German Monuments in the Americas: Bonds across the Atlantic (New German-American Studies / Neue Deutsch-Amerikanische Studien)

Author: Pohlsander, Hans A.

Brand: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften

Edition: New

Number Of Pages: 238

EAN: 9783034301381

Release Date: 10-06-2010

Package Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches

Languages: English

Binding: paperback

Part Number: 30683940

Details: This book looks at the many transatlantic bonds which have linked and still link Germany and the United States. German immigrants to the Americas brought with them a good deal of cultural baggage. They cultivated their German heritage in their schools, churches, and clubs. They expressed pride in this heritage by erecting monuments to Goethe or Schiller, Beethoven or Wagner, Alexander von Humboldt or «Turnvater» Jahn. They claimed Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Carl Schurz, Gustave Koerner, and John A. Roebling as their own. But German-born or German-trained sculptors did not limit themselves to German subjects. They also paid tribute to America by creating sculptures of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and others who occupy a place of honor in American history. While a few German monuments can be found in Canada and in Latin America, the number of German monuments in the United States is surprisingly large. These monuments illustrate the contribution – often overlooked or ignored – of the German-American community to American society and American cultural life.