Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
April 2020
Newspaper article from ‘The Express’, August 30, 1984
on the occasion of the First Contact Day
Historical Context
Anyone wishing to explore outer space requires technological tools, scientific curiosity, and innovation. No genre illustrates this more clearly than science fiction*: On April 5, 2063, the fictional engineer Zefram Cochrane embarks on a test flight into space in his self-built spaceship from Bozeman, Montana. The rocket propulsion he developed breaks all previous speed records and draws the attention of the Vulcans to Earth, who subsequently make contact with humans. This event is celebrated in the science fiction universe of Star Trek as First Contact Day.
*… and what does this have to do with migration?
‘It is unwise to trivialize what you cannot understand, Doctor’ (Spock, Star Trek XIII Beyond, 2016)
Science fiction can be understood as a thought experiment that alienates viewers from their present world: The protagonists undergo a journey that is crossing boundaries in multiple senses, relating, for instance, to temporal, geographical, cultural, and linguistic areas. As viewers, we can observe, alongside the obvious challenges of these endeavors, how the question of defining the ‘own’ and the ‘foreign’ arises. For what exactly remains ‘own’ or ‘foreign’, it turns out, is dependent on viewpoint and perspective.
Short Biography
Emmi and Richard Voigt marry in 1947 in Oldenburg-Ohmstede. Immediately after the end of World War II, the USA, Canada, and Australia fundamentally do not accept German immigrants. In 1948, this regulation is finally relaxed, and many Germans decide to seek their fortune overseas and leave post-war Germany. Among them is the couple Voigt, who leaves Oldenburg for the USA in 1949. Emmi and Richard Voigt have a son there in 1954 and build a house in Connecticut. There, Richard Voigt reaches for the stars in his free time: he engages in astronomy and builds his own telescopes. Around 1984, he is even elected an honorary member of the Litchfield Hills Amateur Astronomy Club.
Significance of the object
Newspapers are one of many sources for the reconstruction, representation, and communication of historical and current events. Through the present article, we gain further insight into the life of the emigrant Richard Voigts. And we learn that in addition to astronomy, he pursued other technical hobbies, such as constructing and refining metal detectors, which he used for treasure hunting. The title already hints at his favorite pastime, translated it means: ‘Voigt finds comfort in the universe.’
Do you also …
… have a family story of emigration or immigration to tell and would like to pass it along with the corresponding objects and documents to the Deutschen Auswandererhaus for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau at the phone number 0471 / 90 22 0 – 0 or by email at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de
Archive: Previous objects of the month
Show all objectsDo You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de