Ship model “Mayflower”, 1963/65
The story of the Mayflower was rediscovered in England during the Victorian era of the 19th century and was marketed as an adventure and love story. In American historiography, the Mayflower and the myth of the Pilgrim Fathers are considered foundational elements of the entire nation, as they represent the ancestors of all Americans facing manifold dangers. However, even the reference to the Mayflower myth is a relatively recent phenomenon. For instance, the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, explicitly thanked the Pilgrim Fathers as the founders of the nation in his Thanksgiving Day speech in 1956. He did this at a time when the USA needed to redefine itself as a society after World War II, and the story of the Mayflower encompasses narratives of togetherness, overcoming difficult times, and faith in democracy. Today, the Mayflower also represents a Eurocentric narrative of colonialism, largely ignoring the perspective of Native Americans. Both interpretations are understandable from their respective viewpoints and contexts. A look into the past allows for various readings and is always influenced by the sociocultural and political landscape. What remains is the model as a projection surface for an active, fluid historiography. Heike Schwarzwälder, wife of the Bremen city and local researcher Harry Schwarzwälder (1929-2019), entrusted this detailed replica of the Mayflower to the German Emigration Center. Harry Schwarzwälder and his brother Herbert Schwarzwälder have made significant contributions to the history of Bremen and its surroundings. Harry Schwarzwälder worked in the Department of Road and Bridge Construction and dedicated his time as a historian and “chronicler of Bremen’s history” to Bremen’s infrastructure. He received the Bremen Prize for local research multiple times and in 2014 was awarded for his life’s work by the Scientific Society of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.
