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The Wild Hunt- One of the Oldest Germanic Stories

karenanne
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Cover image- Johann Wilhelm Cordes, Wilde Jagd Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons A ferocious storm hit my corner of California in December. The wind howled as it battered the house, moaning sounds came down the chimney, doors rattled, and we could hear branches cracking outside. A sudden popping sound, and we were plunged into darkness. […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

Germanology Unlocked- Old German Handwriting & Genealogy

karenanne
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There’s a running joke lately that says we can frustrate and confuse the whole next generation by using handwriting instead of printing. And anyone hoping to research their German Genealogy from original documents… or even read letters from their Oma… understands that frustration all too well. I’ve written before about German Handwriting, and how it’s […]

Top Oktoberfest Songs You WILL Hear at German Festivals

Johannes Kepler, His Mother Katharina, and Witchcraft!

karenanne
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Johannes Kepler… German mathmatician, astronomer, astrologer… he wrote the laws of planetary motion, was appointed mathematician to the Holy Roman Emperor, and he is considered the father of modern optics. But also….the son of a WITCH? It’s hard to believe, but Johannes Kepler put his career on hold, and spent 6 years defending his widowed […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

German Museums and Cultural Heritage Centers in North America

karenanne
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German Museums and Cultural Centers do what they can to preserve the history of Germans in North America. They come in all sizes. Many hold exhibits of objects and ephemera, some are living museums that allow visitors to immerse themselves in another time, and others are a treasure trove for genealogists. Please help me add […]

Top Oktoberfest Songs You WILL Hear at German Festivals

West Germany’s Economic Miracle -Wirtschaftswunder

karenanne
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Cover image- Wirtschaftswunder Deutschland nach dem Krieg -Josef Heinrich Darchinger After spending a few semesters in mandatory Economics class at University I am certain of three things: 1. It’s virtually impossible to get more than two economists to agree on anything. 2. Guns and Butter are almost impossible to balance. 3. Taking a 7am Economics […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

Sorbian Easter Eggs- How are they made, and who are the Sorbs?

karenanne
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Some of the most beautifully decorated Easter Eggs that I’ve ever seen are Sorbian Easter Eggs. My mother introduced us to them when we were children, and she remembered them from her childhood. You see, my Opa, her father, is from Weißwasser… a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, a town that once belonged to Upper Lusatia or Upper […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

Karl May- Old Shatterhand and Winnetou

karenanne
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Karl May might be the best selling German novelist that most Americans never heard of. May’s stories of the American West have been making frontiersmen and Native Americans come alive in Germany since 1893. And for Germans of a certain age, the names Old Shatterhand and Winnetou are as familiar as Harry Potter, Ron, and […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

The Gäubodenmuseum- 7000 years of History in Straubing, Germany

karenanne
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The Gäubodenmuseum is an absolute treasure trove of early German, Celtic, Roman, and Bavarian artifacts. You’ll find the museum in a rebuilt patricians house on Frauenhoferstraße, off the main pedestrian zone in Straubing. The museum was recommended to me by our tour bus driver, Bene. (And here’s a travel tip- when the bus driver recommends […]

A Visit to the Black Forest Open Air Museum, Vogtsbauernhof

The Candy Bomber – The Berlin Airlift & Operation Little Vittles

karenanne
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Cover Image-C-54 dropping candy during Berlin Airlift c1949 – Public Domain In a 2021 newsletter, I mentioned that I would be writing about the Candy Bomber who dropped handkerchief parachutes with chocolate payloads for the children of Berlin during the Airlift. One of my readers, Dorothea Thunig Smith, reached out to me with a lovely […]

Who are the Volga Germans? Holding their Tradition across 3 Countries

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