From the Luther Bible to the Tale of a Trickster. Books for German immigrants in America 1728 to 1946
Deutsches Auswandererhaus Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven: edition DAH, 2018
Prize: 7,80 €
The “Cabinet brochure 01” refers to a special exhibition that was on display from April 13, 2014 to June 7, 2015 in the cabinet of the German Emigration Center: “From the Luther Bible to the Tale of a Trickster. Books for German Immigrants in America 1728 – 1946” was created based on an idea by the Bremerhaven publishing family Ditzen-Blanke, one of the largest private supporters of the German Emigration Center.
With this exhibition, the German Emigration Center presented the diverse world of German-American publishing. Whether it was the Bible, Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, an ABC book for children, or “Schinderhannes” – there was hardly a book that wasn’t published or reprinted in the USA between the 18th and 19th centuries. The background was the desire of many German immigrants to not only continue speaking their native language in the New World but also to read it. Through original prints and reproductions, it showed how the German language became established on the North American continent and disappeared again by the mid-20th century.