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 2026
Passport, 1896
| Size | 44.6 x 30.4 cm |
| Material | Paper |
| Donation | Heirs of Lore and Ekkehard Kaufmann |
On February 18, 1896, a passport is issued to the German immigrant and now American citizen Karl Haspelmath. This document belongs to the early U.S. passports and is also the first passport of this kind in the collection of the Deutsches Auswandererhaus.
Historical Context
The first U.S. passport is created during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Benjamin Franklin designs it as a letter of recommendation for foreign governments while serving as ambassador in France. This single document should protect the few U.S. Americans traveling abroad – primarily diplomats and merchants, but often entire ship crews as well. For the following hundred years, the passport largely remains in this form, but is supplemented with elements such as physical characteristics.
In the first half of the 19th century, the U.S. Department of State issues only a few hundred passports per year. For cross-border travel, passports are rarely required at this time. Instead, they often serve as identification or status verification for practical or social purposes – such as picking up mail, accessing private museums, or attending social events.
However, from the second half of the 19th century, the political and demographic situation changes fundamentally – and thus also the significance of the passport. During the Civil War, the U.S. government introduces a passport requirement for the first time from 1861 to 1862, among other reasons, to control the departure of able-bodied men. With increasing immigration and new entry restrictions – such as the Page Act (1875), the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), and the Immigration Act (1891) – the government’s interest in controlling origin and identity grows. During World War I, the passport requirement is reintroduced temporarily – border and entry port controls are tightened, especially due to concerns about espionage and political radicalism. Shortly thereafter, the Immigration Acts of the 1920s introduce national origin quotas. In response to these requirements for border control, the U.S. government increasingly turns to the passport. What initially starts as mainly a diplomatic recommendation letter gradually becomes a tool for state identification and control of mobility. With the general passport obligation of 1941, this development is finally institutionalized.
Short Biography
Karl Haspelmath is born on April 8, 1851, as the youngest of three siblings in Hannover. At 15 years old, he joins the merchant marine and travels to the USA aboard the ‘Frederick.’ What motivates this decision is unknown. He may also be inspired by the migration paths of his brother Detlev: At 16, Detlev travels to Switzerland in 1860, later joins Garibaldi’s volunteer forces in Italy, and eventually goes to sea. Like his brother, Karl also builds a career at sea – from cabin boy to captain.
On October 22, 1880, Karl received American citizenship and, in the following years, worked in various fields. In 1881, he moved to New Mexico, where he operated a store called Boots and Shoes, Leather and Findings in Santa Fe. According to family tradition, he also acquired items for his business from the Navajo, an indigenous people in the southwestern United States. Among these were blankets and rugs, several of which he brought back to Germany. In 1888, Karl was appointed postmaster. In 1904, he became a lifelong member of the local Elks Lodge, a non-profit association.
In the USA, Karl also started a family. He was first married to his cousin Emilie Engelke; from this marriage, the daughter Louise was born in 1868. Emilie passed away in 1918. In 1919, Karl was still living in the USA but ultimately returned to Germany. This is evidenced by his subsequent marriage in 1920 to another cousin, Emilie Eppner. Karl died in Germany in 1925.
Significance of the Object
“I, the undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States of America, hereby request all whom it may concern to permit Karl Haspelmath a Citizen of the United States safely and freely to pass, and in case of need to give him all lawful Aid and Protection.” “
This is the text on the two-year valid, diploma-like document, signed by Richard Olney, the 34th Secretary of State of the United States. This passport is apparently not the only American passport that Karl Haspelmath possesses. In the records “USA Passport Applications 1795–1925” as well as in the lists of the National Archives, at least five passport applications or issuances from 1890, 1896, 1910, 1916, and 1919 can be identified. The passports with the same wording accompanied him over several decades during which he traveled between the USA and Europe for family and business reasons.
Why does Karl repeatedly apply for a US passport, even though it was generally not required for foreign travel before World War I? Today, we can only speculate about this. For a naturalized US citizen like Karl, the passport can be particularly useful: it confirms his American citizenship and facilitates access to the protection of the US government while abroad. Even the American passport instructions from 1888 emphasize that travelers without such proof of citizenship could face significant difficulties with authorities abroad. This is especially relevant for naturalized individuals like Karl, whose legal status abroad cannot be identified solely based on their name or origin. A valid passport can also ease the return journey to the United States, as it simplifies the determination of identity and citizenship while helping ensure that its holder is not regarded as an ‘ immigrant.’
How Haspelmath’s specific border crossings and checks occurred is no longer traceable today. It would be all the more fascinating to ask him directly what it meant for him to travel as a German emigrant, sailor, and later a naturalized American merchant between Europe and the USA, while experiencing the changes in border controls, identity verification, and passports.
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