In celebration of German-American friendship, we’re featuring stories from people like you!

Do you have a story to share with us about your German-American experience? Whether you are of German heritage or are someone who loves all things German, we want to hear from you! Send us a brief example of a time you enjoyed engaging with Germany in some way and we’ll publish the best contributions on our blog during the campaign!

What does “Wunderbar Together” mean to you? Stories can be anything from funny to heartwarming and highlight intercultural experiences studying, living, and working in the United States or Germany. Be creative!

Visit our homepage to submit your story!

This week’s story comes to us from the German Heritage in Letters project. The German Heritage in Letters project digitizes hand-written correspondence between German immigrants in the U.S. and their family back home. The project helps preserve and tell an authentic story of immigration from Germany. The letters are primarily from 1840s – 1880s, where at the peak, more than 3 million letters were sent each year. 

This week’s story comes from a letter found in the Schweitzer-Guggenheimer Letter Collection, centered on Isaac Schweitzer, a merchant from the community of Mühringen who immigrated to the United States in the 1860s. 

I am no longer working with the spice business because they see that I am so useful in the other store. I sell as much or more than Henry. I know enough English so that I can talk to everyone in the store. People here say that they have never seen anyone who learned English as quickly as I did. Of course one cannot express oneself and twist and turn the words as in German. However, it has only been 4-6 months.