[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 135 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2063-E2064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GERMAN-AMERICAN DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 1999

  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate German-
American Day and the many great contributions German-Americans made to 
our society. Through their loyalty, determination, spirit, and culture, 
German-Americans have significantly enriched the lives of all 
Americans.
  In 1987, Congress formally recognized the achievements of German-
Americans by proclaiming October 6th to be German-American Day. As we 
celebrate this October 6th, the thirteenth celebration of German-
American Day, all Americans have the opportunity to reflect upon the 
cultural legacy of German-Americans.
  America's German heritage predates our nation's independence. Our 
first German immigrants arrived in Philadelphia in 1683. Since that 
time, America has enjoyed the immeasurable contributions of such 
creative German-American minds as Carl Schurtz, Baron von Steuben, Levy 
Strauss, John Jacob Astor, and Peter Zenger. More recently, the works 
of Albert Einstein, Wernher von Braun, and Henry Kissinger are 
testimony to the industriousness, loyalty, and talent of German-
Americans.
  In addition to the contributions of these German-Americans, 57 
million Americans of German descent have helped enrich America through 
their participation in the workforce and the arts. In the 1990s, when 
my home city of Chicago experienced rapid growth, German immigrants 
arrived in their largest numbers. By sharing their industry and arts 
with our city, they helped Chicago become one of the world's great 
cities. Although Germans were only twenty-nine percent of the city's 
population, they constituted fifty percent of the city's bakers, forty-
four percent of brick and

[[Page E2064]]

tile makers, and thirty-seven percent of machinists. While German-
American craftsmen and skilled workers fueled Chicago's industrial 
growth, German art, music, and literature also helped mold the cultural 
developments of the city.
  After the Great Fire of 1871, German-Americans took an active role in 
rebuilding Chicago. Their efforts can be seen even today in the city's 
world renowned architectural beauty. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra was 
founded by a German-American violinist and flourished due to talented 
German musicians who made Chicago's Symphony Orchestra into one of the 
world's greatest musical institutions. In addition, German theater 
introduced the classical works of Schiller and Geothe as well as many 
other European works.
  While the contributions of German-Americans have shaped American 
cultural and industrial development, they are easily overlooked, 
largely because they have been overwhelmingly embraced by Americans and 
are now thought of as simply ``American.'' October 6, 1999 once again 
calls attention to all Americans of German descent and their 
contributions to the vibrancy and strength of the United States.

                          ____________________