Kaffee und Kuchen
March 10, 2024 |
1:30 pm -
3:00 pm
FREE
As part of a relatively quiet and under-publicized government program, thousands of enemy soldiers invaded Iowa in 1943. With the hugely successful 1942 Allied campaign against Adolf Hitler’s vaunted Afrika Corps in North Africa, the number of enemy prisoners of war (POW) needing interment grew dramatically. Great Britain, no longer able to accommodate the increasing number of POWs, looked to the United States for help. Helping with the detainment of enemy POWs made sense, as American cargo vessels were returning home after delivering war materials with empty hulls.
What began as an experiment in isolated locations in the south and southwest eventually led to more than 500 camps and 400,000 enemy soldiers interned in the United States, including two camps in the state of Iowa. Due to a severe shortage of agricultural laborers coupled with increased War Food Administration quotas for farm goods, Iowa’s farmers needed help doing their part to assist the United States in winning the war.
This talk will focus on the creation of two POW camps in Iowa during the Second World War: one in the Northern Iowa town of Algona and one in the Southwestern Iowa town of Clarinda. Some of the topics discussed will be life in a prisoner of war camp, community relations, the POW labor program, branch camps in more than 30 Iowa communities and the arrival of Japanese prisoners at Camp Clarinda in early 1945. Camp Clarinda was one of only two camps in the country to house Japanese soldiers. The story of POW internment in Iowa is a fascinating story of Iowans being confronted by the enemy: an enemy they not only needed to help them meet their wartime goals, but also challenged them to find their humanity.
Chad W. Timm is an Associate Professor of Education at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He taught high school history for 15 years and has also been teaching future social studies teachers since 2010. His Master’s Degree in Agricultural History and Rural Studies and his PhD in Education are both from Iowa State University.
1:30 Refreshments
2:00 Program
FREE, sponsored by Humanities Iowa
Register HERE
German Immigrants impacted American culture through food, fashion, music, and even education. How many of those things can you spot in this post?
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#germanimmigrants #meme #museum #germanamericanheritage #center #art #funny #like #immigrants #immigrant #history #historical #christmas #christmasinjuly #polka #buttons #vintage #antique
Schuetzen Park Celebration
Sunday August 2nd | 1:00 pm
FREE
�The Schuetzen Park will continue its 155th anniversary celebration of the grand opening of the Park which took place in June 1870 with a free public concert. The Deutsche Polka Band will headline the event on Sunday August 2nd. Beginning at 1:00 food and drinks will be served, and the concert will commence at 2:00. Admission to the Park is always free.
Schuetzen Park is located at 700 Waverly Road in Davenport. More information can be obtained by calling: 563-449-2358 or by email: [email protected].
Photo from Davenport Iowa History:
Schuetzen Park Club House – 1902
"The beautiful and inviting Club House at Schuetzen Park was under the care of Bruchman & Co. in 1902. August Bruchman and Fred Kuehl were lessees of the park, operating the saloon, restaurant, dancing pavilion and bowling alley. Fred Kuehl was the manager of the Turner Hall and the New Grand Opera House at Third and Scott streets, while his brother-in-law, August Bruchman, was the former head bartender at the Turner Hall. August and his wife Mary resided at Schuetzen Park."
Davenport Coliseum, 1911. Images from German American Heritage Center & Museum Collections.
Initially called the Saengerfest Halle, this building is now the Col Ballroom in Davenport, IA.
Look at those colors!
Only a few more days left to enjoy free admission in July! 🎟️
Visit the museum free of charge through July 31st. Explore the history of Davenport and the German immigrants who built our community.
Open:
Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 4 pm
Sunday 12 – 4 pm
Closed Monday
German Lutheran Church in Geneseo, IL. 1890.
Image from German American Heritage Center and Museum Collection.
The Outing Club, 1900. Image from German American Heritage Center Collections.
Established in 1891. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977 and a contributing building of Vander Veer Park Historic District since 1985.
Though not directly part of the German American Immigrant history, The Outing Club is a pillar in Davenport`s communal history.
Stay tuned for a BIG reveal coming next week!
After 16 years on display and noticeable wear and tear to our permanent exhibition panels, we are installing new, dynamic, and exciting signage and artifacts to our timeline area on the 3rd floor. We can`t wait to see our hard work come to life in our permanent exhibition space.
The new information still explores the experiences of German immigrants to our area, but we are adding more artifacts, telling broader stories and experiences of residents in the Quad Cities during the high points in immigration history, and exploring what German immigrants arrived to in Iowa—some expected, and others not.
Thank you to Regional Development Authority for their support of this project. And thank you to our generous donors who helped us recover the lost funding after the federal budget cuts earlier this year: Cal and Jill Werner, Bob Thoreson, The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, and an anonymous donor. We could not have done this project on our original timeline without the support of our community.
And thank you to Edwards Creative for working with us on this project. Your designs and imagination will bring this exciting project to life!
We`re excited to share that our virtual version of our "Recent Acquisitions" exhibition is now live! This exhibition explored some of the newest and most interesting items added to our collection from the last 6 years. It was on display in person until June 1st, but now it is available to view year-round online.
In addition to photographs and the didactics from the original exhibition, our summer intern, Enya, has translated the exhibition to German, provided voiceovers for the artifact labels, and conducted additional research and resources to enhance the exhibition. We hope these additions are useful and help make this content more accessible to a wider audience.
You can explore the virtual exhibition here: https://virmuze.com/m/gahc/x/whats-new-recent-acquisitions-to-the-collection/
Enya is a student in the @wiulovesmuseumstudies MA program (anticipated to graduate in December of 2025) and an intern at the German American Heritage Center and Museum. She is German-American, having been born in Bavaria, and regularly visits family there. As she was a military-brat, she has also lived in the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany, England, and multiple U.S. states. She loves helping others learn about German culture, as well as learning about different cultures from around the world.
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