Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg

Logo of the Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg

Entrance to the Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg

The Carl-Schurz-Haus, a German-American Institute, was founded in 1952 as Amerika-Haus (engl.: America-House) in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It has operated since the 1960s as a binational cultural center. It annually offers about 250 events (speeches, exhibitions, workshops and readings) on transatlantic topics, at which those interested in societal exchange can engage in conversations with German and American experts and artists. In addition to offering concerts and English film series, the institute houses an American library with more than 20,000 titles as well as a student advisory service for German pupils interested in extended stays in the U.S. Carl-Schurz-Haus also organizes a diverse range of English courses, taught by native English speakers, for children, teenagers, and adults. Several organizations utilize Carl-Schurz-Haus as a meeting place, including the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft, an association that supports relationships with Freiburg’s sister city Madison in the U.S.; the German American Business Community in Baden; a quilting club; the writing workshop Freiburg Writers’ Group; and a square dancing club called Dreisam Swingers. At the end of 2016, members of the institute totaled about 1,660 people. Friederike Schulte has been the director of Carl-Schurz-Haus since 2010, while the chairman of the board is currently attorney-at-law Gerhard Manz.

History

Amerika-Haus was founded on October 17, 1952 (1952-10-17) as an information center of the United States Information Agency and had its first location at Goetheplatz 2, also serving at first as a branch office of the US-consulate general in Stuttgart. Three years later, the House moved to a location at Bertoldstraße 8 in the city center. Because of a change in ownership of the Bertoldstraße location in the mid-sixties, a new building was needed for the Amerika-Haus by May 31, 1965. When plans to move to the restored Kornhaus failed in 1964, the institution was able to make plans to move into several levels of the new building of the Café Herzog at Kaiser-Joseph-Straße 266. The Program department and administration moved to the new building in 1965 and the library and lecture hall opened to the public in May 1966. In 2006, the Amerika-Haus moved again and re-opened on January 28, 2006 at its current location (as of May 2017) at Eisenbahnstraße 58–62.

Financial cuts by the US government led to the reorganization into a binational institution in 1962 to secure the house economically and financially. The US Information Service (USIS), the federal government, the state Baden-Württemberg and the city of Freiburg supported this change financially. The club Freiburger Amerika-Haus e.V. was founded and the 10-year anniversary of the Freiburg Amerika-Haus was honored with a festive discussion about western culture politics.

In 1969, the association's name was changed to Carl-Schurz-Haus/Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut e.V., following a proposal by the executive board, to honor the 140th birthday of Carl Schurz. The name change was celebrated in March 1969 with a festive lecture about him.

American literature professor and feminist Eva Manske served as head of the organization for fifteen years from 1993. She was succeeded in 2008 by Christine Gerhardt.

Language Classes

Since 1975, the institute has organized English language classes which are exclusively taught by native English speakers. The spectrum of classes offered today range from classic conversation courses to individual and corporate courses, the administration of tests and certifications, and courses in intercultural skills.

In the fall of 2000, a course program designed specifically for children and teenagers was added in order to supplement students’ school English lessons. Since 2006, Academies with this same focus have taken place three times each year; these holiday camps offer intensive language courses through experiential learning for school-age children. Mayor Dieter Salomon sponsored the newly-established Green Academy in 2014, which combined language acquisition with environmental awareness.

Since the 60^th anniversary of the institute in 2012, teenagers can participate in the English-speaking book club The Book Stars to engage in discussions about current literature.

The Inside America program at Carl-Schurz-Haus connects schools in the region with native English speakers and students from the U.S. in order to facilitate authentic intercultural encounters. This program enables German students and Americans to actively interact with each other through classroom visits.

Select Events

• 1968 Leslie A. Fiedler, American literary scholar, „Close The Gap, Cross The Border: The Case For Post-Modernism“
• 1988 Ishmael Reed, American novelist, Reading
• 1993 Kate Millett, Feminist, „Entmenschlicht. Versuch über die Praktiken der Psychiatrie“ / “Dehumanized. An Experiment on the Practices of Psychiatry”
• 1993 George McGovern, former US-Senator and presidential candidate, „Beyond the Cold War: America and the New Global Challenge“
• 1997 Carl Djerassi, Nobel Prize winner, Chemist and Author, „Von der Pille zur Feder“ / “From the Pill to the Pen”
• 1998 Chaim Potok, Author and Rabbi, „The Gates of November“ / „Novembernächte“
• 2002 Michael Ballhaus, Cinematographer, Book and Film presentation, Panel diskussion
• 2005 Avi Primor, Israeli Diplomat and Ambassador in Germany (1993-1999), Speech, „Terror als Vorwand“ / “Terror as an Excuse”
• 2006 Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner and economist, Speech, „Making Globalization Work: Über die Chance der Globalisierung“ / “Making Globalization Work: On the Opportunity of Globalization”
• 2009 Walter Pincus, Journalist at The Washington Post, Speech, „What Has Happened to the American Press?“
• 2009 Claus Kleber, ZDF-Moderator and Journalist, Speech, „Krieg und Medien in den USA” / “War and the Media in the USA”
• 2010 Jeremy Rifkin, American sociologist, economist, and author, Speech, „The Empathic Civilization. The Race To Global Consciousness In A World Of Crisis
• 2011 Dieter Salomon and Uwe Brandis, Symposium, "Machbare Visionen für eine lebenswerte Stadt der Zukunft” / „Feasible Visions for a Livable City of the Future“
• 2012 T.C. Boyle, Author, Reading, „When The Killing‘s Done“
• 2013 Louis Begley, Author, Reading, „Erinnerungen an eine Ehe“ / „Memories of a Marriage”
• 2013 Adam Johnson, Author und Pulitzer Prize winner, Reading, „The Orphan Master's Son“
• 2014 Tanja Hollander, Photographer, Exhibition and Speech, „Are You Really My Friend?“
• 2015 Susan Neiman, Philosopher und Director of the Einstein Forum, Reading and Discussion, „Why Grow Up?“
• 2015 Teju Cole, Author and Photographer, Reading, „Every Day Is For The Thief“
• 2015 Gary Shteyngart, Author, Reading, „Little Failure“
• 2016 Uwe Timm, Author, Speech and Discussion, „Carl Schurz: Lebenserinnerungen“ / „Carl Schurz: Memoirs”
• 2016 John Gerosa, Sales Director of Google Germany, Anke Domscheit-Berg, Publicist, u. a., Theme Day, My Digital Revolution
• 2016 Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner and economist, Speech, “Europa spart sich kaputt” / “Europe is saving itself into ruins”
• 2016 John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador in Berlin und non-fiction writer, Speech, „Eurocalypse Now?“
• 2017 Hanya Yanagihara, Author and Editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Reading, „A Little Life“

External links

• Official website