Over the course of globalization, a certain Anglicization has for instance become a common tendency in German youth language. Interestingly, German teenagers are
very adept at remodeling English words in a way that is line with German grammar (e.g. gechillt – to be laid back, chilled out).

A 2008 analysis may be able to identify some patterns of German youth culture. In a competition sponsored by Das  Jugendwort des Jahres (Youth Word of the Year) by Langenscheidt, a German publisher, in cooperation with the youth magazine SPIESSER and My Space,  people send their suggestions to a jury which picks one of the 15 most often suggested words as the winner.

In 2008 the winning word was Gammelfleischparty. It ridicules a party for age 30+ people by describing it as a party of  ”rotten meat”. This mockery symbolizes a tendency of increasingly flat hierarchies in German society where it is more and more possible to openly  criticize older generations (including one’s parents). Gammelfleischparty was followed by Bildschirmbräune, which points out in an ironic  way that computer geeks often lack a nice tan.

It also mirrors how computers, the Internet and social media increasingly dominate the spare time of especially nowadays teenagers and have changed modes of  social interactions. Behind Bildschirmbräune, the expression unterhopft sein came in third. It implies that someone is in “deep”  need of having a beer (or would just love to drink one right in that moment). Admittedly, a predilection for enjoying beer is not really something new in
German society…

In 2009, the most popular words again had some relevance for German society. The winning word was hartzen, which means to hang around, to kick back or laze around. Hartzen stems from the reform of unemployment benefits which was entitled Hartz IV and implemented in Germany between 2003  and 2005. It signifies the importance of socio-political issues (e.g. welfare system) in public debate, but its inherent negative connotation also reflects
certain negative stereotypes about recipients of unemployment benefits.

Hartzen was followed by bam (means cool) and bankster (describes bankers who deal with speculations), which both clearly point out the Anglicization/Americanization  of German youth language/youth culture due to the ubiquity of America’s entertainment industry. “Bam” also illustrates how creative German  teenagers are with remodeling/reshaping the meaning of American words and using them in new contexts.

Similar to hartzen, the word Pisaopfer reveals that education has been a crucial public issue in German society in the  last decade since the poor results of German students in the first “PISA study” were published by the OECD in 2000. So a Pisaopfer  is a person with poor education/poor general knowledge. It sort of mirrors the debate about educational equality, reforms of the German school system and  tuition fees at German universities.

In 2010 two words, in particular, stuck out. Egosurfen implies googling for news about yourself on the. It mocks the tendency to be very  concerned/excited about how one is represented on the Internet, on social media platforms etc. “Egosurfen” also goes hand in hand with the popular  trend to use social media like Facebook and Twitter as a sort of “diary” in which one writes comments about oneself in a specific way  that is supposed to create a cool/happy image of oneself.

Another 2010 favorite was also the acronym “n1″ (nice one), which can mean cool, awesome or well done. It symbolizes again the Americanization of German  youth language through America’s entertainment industry and American social media. On platforms such as for instance Facebook, German teenagers and  students increasingly communicate with each other in English even if no people from other countries are involved in the conversation.

Thus, the three competitions and the mentioned youth words show three trends: First an Anglicization of German youth language which represents a certain Americanization  of German youth culture triggered by music channels, Hollywood movies etc.; Secondly, words like “Bildschirmbräune” and “Egosurfen” highlight the  big role the Internet and social media play in the lives (especially spare time) of not only German teenagers. This is also a cross-cultural tendency and
might prompt a stronger cultural homogenization or create to some extent a cosmopolitan world culture; and Thirdly, expressions such as “hartzen” or  ”Pisaopfer” demonstrate simultaneously that traditional educational and socio-political value issues have not lost their importance. Hence, Americanization  and cosmopolitization rather supplement than supplant specific features of German youth language and German youth culture.

By Dominik Schneider for Germany.info

After three great years as DANK National’s webmaster, it is come time for me to make my exit.  I am proud of what I was able to create for DANK over the last several years and as a result this decision wasn’t made lightly. There are exciting things I am after and new challenges for me to take on.

When I took on the DANK National website, it was a place for people to learn about DANK as an organization.  My challenge was to make it into a place for people to connect with and grow their German heritage, which I feel was successfully accomplished.  After two complete redesigns, I am leaving DANK with a very complete and useful website that I hope can last for many years.  The website has gone from a basic site, to what I believe is one the greatest ethnic organization websites on the web.

While I depart from working on the website, I will be continuing with the German-American Journal, and I will still be very present in the German American community in exciting new ways.  I am ready to find the next beginning where I can grow and explore the evolving German American culture.

