in the mid-1800s after fighting unsuccessfully for liberty, democracy, and national unity. They came from the German state of Schleswig-Holstein to Scott County, Iowa. After settling in America, these unique and talented individuals provided an intellectual transfusion affecting not only their fellow German immigrants, but also the political and social history of the United States during one of its most critical periods.

10:45 – 11:45 Commemorating the Past and Facing Today’s Challenges

Speaker: Leslie Morris, Associate Professor of German, Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch Studies, University of Minnesota

Morris will describe Germany’s past–the horrific memories of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust–and how it has been commemorated. What are new challenges and political ramifications today as a result of the refugee crisis?

11:45 – Noon ANNOUNCEMENTS

12:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON

1:15 – 2:15

Drinking Champagne on the Berlin Wall: From Giddy Celebration to the Hangover, From Unification to the Refugee Crisis

Speaker: Richard (Rick) McCormick, Professor of German, Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch Studies, University of Minnesota

McCormick will present an overview of the political, economic, social, and cultural changes in Germany since the “Fall of the Wall” in 1989 and the unification of East and West Germany in 1990.