Newsletter

Newsletter Archives

Our newsletter is published each month by the German Cultural Society of Erie. It is mailed to the members of the society free of charge. Others may receive the Newsletter at a moderate cost of $10.00 per year by contacting the society.  

The Newsletter contains message from the president, description of programs given at the last meeting, news items of interest  to Germans in the United States, news items of events occuring in Germany, birthdays, anniversaries and miscellaneous items. The Newsletter has photographs of local and non-local events.

Newsletter Table of Contents for 2008:

January/ February 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events  In Memoriam Stanley J. Danowski John H. Brown Jr. (Voshall family) Officers, Board of Directors & Active Committes The German Radio Hour - Sponsored by GCS The German Flag - History HISTORY The Holy Roman Empire - The Third Reich The Rise of Prussia The Path to Unification: The Customs Union and the 1848 Revolutions Food - The Maple Nut Cake - recipe German magazxine subscription - German Life Humor Corner	March/April 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events The Radio Hour $1200 grant to sponsor the German Hour on Sundays from 1:00 - 5:00 PM on FM 88.5 or 104.9MHz. Germany's multifaceted appeal The Island of Sylt-Way up North Small island, lots of space - Amrum The Weimar Republic and Fascism's Rise and Defeat Political Developments in West Germany Political Developments in East Germany Inter-German Relations The Cooking Corner Guslaschsuppe-Goulash Soup Gurkensalid-Cucumber Salid The Humor Corner
May/June 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events  German Cultural Society Of Erie Officers 2008 The German Radio Hour  Getting to know you - meeting program by Marilyn Mack Don Hemenger Gertrude Teodorski Susan Wieczorek Continuation of "German History" submitted by Christian Mueller Berlin German Unification Four Power Control Ends The Humor Corner	July/August 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events  German Cultural Society Of Erie Officers 2008 The German Radio Hour  (on WMCE) The 2008 Picnic of the GCSOE Germany sees Obama speech as "positive signal" 25/07/2008 German history cont'd submitted by Christian Mueller Government and Political Conditions Political Parties Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social union (CDU/CSU) Social Democratic Party (SPD) Free Democratic Party (FDP) The Left Alliance 90/Greens Other parties 2005 Federal Elections Rainbow Finger Jell-O The Humor Corner
September/October 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events A little German lesson German Cultural Society Of Erie Officers 2008 The German Radio Hour  Festival of Trees The Luau Redemption by Marilyn Mack News from Germany Berlin - transportation Iran demands EU halt 'anti-Islam' congress The Humor Corner Forgiveness Politics, politics Cooking tips Jack Daniels dry Rub by Paul Stadler One-liners:	Novermber 2008 Message from the Editor Programs - 2008 See Events Elections - Starting in January A Pleasant Outing - by Mary Jo Matheis Christmas Traditions in Germany & Austria - by Marilyn Voshall Light your lanterns, its St. Martin's Night News from Germany - German leaders envision close cooperation with Barack Obama
January/February 2009 Message from the Editor Programs - 2009 See Events And now our much awaited monthly German lesson Festival of Trees - by Marilyn Mack (see below) Gift Basket for St. Joseph's Octoberfest Won by Mrs. Virginia Catania Some Pictures of Interest - Thanks to Roy Voshall Christmas Traditions in Austria and Germany German Advent wreath Dr. Michael DeSantis - Erie Architecture Henry Katzwinkel - Overview of German Cities New from Germany Snow and ice weather send deadly chills across Europe Snow causes chaois in Germany Two German children, six and seven, elope for Africa The Humor Corner	March/April 2009 Message from the Editor Programs - 2009 See Events And now our much awaited monthly German Lesson Kaffee und Liebe schmecker am Besten, wenn sie heiss sind Coffee and Love are best when they are hot German Cultural Society of Erie Officers 2009 Recipies, Recipes, Recipes Wiener Schnitzel - by Paul Stadler Grandma Kloecker's Fastnacht Kuechele (Catherine Broun) Fastnacht Kuchels - by Matheis Getting to know you David Dahlkemper Cheryl Stephany Some basic Statistics about Germany People Government Economy People EU parliament backs penalties for employing illegals The Humor Corner The bottle of wine - Moral of the story: Women are clever and evil. Do not mess with them The economic stimulus - Barry now works for the government
May/June Message from the Editor Programs - 2009 See Events And now our much awaited monthly German lesson Pig roast _________ Schweinebraten Potatoes _________ Kartoffel Cucumber ________ Gurke Cauliflower _______ Blumenkohl Onions __________ Zwiebel Parsley __________ Petersilie I am driving away __ Ich fahre weg A talk given by Margo A. Keefer: "Erie Architecture, a Family Affair" written by Marilyn V. Voshall The Humor Corner Germany to mark 60th birthday in style Merkel looks beyond EU vote for pointer to plitical future Springtime for Hitler' wins rave reviews on German debut A movie which has taken in more than one billion dollars worldwide. Beestings (Bienenstich) A traditional German Recipe	September 2009 Message from the Editor Programs - 2009 See Events And now our much awaited monthly Lesson: Trip - Reise River - Fluss Wine - Wein City - Stadt Village - Dorf Window - Fenster I am driving away - Ich fahre wag The Soccer Connection by Paul Williams Our association is sponsoring the Erie Youth Soccer Association The Humor Corner The July Picnic Photos of 2009 Picnic at Zuck Park Photo of Tom Akins and WJET News from Germany While problems with integration remain, many young Turks are identifying with Germany much more strongly than Previous generations. EU assures German bakers over pretzels Hildegards' recipes: Pecans, a delicious and nutritious snack Sugared nuts Spicy Oven toasted Pecans Trudy's Rotkraut (Red Cabbage)
November 2009 Message from the Editor -Christian R. Mueller Programs - 2009  See Events And now our much awaited monthly German lesson: It is cold ____ Es ist kalt Summer is over __ Der Sommer is Vorbei The leaves are changing __ Der Blaetter faerben sich The first snowball __ Ich erste Schneefall I am tired ________ Ich bin muede I will hibernate _Ich halte Winterschlaf The Toy Drive by Paul Stadler Toys are being collected to give to the children at the Zem Zem Hospital during the Christmas Holidays. Program Reviews Paul Fischer congratulates Alex Bogdonoff as recipient of a frant from the GCSOE. Alex gave a presentation of his experiences in Germany. "Getting to know you" was presented by Cathy and Paul Jenkins and Myra Spangenberg, members of the GCSOE. News from Germany Germany still the most liked country in the world Requests to see Stasi files unabated 20 years on The Humor Corner My willing will	December 2009 Message from the Editor - David Dahlkemper November Meeting - Presentation by Oliver Fritz - go tothe  Events link. Last program for 2009 - Christmas Party Dec. 10, 2009 Ailing Members: Paul Fischer Death Notice: Fred Huttle friend, died November 21, 2009 Officiers and Board of Directors - 2010 go to the "Home" link Potpourri Quiz auf deutsch Word of Wisdom
January 2010 Message from the Editor - We welcome David Dahlkemper as our new Editor.  Programs for (first half of) 2010 - See-Events link Officers, Board of Directors and Committees - See-About Us link December 2009 Meeting - Christmas Party Entertainment by Misery Bay Dulcimer Club Potpourri Answer to last month's quiz Riddle auf deutsch Words of Wisdom - Tell the truth and you'll never have to remember what you said. Toys for the Children at Erie Shriners Hospital Irish folk pioneer -Irish balladeer Liam Clancy Where in the World are We? - quiz	February 2010 Message from the Editor One Man's Opinion Programs for (first half of) 2010 Click on Events link Officers, Board of Directors and Committees Potpourri Excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank - 1947 German Life Magazine Herta Danowski (born in Austria) read a piece from a Forbes research report. Austria to be the country best-suited for retirement. "So why am I in the United States?" Where in the world were we, last issue of January 2010? Frauenkirche, Dresden, Germany. Where in the world are We? Quiz Non Fattening Cookie Recipe by Hildegard Marshall.
March 2010 Message from the Editor IS THAT A FACT Programs for first half of 2010 Click on Event link Birthdays Potpourri Quiz Words of Wisdom Officers, Board of Directors, and Committees for 2010 February 11,  2010 Program Danube River Cruse aboard the "Adagio" Presented by Paul and Nancy Fischer Where in the world are we - Quiz? Answer to February quiz - 11th Century Veste Coburg Fortress, Coburg, Germany.