I don’t know what the future of DANK looks like, but I hope that as the new leadership settles in, they can continue to see the value in the website as it is and that they continue to grow the site to satisfy the needs of the membership and German-American community.  As with most changes in leadership, DANK will be taking new directions and I wish them the best.

The email address website@dank.org will be going to the new webmaster, so if you have been using that address to contact me directly you can now reach me at stephen@germanpulse.com.

And with that, it is time for me to step away and hand the site over to the next generation.  It has been a pleasure serving DANK and I hope to be able to connect with many of you again as I take on the next adventure.

Until we meet again…
Stephen Fuchs

Pittsburgh, PA was the scene of the Biennial Convention of the German American National Congress (DANK). The Pittsburgh Chapter hosted the three-day event with a full schedule for both the delegates and their guests.  Early arrivals were able to visit the Pittsburgh Hofbrauhaus for an evening of fun Munich-style.

The workshops began on Friday morning followed by a Town Hall meeting.  An “Oktoberfest” was the theme for the evening’s entertainment and over 200 persons arrived mostly in traditional trachten to celebrate.  Traditional Oktoberfest foods were available as well as the Munich Hofbrau’s Oktoberfest Bier. Music provided by the Augsburg German Band of Uniontown PA with two performances by the Alpen Schuhplattler of Pittsburgh and ‘der Fleigerleid Tanz’ had the guests on their feet joining in the gaiety of the evening.

Newly Elected National Board: Alfred Mueller, Sr. 1st VP, Linda Voit Secretary, Robert Miske Treasurer, Beverly Pochatko President | Not pictured: James Dombrowski 2nd VP

Saturday morning, the delegates from all over the county met to hear the state of the organization from outgoing president William Fuchs and to elect new officers for the next two years.  In an unprecedented move approved by the delegates, James Dombrowski accepted his nominations via speaker phone as he was unable to attend due to a death within the family.  Elected were Beverly Pochatko of Erie, PA President; Alfred Mueller, Sr. of Chicago 1^st VP, James Dombrowski also of Chicago 2^nd VP;  Linda Voit of Cleveland OH was elected Secretary and incumbent Robert Miske of Sheboygan WI was retained as Treasurer.  The out-going board was dismissed and the officers were presented with a special pin recognizing their service as an Executive Board member.

Having first started at the 2009 national convention, the newly elected members of the Board were installed in an impressive ceremony each receiving a candle that was lit symbolic of the flame of pride in our heritage.  The President received the Fackel – the symbol of our Pride and the Gavel to govern the board wisely in all ways, followed by the board’s reciting their oath of office.

Journal Editor, Darlene Fuchs (middle), receiving Special Merit Award

The day’s events were highlighted with the Pittsburgh’ Chapters 30^th Anniversary at the Awards dinner and recognition of Jack Wagner, Auditor General of Pennsylvania as the DANK German American Man of the Year. Wittmann addressed the group and introduced many people whose predecessors were instrumental in building and serving the religious needs of the German community.  Auxillary RC Bishop Walterscheid also spoke to the assembly.  DANK members who were then recognized for their outstanding contributions and presented with trophies were: William Fuchs, the Ernst ten Eiken Award, Beverly Pochatko received the Elsbeth Seewald Award, Dagmar Freiberger and James Dombrowski each received a Merit Award, Susanne Mickey and Darlene Fuchs each received a Heritage Award, and Angelique Wisler and Reinhard Lippert each received a Special Merit award.  Erik Wittmann, President of the Pittsburgh was presented with a 30 Year recognition from the National Executive Board and also one from Chapter Milwaukee. Consistent in showcasing the Pittsburgh area’s cultural assets, sixty-five members of the Pittsburgh District of the North American Sängerbund sang a brief program and the GTEV D’Lustigen Isartaler dancers performed.  The Hank Haller Orchestra of Cleveland Oh provided music for dancing.

The closing meeting of the Convention was held on Sunday morning with the new board at its helm.  Newly elected President Beverly Pochatko addressed the delegates thanking them once again for their support.  While the goals for the coming two years have not changed, i.e. the preservation of our Germanic heritage, culture, traditions and language, but how the board will pursue them  with the help of the chapters and the membership.  They plan to reach out to the younger generations and instill in them a deep rooted sense of pride in their heritage to preserve it for future generations.  In doing so, they asked the help of the delegates and their Chapters to work with them to mentor and pass on their knowledge and experience to the future leaders of DANK.

