Stay Or Leave Stay Or Leave Stay
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GEORG UND LUISE in einer besonderen Zeit. Gießen STAY OR LEAVE STAY OR LEAVE STAY The Giessen Emigration Society. Gießen An exercise book for secondary schools 1 Stay or Leave – The Giessen Emigration Society An exercise book for secondary schools Published by Rita Rohrbach, Giessen 2013 Series: The History of Giessen for Students, published by Rita Rohrbach These exercise books are distributed free of charge as a set of master copies for schools in Giessen. All books were compiled without the intention of ma- king profit. They are distributed either free of charge or at the cost of printing. Copyright for this exercise book: Rita Rohrbach. About this book: The ideas for the exercise book “Stay or Leave – The Giessen Emigration Society” were developed in the project seminar in the course of the module pragmatics during the summer term of 2012 at the Historical Institute of Justus Liebig University, under the direction Rita Rohrbach. The following people made contributions toward this exercise book: Stefan Alberternst, Natascha Bauch, Timm Bieker, Andreas Bonsels, Katrin Dewald, Anastasia Esaulov, Julian Gabb, Dominik Gerhardt, Jan Hadzik, Juliane Hartmann, Melanie Hofmann, Johanna Ieva, Andre´ Jenske, Laura Metz, Kim Muskat, Jennifer Rieß, Rita Rohrbach, Niklas Schütz, Ilja Sendler, Jens Stögbauer, Venous Taremifard, Till Westermann. We would like to thank the following: the Reisende Sommer-Republik (Traveling Summer Republic) for entrusting newest sources to our safekeeping, for transcribing, corrections and collaboration; Mr. Garry McKiddy for corrections; Mrs. Juliane Hartmann for composing the emigration song; the City Archive of Giessen; the State Archives of Hesse in Darmstadt; the State Archives of Thuringia in Altenburg; the Mis- souri History Museum St. Louis; the Library of Congress; Dorris Keeven-Franke; Marilyn H. Merritt and Folker Winkelmann for the licenses of text- and picture-sources; and the Hessian Ministry of Sciences and Arts for the financial support. Concept and Format: Harald Schätzlein, UltraViolett Mediendesign, Giessen. 2 Welcome I am delighted that learning material, which has been de- The aims of this book: veloped in a project seminar and with the kind support Migration is as old as the history of mankind and it influ- of the city archive of Gießen on the history of the Gießen ences our lives even today. This curriculum examines the Emigration Society, is published. It is also pleasing that, reasons humans have migrated and helps students un- due to the translation, schools on the other side of the At- derstand how past groups have adapted to their new en- lantic Ocean can access this learning material. Thus, the vironments. Using the example of the Giessen Emigra- path of the emigrants in the 19th century can be followed tion Society, pupils today can learn the causes, the pro- from the start until the point of arrival. cess and the difficulties of migration and integration. The specific experience of the Giessen Germans can then be Prof. Dr. Vadim Oswalt, Institute of History Didactics, used to understand other migrations in human history. Justus-Liebig-University Giessen Students‘ sense of history, their understanding for others and their subject-related and judgment expertise can thus be stimulated. This exercise book is published in German and English because it will accompany the traveling ex- hibition “Utopia – Revisiting a German State in America” through Germany and the USA. Table of Contents Imprint .......................................................................................................................... 1 Credits. Aims of the book ............................................................................................. 2 Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... 2/3 Then and Now Research book. Stay or Leave – The Giessen Emigration Society .............................. M 0 Find the Utopia in America! .......................................................................................... M 1 Stay and fight or leave and start anew? ....................................................................... M 2a Searching for motives of immigration today ................................................................ M 2b Friedrich Muench (1799–1881): Reverend, father and fighter for freedom and justice M 3 Hesse in the Pre-March Period Poverty, bondage, emigration and a “small revolution“ ................................................ M 4a Historical poverty reports from Hesse ......................................................................... M 4b Test your knowledge in the crossword ........................................................................ M 4c The Giessen Blacks (Die Gießener Schwarzen) – who were they? ............................ M 5 Songs of the revolutionaries and the emigrants. A comparison of methods and goals .... M 6 3 Table of Contents Good to Know! But Is It True? News from America and the appeal for emigration ..................................................... M 7a How and for whom the Giessen Emigration Society spread its advertisement .......... M 7b Communication and travelling today and back then ................................................... M 7c Emigration? First You Must Prepare! Rules, charge fees and much more ............................................................................. M 8a Announcements for emigrating as printed in the Anzeigeblatt für die Stadt und den Kreis Gießen (1833) ............................................................................................. M 8b Historical overview of the Giessen Emigration Society ............................................... M 9 The Journey Begins Departure from Giessen and arrival at the overseas port ........................................... M 10a Unexpected stop on Harriersand ................................................................................. M 10b On a sailing ship across the Atlantic Ocean ................................................................. M 10c Arriving and Settlement Entry and the search for land ...................................................................................... M 11a Colonization of the Land: expectations and the real situation ..................................... M 11b The tasks of women during the settlement in America, using the example of Pauline Muench ........................................................................................................ M 11c Letters of women on emigrating, revolution and solidarity ........................................... M 11d Finding a home in a foreign place ................................................................................ M 11e Win the Green Card. A game on winning the chance to immigrate to the USA ........... M 11f Slavery in the Land of the Free Keeping slaves and conditions ..................................................................................... M 12a The fight against slavery............................................................................................... M 12b The End The Giessen Emigration Society – a success? ............................................................ M 13 How does research work? ............................................................................................. M 14 The epic journey ........................................................................................................... M 15 Solution sheet for the crossword .................................................................................. M 16 Documentation of texts and pictures ........................................................................... M 17 M 0 Research book. Stay or Leave – The Giessen Emigration Society In the year 1834, members of the Giessen Emigration Society left their homeland You will receive a passport to Utopia. Your rights aboard the sailing ship Medora to begin a and duties are in the small print! better life in the United States of America. There, they wanted to establish a German Passport for the journey to Utopia democratic state, but the goal of creating Your duties: you travel with the Giessen Emi- a German utopia in America was never to gration Society. You leave your known surroun- materialize. Why? Who was on this voya- dings behind and with the help of this book you ge? How did they travel from their villages gain new knowledge. You advocate freedom to the sea and later to the United States? and equality. Was this a dangerous journey? How were Your rights: you learn new things about the they received? Questions after questions. past and combine the new with the present. We would like to invite you to retrace the You come to your own verdict. You make plans journey, examine their reasons for immi- for the future. You may think like a Utopian and spread your ideas. gration, relive the experience of this utopi- an enterprise. M 1 Find utopia in America! The Reverend Friedrich Muench of the village of many. In the year 1834, men, women and children Nieder-Gemünden and lawyer Paul Follenius (also travelled on foot or by carriage to the river Weser called Follen) of Giessen were the founders of the (M10a), some families took along servants. Ships on Giessen Emigration Society. They met during their the Weser would bring them to the town of Bremer- studies in Giessen (M5). Like the revolutionaries in haven, where they had booked sail boats for the fur- France, they called themselves