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.
October 2017
Invitation card for the “Service for Protestant Emigrants in Bremen,” around the year 1929
Historical Context
Not only government agencies but also church institutions took care of emigrants in Bremen. As early as 1821, the Protestant “Association for the Distribution of Small Christian Writings” was founded there; in 1872, the Catholic St. Raphael Association followed, and since 1892, the “German Central Committee for Russian Jews” and, since 1901, the “Bremen Committee for Needy Travelling Jews” provided a point of contact for Jewish transit migrants. In addition to organizing farewell services, distributing church writings, and sending clergy to the respective destination countries, church institutions also assisted emigrants with secular matters: they advised on matters concerning destination countries, distributed contact addresses of congregations and support organizations, or facilitated money transfers to the new homeland.
Short Biography
On the occasion of the Kirchentag in Wittenberg in 1848, the Protestant pastor Johann Hinrich Wichern called in a speech for the church to take greater heed of the social needs of people. Poor harvests and mass poverty, lack of freedom and injustice were responsible for driving believers away from God. On February 21, 1849, he repeated his speech during a visit to Bremen, which less than three weeks later prompted 60 citizens of Bremen to spontaneously establish the ‘Verein für Innere Mission in Bremen’. By 1850, the association maintained 13 city libraries, five sewing and knitting schools for children from poor families, and 40 care facilities for orphans. In 1897, the train station mission was established, followed by the founding of a hospice and in 1907, the establishment of a shelter for homeless women. In the 1960s and 1970s, care services for people with mental illnesses were added. To this day, the association operates in Bremen in line with Wichern’s vision.
Significance of the Object
Religion plays an important role in migrations. On one hand, the search for religious freedom can be the reason that drives people to leave their homeland. However, more often than not, religion represents a factor that provides migrants with support and strength. Those who leave their homeland in search of work, freedom, or simply a new beginning face many transitions and challenges: an unfamiliar language, a new social environment, different customs and traditions, and unfamiliar work processes. Their own religion remains a constant factor on which migrants can rely. Places of worship, community centers, and church organizations also provide first points of contact for newcomers to meet like-minded individuals, establish connections, and obtain information for settling into their new surroundings.
Do 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