Oktoberfest

Newly elected President Pochatko receiving the Elsbeth Sewald Award

Banquet

Milwaukee Delegates

delegate meeting

Chicagos delegates

Erie Delegates Oktoberfest

Convention

Convention

HofBrau

Der Zug Parade

Miner's Dance

Pittsburgh District NASA

Late night

German-American convention set in South Hills

By Deana Carpenter For The Almanac 

The South Hills will soon play host to German-Americans from across the country.

The German American National Congress, known in German as Deutch Amerikanischer National Kongress or DANK for short, will hold its national convention Oct. 27 through 30 at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South in Bethel Park.

About 75 to 100 delegates from many different chapters of DANK will be in town for the national convention, which happens every two years, said Erik Wittmann, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of Dank. Wittmann said the Pittsburgh chapter has about 200 members, mostly from Allegheny County and many from the South Hills.

He added there are also subchapters of DANK in Uniontown and the Laurel Highlands. Wittmann said DANK also encompasses all of the Germanic cultu res like Austrian and Swiss cultures since the folks there speak German.

While the national organization has been around since 1959, the Pittsburgh chapter of DANK is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Wittmann, who was born in Austria and resides in Mt. Lebanon, has been the president of the Pittsburgh chapter of DANK for 17 years. He also serves as the national vice president for the organization. He said the idea to host the national convention was originally from the late George Steiner, who was actively involved in the organization. Wittmann said Steiner, who passed away last year, “took pride in his German heritage” and volunteered Pittsburgh to be the next host city for the national convention. Pittsburgh last hosted the DANK national convention in 1989.

Wittmann said about 80 percent of the Pittsburgh chapter’s members are not first-born Germans. He added that the chapter includes some Italian and Irish members, “because they like the activities we do.”

“Pittsburgh is not a new Germanic city,” Wittmann said, adding that the city is home to many German companies. However, Wittmann added that Pittsburgh doesn’t have the German social club scene that other cities have. That’s why, Wittman said, “We want to showcase that Pittsburgh has not lost its heritage.”

Several religious organizations will be recognized during the convention. Wittmann said it was religious organizations that helped integrate German immigrants who came to the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.“We want to recognize those people for the work they have done on behalf of immigrants,” especially education, Wittmann said.

The convention will start Thursday, Oct. 27 when early arrivals to the event will have the chance to go to Hofbrauhaus- Pittsburgh in the South Side Works around 7 p.m. Wittmann said anyone, not just DANK members, is welcome to join the group at the res taurant that evening.

An Oktoberfest will take place at the Crowne Plaza on Oct. 28. Wittmann said the evening, which starts with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m., will feature “German bands, food and beer.” Admission to the Oktoberfest is $10, and again, all are welcome, Wittmann said. The $10 will include entertainment and German snacks with a cash bar available. Entertainment includes The Augsburg German Band and the Alpen Shuplattler Dancers of Pittsburgh. Wittmann said tickets for the Oktoberfest may be purchased at the door that evening, or on the DANK Pittsburgh website, www.germaninpittsburgh.org.

Another highlight of the convention is the semi-formal banquet that will be held Oct. 29 to commemorate the chapter’s 30th anniversary.

Wittmann said all are welcome to the evening event, but tickets at $40 each must be purchased by Oct. 20. Tickets can be purchased online at www.germaninpittsburgh.org (click the “National Convention” link). The banquet is set to start at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and dancing beginning at 6:30 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by the Pittsburgh Junior Symphony Ensemble, the Hank Haller Ensemble with performances by the Northern American Saengerbund and D’Lustigen Isartaler of Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania German-American Man of the Year will also be recognized at the banquet. This year’s recipient is state Auditor General Jack Wagner. Also honored at the banquet will be religious groups with Germanic ties, including St. Vincent Archabbey, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, St. Augustine Province, St. Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh- St. Benedict Monastery, Sisters of Divine Providence and Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities-St Francis Convent of Mt. Alvernia.

The convention will close Oct. 30 with a grand brunch buffet for $15 if purchased by Oct. 20, or $18 at the door.

“I want to showcase Pittsbur gh and its Germanic heritage,” Wittmann said. “I want Pittsburgh to experience and enjoy a Germanic event.”

For information on the Pittsburgh chapter of DANK or to order tickets to any of the convention events, visit www.germaninpittsburgh. org. To learn more about the national DANK organization, visit www.dank.org.

Article reproduced with the permission of the Almanac

The black forest chalet cuckoo clocks have the lovely sound of the Swiss music boxes included in them but there are to other basic styles of the Chalet design and they are the Black Forest chalet and the Swiss chalet.  The lovely Swiss music boxes sound that is added to the Bavarian chalet cuckoo clocks are The Happy Wanderer and, of course, Edelweiss.

