Imagine yourself in an airship anchored to a pole at the top of the tallest building in New York ...getting ready to disembark onto the rooftop. That was the plan when the Empire State Building was finished in 1929. In 1936, this German advertising poster was produced, showing the Zeppelin "Hindenburg" approaching the Empire State… Continue reading German airship approaching the top of the tallest building in New York
This advertisement is from the first year of Germany's national airline. The airline name at the time was made up of two words... Luft and Hansa... meaning air and merchants...and the poster shows city connections that were available in this first year of the airline. The 1926 airplane depicted is the Junkers F 13, a… Continue reading Lufthansa Art Deco 1926 Travel Poster
In the 1300’s, the northern German city of Lübeck was the "Queen of the Hanseatic League", by far the largest and most powerful member of this medieval trade organization, with offices in many countries. Medieval Lübeck Trade routes and office locations of the German Hansa League Lübeck was the "Queen of the Hanseatic League" As… Continue reading Lübeck’s German offices in London were the largest medieval trading complex in Britain, from 1282 until 1853
Bismarck was the leading politician who created a new united German nation in 1871...a nation that became an economic powerhouse with a benevolent social policy. For example, he created safety nets such as the Sickness Insurance Law of 1883, the Accident Insurance Law of 1884, and the Old Age and Disability Insurance Law of 1889.… Continue reading Quality of life in the new German Empire compared favorably to America
When I recently saw the name Dr. Eisenbarth, I immediately recalled a melodious tune from my childhood: “Ich bin der Doktor Eisenbarth, Ja, Ja, Ja..” …that song still sits in my memory and suddenly spilled out. It is fascinating to learn that there actually was a real person named Johann Eisenbarth in the late 1600’s… Continue reading Ich bin der Doktor Eisenbarth, Ja, Ja, Ja..
Here are some of my thoughts regarding genealogy and family names in northeast East Prussia (Ostpreussen) and Memel. Many people there had German ancestors who emigrated from Saltzburg and a variety of other German cities and states. But many of these families had a common denominator... the “eit” at the end of their Surnames. How… Continue reading My thoughts regarding genealogy and family names in East Prussia
Right now... when most of us are staying safe indoors... is when we can appreciate the beautiful outdoors. In this painting we see a very blue sky filled with puffs of white cumulus clouds...a warm sun brightening golden fields of wheat...and a nostalgic view of 19th century people working the fields the old fashioned way.… Continue reading Nostalgic view of 19th century people working the fields
Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa is the subject of many legends, including that of a sleeping hero. Legend says he is not dead, but asleep with his knights in a cave in the Kyffhäuser Mountain in Thuringia, and that when the ravens cease to fly around the mountain he will awake and restore Germany to its ancient… Continue reading When the ravens cease to fly around the mountain he will awake and restore Germany to its ancient greatness
This huge beautiful painting of Berlin in 1822 took the artist Franz Krüger 6 years to complete. Depicted below is a part of the painting detailing a parade in Berlin in 1822, showing part of the audience viewing the parade from the sidelines, giving us a finely detailed look at a wide range of society… Continue reading An excerpt from a huge beautiful painting that took 6 years to complete.
Teutonic Knights have such a compelling history...their story has all the makings of a great mini-series. In its first 200 years, the Teutonic Order was invincible. Its heavy cavalry of ordained Catholic monks, clad in white surcoats with black crosses, numbered some 3000 men. They were the best in Europe and formed the core of… Continue reading Teutonic Knights and their descendants, the Baltic Germans, prospered for 700 years in north eastern Europe.
For People Proud of their German Heritage 