Ukraine, Belarus, Russia

A piece of Eastern European migration history as a free tour

The war in Ukraine awakens in many, especially those who have grown up with the history of Western Europe, the desire to engage more with the history of the region of today’s Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Many migration stories also have their beginnings there. Like that of Freida Sima Enzenberg, who was born in 1895 in Mihowa in present-day Ukraine and went to the USA alone in 1911 to support her family financially. The multilingualism she acquired in Eastern Europe, where many different groups lived closely together, also helped her in New York.

Anyone who wishes to learn more biographies, objects, and information related to the topic in our exhibition can obtain a free accompanying flyer at the cash register for their visit. Visitors can individually follow the tour during daily opening hours from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Between 1830 and 1974, 3.8 million Germans and over 3.4 million people from Eastern Europe emigrated from Bremerhaven overseas. The majority of these 3.4 million Eastern Europeans emigrated at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century from the then Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The areas of today’s Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus were, among others, part of these two multiethnic empires at that time.

The team at the German Emigration Center is thinking of the people in Ukraine and all those who are fleeing due to the war there. We hope that everyone finds safety and refuge, says museum director Dr. Simone Blaschka.

Young Freida Sima Enzenberg in 1916, a few years after her emigration.