There is only one way to describe the chalet cuckoo clocks and that is breathtaking because of their amazing detailing and uniqueness that makes each cuckoo clock a clock of its own. These clocks are so pretty with their animated characters, their projecting cuckoo bird, and the often found water wheels that are always moving.

Of course, there are other types and designs of the cuckoo clocks besides the chalet cuckoo clocks but the chalet clocks hold much more enjoyment for those that are in search of something to include in their homes. These german cuckoo clocks are unique because of their adding life with the animation and music added to their clocks.

The Cuckoo-Palace Shop has a wide variety of original chalet clocks and they are delivering directly from the black forest in southern germany.

German Fest Milwaukee in July

It’s been a busy summer. From German Fest in Milwaukee in July to the Steuben Parades in September to German-American Day in Washington on October 6. We finally received the presidential proclamation from President Obama late afternoon on the 6th. We were hoping to have it earlier so that it could have been read at various celebrations across the country. Maybe next year!  Also check out www.Germanpulse.com for more on our visit to the New York Steuben Parade with our chance to show off at Fox News in the morning of the parade.
Enjoy the pictures.
President Bill

Steuben Parade in New York with Hans & Kathy Wolf, Chicago Karneval RV Princes and Prince and Darlene & Bill Fuchs

On Stage with Lars Halter, Chairman of NYC Steuben Parade and Prince Manfred & Princess Jennifer from the RV Chicago, who handed out Karneval Orden to the dignitaries at the Mayor's reception on FridayGerman American Day Reception at the Friendship Garden in Washington

Singing of the National Anthems at German American Day in Washington

While many living in Erzgebirge (ore mountains in saxony) make their living carving Nutcrackers and other finely crafted wood items, there are three distinct families that have started nutcracker manufacturing companies that have garnered them fame and respect throughout the world.

The Steinbach family has been making their famous Steinbach nutcrackers for over two hundred years, starting as a cottage business like everyone else and eventually building two factories.  Their goods are highly prized by collectors and sold all over the world.  They can trace their ancestry back as far as Erwin V. Steinbach, a 13th century architect and master builder of the Dome of Strasbourg in 1284. Besides bringing pleasure to nutcracker collectors worldwide, the generations of this family have served the public as judges, politicians, architects and in the military.  The family itself is still in charge of and actively involved in their business.

Ulbricht Nutcrackers, founded by Otto Ulbricht in 1928, is also a family business to this day.  Christian, the present family patriarch, still carves sample for the artisans to use as patterns for the Ulbricht nutcrackers.  His son and daughter are in charge of the two family factories.  After World War II, the Ulbrichts were able to reclaim their property in Erzgebrige and one of their facilities is still located there in Seiffen.

But every nutcracker factory and family who makes nutcrackers owes their success in part to William Friedrich Fuechtner, who created the first German Erzgebirge nutcracker in 1865.  The Feuchtner family still produces nutcrackers and the business is managed by the sixth consecutive generation involved in the production and marketing of their creations.

Several GAPA members in Hawaii, Kauai to be exact. The members Rory Trausch and wife Linda, Hans Hunger and his wife Kris,Kevin Brumley and his wife Judy and Richard Von Stockum and his wife Judy and friends Phil and Jude Smyth,and Kathleen Roark.

By Rory Trausch

Well, well, summer is here – some days more than others – and the living is easy, unless you work for CPD. But I won’t get anymore political than that. I hope all of you are geared up and looking forward to some real Chicago summer weather.  Of course, it is my sincerest wish that all of GAPA land have a wonderful, fun summer.

The Maifest was hugely successful, I might even say record-breaking, which is a sign of the quality of the event, given the tough economic times.  Most beer ever sold, most tickets ever collected by GAPA.  I was extremely impressed with the GAPA spirit, as evidenced by the wonderful turn-out of members to assist in this event. This event could not have gone off without all these wonderful GAPA members and their spouses or family members – we even had 40 people at the DANK Haus 2 weeks later to count all those tickets. As I’ve been saying all along, there is strength in numbers, and the more people who show up, the easier it is on those participating. Space does not permit me to thank everybody individually, but you know who you are. There are, however, a few people I need to single out. First, to Hans Hunger, our treasurer, for over-seeing everything and acting as our liaison for the Maifest Committee, my warmest thanks.  I can’t forget our member Biermeister Kevin Brumley, for keeping the beer  cold and running all those days. And our jack-of-all-trades/ handyman, Joe Schreiner, who, I think, in the future, we’ll just set up some kind of bed for him at the site; he spent so much time there.

