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Quellen und Schrifttum zur Kulturgeschichte des Wiehengebirgsraumes A [ISSN 0947-4668] Edited by Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier, Wolfgang Riechmann and Bert Wiegel

[ QSKW A 3 ]

"Oh, how beautiful is this praised America".

Letters from emigrants of the district of Lübbecke and adjoining areas 1890-1952.

Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier (Ed.)

[Table of Contents]

This title is also available as paperback.

This volume is the chronological continuation of the book "Hallelujah, now we will see America. Letters from emigrants of the district of Lübbecke and adjoining areas 1836-1889" edited by the same editor, the historian and local historian Kammeier. It becomes clear, that unlike in the first years of emigration, the passage from Bremen and subsequent travels of the emigrants in America soon started to be organized by emigration agents. Fees were usually paid for by relatives in the Old or New World, though it should be noted that shares of the inheritance were taken into account, sums could be worked for, and sometimes all possessions were sold. Money proved better equipment than clothes or house textiles, because of the climatic differences. However, food, tools, and utensils were frequently taken abroad. From 1890 onwards, the comfort aboard ships improved, because these became larger and technically better equipped and dropping numbers of emigrants increased the pressure of competition between shipping companies. In 1926, passages were already organized by travel agencies. In the letters, different “push“ and “pull“ motives can be found, such as the escape from poverty, military service, or obligations as well as the hope for prosperity, a good diet, and help from previous emigrants. There is also mentioning of agriculture, industrial labour, and more rarely political events. It is remarkable, how soon Americanisms started to appear in the vocabulary. Written German was usually lost in the second generation, the spoken language in the third.

Content:	256 pages, 96 illustrations, 17 maps		Cover:	Hardcover
Text:	German		Size:	16 x 24 cm (Gr. 8°)
Abstracts in other languages:	none		weight:
Keywords:	emigration, letter		Series:	Quellen und Schrifttum zur Kulturgeschichte des Wiehengebirgsraumes A
			ISSN:	0947-4668
			ISBN-13:
			ISBN-10:
			Place of Publication:	Rahden/Westf.
			Date of Publication:	1995