Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg

P1000408 Logo of the CarlSchurz Haus Freiburg

P1000413 Entrance to the Carl Schurz Haus Freiburg

The Carl-Schurz-Haus is a German-American institution which was founded in 1952 as Amerika-Haus (engl.: America-House) in Freiburg im Breisgau, West Germany. Since the 1960s, it has been a binational cultural center which organizes around 250 events annually focused on current trends. It is a meeting place for people interested in America and culture, and offers lectures, workshops and literary readings with American and German experts. It also offers movie series, an English library with more than 12,000 titles, advice for students who want to study in an English-speaking country and English language courses taught exclusively by native speakers. The Carl-Schurz-Haus is a contact point for the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft, an association that supports the relationships between Freiburg’s its partner city of Madison, and the larger German-American business community in Baden.

History

Amerika-Haus was founded on October 17, 1952 at the Goetheplatz 2 as an information center of the United States Information Agency. Initially, it also served as branch office of the US-consulate general in Stuttgart. Three years later, the House moved to the city center. Because of a change in the house’s ownership, a new building was needed for the Amerika-Haus through May 31, 1965. When plans to move to the restored Kornhaus failed in 1964, the institution found new accommodations in the new building of the Café Herzog in the Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. The Program department and administration moved to the new building in 1 and the library and lecture hall opened for the public in May 1966. In 2006, the Amerika-Haus moved again and re-opened on January 28, 2006 at its current location in the Eisenbahnstraße.

Financial cuts by the US government led to the reorganization into a binational institution in 1962 in order 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. after a proposal of the executive board. The occasion was the 140th birthday of Carl Schurz. The name change was celebrated in March 1969 with a festive lecture about Carl Schurz.

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

External links

• Carl Schurz Haus, official site (in German)