As in past years, I wish to thank the Maifest Committee for allowing us to participate, specifically GAPA members Maifest Chairman Joe Matuschka, Co-Chairman Matt Lodge, and Jerry Glunz, and the rest of the outstanding committee. Also a special thanks to our dear friends to the north, the Milwaukee GAPA, who came through for us again, led by Kevin Wilke and Scott “Scooter” Krueger, along with the rest of their crew.  For those of you who couldn’t make it this year, you missed a really “wild and crazy” time, and we look forward to maybe seeing you join us next year at this worthwhile event.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our annual golf outing.  Congratulations to Golf Meister Joe Kirchens on a superbly-run outing.  The weather was absolutely fantastic and was enjoyed by 120 golfers. Everyone had a great time.  I’d like to thank our host, the Renwood Golf Course, who despite some construction going on at a few holes, managed to be extremely accommodating to our group. Thanks to Joe Stein and the members of the American Aid Society of German Descendants, for hosting our post-golf party – excellent, authentic German food, with awesome desserts, according to my wife. Plenty of cold beer provided by the Glunz family.  A big Thank You to all the volunteers, without whom there’d be no success, the hole sponsors, the people who donated raffle prizes, and the people who obtained them.

Don’t forget about our annual family picnic, coming up soon on Friday, July 8, at Bunker Hill Forest Preserves. Let’s have a good showing and help out our new Picnic Chairman, John Meidl, and also help out Fred Lowe to sell out on the GAPA 1000 Raffle.  Our usual crew will be in attendance at the picnic – “Snakeman,” magician,  ponies, toys for the kiddies, lots of delicious food, and of course, the Glunz trailer with refreshments. Due to the largesse of the Maifest, this is a laid-back day for us all, with S&S Catering doing the cooking. But remember, this is the day we do the drawing for the GAPA 1000 raffle tickets, so you want to make sure you get a piece of the action.

Last but not least, we still have bus seats and reserved hotel rooms available for the  Milwaukee German Fest trip.  It’s the last weekend in July, the 30^th & 31^st .  We’ll be going up on Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon.  Chicago GAPA will be marching in the Fest parade with the Milwaukee GAPA members, all in our new commemorative shirts. Contact Trip Chairman Tom Moritz at 708-774-6221 for more details or to sign up.

So, you can see GAPA is going strong, thanks to our members.  Our monthly meetings are well-attended and lively.  However, we’re moving into the summer hiatus and our next meeting is not until September 6^th.   If you’re interested, you can still see your GAPA board at work the first Tuesdays in July and August at 8 pm.  But remember – no general meeting in July and August,  Have a great summer, hope to see you at one of the above events, but if not, then see you in September!

By Hans Wolf

In a most elegant setting, the Rheinischer Verein celebrated its founding since 1890. The symbol of 11×11 equals 121 years of Karneval in Chicago. Rosemont Convention Center and Catering, under the direction of Ed Sugar, provided the elegant setting for this momentous black tie event.

Karnevalisten from around the US and Germany joined together at this Anniversary festival. President Reinhard Richter, in his opening speech, pointed out the dedication required by so many club members. Cornell Erdbeer, MC, then started the festivities. The many Karnevalisten from Cincinnati, Kansas City, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Germany were introduced and the schunkel show started.

Former Chicago Prinzenpaare from the last 20 years had been invited and were introduced to the crowd to show the dedication to carry on our rich Karneval traditions. All appeared in an elegant pomp of feathers, cepters and most colorful attire. A slideshow with pictures dating back 100 years had been collected by Ron Zilinski and was playing non-stop next to the stage.

My personal highlight was the introduction of 50 year memberships. Icons Gustav Hopp and Karl Heinz Brockerhoff, both co-founders of the fanfaren, and Willi Hopp, received their Urkunde and Orden. Gustav Hopp was the reason I joined the club and started our website and Facebook.

Our Haus Kapelle Phenix played traditional Karneval and Schunkel musik. Our Fanfaren and Amazonen provided for traditional entertainment. Our Prinzengarde and Elferat framed our event most elegantly, Karneval Germany style in Chicago is alive and well.

Alaff (Köln) or Helau (Mainz)!

Renae Pappas
Regional Hosting Coordinator
AFS-USA
2356 University Ave. West, Suite 424
St. Paul, MN 55114
rpappas@afs.org
ph: (651) 328-2908
toll free: (800) 876-2377 ext. 2908
fax: (651) 305-3753

Click on the link below to find the PDF file of the List of
German Exchange Students