German-American Heritage Museum of the USA™
In March 2010, the German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA® (GAHF) will open the first national German-American Heritage Museum as the institution for German-American heritage and culture. The Heritage Museum will tell the story of all Americans of German-speaking ancestry and how they helped shape our great nation today. The Museum will collect, record, preserve, and exhibit this rich cultural legacy. It will be a place for continuing discussion, study, and development of ideas about German, Swiss, Austrian, and Slovakian Americans, their heritage, their values, and their future.
The museum intends to make the German-American history more readily available to broader audiences and easy to comprehend for all ages, thereby fostering mutual understanding and increasing public knowledge about the rich heritage of all Americans of German descent. Centrally located in Hockemeyer Hall in Washington, DC, the German-American Heritage Museum is not only in close proximity to the National Archives, the National Portrait Gallery and the Newseum, but also serves as a historical setting of German-American immigration itself. Built in 1888 by John Hockemeyer, a German immigrant who became a successful merchant, the townhouse is part of the Penn Quarter, a historic settlement of Germans in Washington.
Exhibits
German Immigration to the US:
1600-Present
For almost 400 years, Germans have been helping build America. Since the arrival of the first Germans in Jamestown in 1608, German-Americans have distinguished themselves through their cultural, economic, scientific and political contributions to life in the United States.
German Music in the US
The exhibition takes a look at the role of German music and musical life throughout the history of German immigration and Germans living in America.
America & Germany: The Shaping of Images in Poetry and Prose
America, the land of unlimited possibilities” has always held a very special place in German literature, hearts and minds. This small exhibition illustrates how captivating stories about America and German bestsellers in the US have shaped the images of both countries.
German Families and Clubs
Our exhibition on German families and clubs offers our visitors the unique opportunity to learn about German club life and history in the US and personal accounts from German immigrants.
Germany Today
This multimedia kiosk in cooperation with the German embassy in Washington, Deutsche Welle and the German National Tourist Board informs visitors about Germany as it is today.
Research
Oral History Research Project
The German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA® (GAHF) asks for your support in researching and preserving the rich heritage of German-American immigrants and the many achievements they have made in building the United States.
We are implementing a cutting-edge research project as a valuable source for academic research and foster common knowledge about the role German-Americans have played in history.
The project is funded through the European Recovery Program, a German governmental program to foster transatlantic relations.By recording, evaluating, archiving and publishing audio-visual testimonials from Americans of German descent, we are following our primary mission of preserving the rich cultural heritage of German- Americans.
To learn how you can get involved, please contact [email protected].
Education Programs
The Heritage Museum has partnered with the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) to develop educational programs and resources for students and teachers of German. The museum also welcomes school classes to visit the museum on field trips.
Events
MARCH 21, 2010
Grand Opening
The German-American Heritage Museum of the USA opens its doors to the public. Visitors are welcome to join the museum
and explore what the new addition to Washington’s museum circuit has to offer.