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Start Over Repository German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library Organization Women's Auxiliary of the German Society of Pennsylvania. Place Philadelphia (Pa.)

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German Society of Pennsylvania institutional records, 1764-1968 (bulk) 1764-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:
27.4 linear feet
Abstract:
The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1764, directed its early efforts to assisting new German immigrants, especially those forced into indentured servitude when they were unable to pay their sea fare. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Society was very visible in the thriving German-American community in Philadelphia, boasting just over one thousand members at the peak of its growth, in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the Society’s scope and prominence was affected by the two World Wars, which created suspicion and criticism of Germanic culture. That suspicion and government scrutiny played a role in the dwindling membership of the Society. In the post-World War II era the Society channeled its overseas relief activities through a Quaker-based aid society. In the second half of the century, the neighborhood was also changing, as it became predominantly African-American, rather than German, and more impoverished. But the Society pressed...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

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Max Heinrici manuscript and photographs, circa 1936-1939

Extent:
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
The collection contains an unpublished manuscript by Max Heinrici, and several photographs of him in his later years. The manuscript (approximately 460 leaves) tells the history of the German Society of Pennsylvania from 1915 to 1935, and was intended as a continuation of an earlier history of the Society that Heinrici had published in 1917, co-authored by Oswald Seidensticker. It includes biographical sketches of prominent Society leaders, and lists of its officers and board of directors for the period. The text gives perspectives on the experiences of German Americans in the era of the First World War, and contains material on charitable relief work carried on by German Americans in Philadelphia to benefit Germany and Austria-Hungary during and after the war.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

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Current results range from 1764 to 1998

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