Grant Recipient for 2009
Alex Bogdanoff  student at Gannon University, Erie PA. The grant money was used to help sponsor a trip to Germany. The prupose of the trip was to study German culture and customs.

The German Flag
by Christian Mueller
   What do the colors of the German Flag stand for? The answer is somewhat complicated! Here is what your research department has found.
   The story starts with a legend. When emperor Barbarossa was crowned in 1152 in Frankfurt, the path from the church to the palace was laid out with a black-red-gold cloth. After the ceremony the cloth was cut into small pieces and distributed to the crowd. These improvised little flags were fasten to sticks and the crowd walked the street in celebration. In the year 1184, the colors were formally adapted by the Reichstag (Congress) and stayed "in power" until 1806 when Napoleon distroyed the first German Empire.
   In the following period, the colors were used by various groups in different arrangements - like gold, red, black. This went on until King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia formally decided that the black-red-gold sequence was to be the final and firm choise. Rumor has it that the King uttered the phase "From the night, through blood, towards the light" to describe the German colors. Later this was reinterpreted as "Black is the past, red (bloodly) the fight and golden the future".
   Consequently, the flag was again formally readapted in 1848 by the Frankfurt Parliament. It was again abolished in 1852, readapted as the flag of the Weimar Republic on August 11, 1919 and abolished and replaced by the flag of the Third Reich on March 12, 1933. It was finally readapted on May 8, 1949 as"Die Bundesflagge" - federal flag, although most Germans simply calli it "Die Deutschlandfahne".
   There are many more details attached to this story, that could be explored. Not at least there is the question of the definition of the specific color shades, particularly gold - some have called for the gold to be made from metallic material instead of being a dark yellow cloth.
   There you have it in a nutshell.
   As you see from the story about the flag, history plays an important part in understanding connecting events. It is for this reason, that I have chosen to inject some basic outline of German history so you can refresh your mine.