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ETV to Present “Germans In America”

Four-Part Series Airs Statewide June 8-11

For Immediate Release
May 15, 2008

Columbia, SC...Beginning June 8 through 11, ETV will air Germans In America, a sweeping historical documentary that recounts the story of German immigrants in the United States.  The program airs statewide each night at 8 p.m.

Many people don’t realize that over 42 million Americans have German roots.  As America’s largest ethnic group, Germans have made a significant mark on America’s cultural, financial, and public lives for the last 400 years.

The four-hour series relates little-known stories about the German migration to America, from the epic of the Texas-Germans to the quiet lives of countless Midwestern farmers; and from the tales of prominent families like the Steinways, to the multitude of poor immigrants gathered in "Little Germanies" in American cities.  Viewers will also see the saga of the press and printing industries as well as the heritage of devout free-thinkers and political refugees, and founders of industrial dynasties.

The unique combination of location shoots in the U.S. and Europe, rarely-seen archival footage, poignant interviews with descendants of these early German settlers, and depictions of historical events produced with meticulous attention to detail, brings German-American history to life.

Below are brief episode descriptions for the series.

Program 1: Into the Promised Land

This episode explores how a whole German village packed up and moved to America.  Viewers will also learn about the adventures of German-Americans in the California Gold Rush and how their descendants tried to pass on their heritage to the next generation. Finally, the program chronicles the travels of a group of German-Americans from Missouri back to Germany in search of their roots. 

Program 2: The Price of Freedom

Full of hope, families crossed the Atlantic to Texas to develop a massive settlement in the Texas hill country, only to learn that they had been swindled and abandoned.  Viewers will see the struggles and battles these heroic people overcame and how their culture and language persist in present-day Texas.

Program 3: Little Germanies

"Little Germanies" in American cities across the country provided everything for the German-Americans. Viewers will see two families who represent both ends of the economic spectrum, the Steinweg family, who founded Steinway & Sons, and the Gumpertz family, who struggled to find a way out of the slums of New York's Little Germany.

Program 4: A People Disappears

In this episode, viewers will learn how and why this important ethnic group "Americanized" their names and tried to suppress their identity.  This program also tells the dramatic stories of a Jewish-German couple in exile and an ordinary man who fled the Nazis, headed to Boston to be with his father and ended up in an American POW camp.  Additionally, viewers will learn about the struggle for cultural survival and how immigrants dealt with the "melting pot."

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.