[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            A TRIBUTE TO THE GERMAN SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2000

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, today I honor the German 
Society of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1764, it is the oldest German 
American organization in the new world. In celebration of its founding, 
the Society will hold its 236th Anniversary Ball and its annual German 
American Day festivities.
  The first German immigrants came to the new world after being invited 
by William Penn to come to his colony. Ultimately, thirteen families 
settled in what became known as Germantown, one of Philadelphia's 
oldest sections of the city. These families left their homes in the 
Rhineland City of Krefeld and arrived in Philadelphia on October 6, 
1683, a date celebrated by German Americans as the beginning of their 
history in the United States.
  The flow of German immigrants continued and the poorest of them 
suffered many hardships and cruelty. As a result the Society was 
founded, for the express purpose of aiding these distressed immigrants. 
And, because of the Society's advocacy a series of measures to protect 
immigrants were enacted.
  Today, the Society maintains its presence in the First Congressional 
District in its historic 1888 landmark building, which is on the 
national list of historic places. The Society also continues to 
steadfastly fulfill its mission to serve its members and those who 
share interests in German and German American culture, heritage and 
values through its presentations of educational lectures, cultural and 
arts programs, and seminars.

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