Germany 1934 Carl Schurz Society - Bonn, Cologne Cathedral, Hamburg Chilehaus and the Sprinkenhof

Rhein
Bonn
Bonn university
Munster of Bonn
House where Beethoven was born in 1770
Cologne Cathedral
Liblar the birthplace of Karl Schurz
Hamburg
Chilehaus
Sprinkenhof
Hamburg America Line

The Carl Schurz Society was created in Berlin after World War I to restore friendly German-American relations. From its start in 1926, the organization "introduced American visitors to a Germany of high culture, economic prosperity, and republican stability." But with the Nazi rise to power in 1933, that mission changed. The organization was transformed into a propaganda agency meant to show the so-called "New Germany" to Americans.

This 6 part film documents a month-long trip through Germany in the summer of 1934 taken by professors, students, and administrators from 26 American universities. The film shows how German authorities presented Nazism as a national campaign of cultural and economic renewal. The film was made to be a souvenir for the trip's participants as well as a recruiting tool for American students eager to have a study abroad experience. The American group was treated to receptions hosted by dignitaries, academics, and politicians. Their hosts projected a vibrant, cultured, and technologically advanced picture of Germany under National Socialism.

After their return to America, many participants praised the "New Germany" in the press. But this positive account of the Third Reich was not always well received. Even before the group departed, a New York Times headline announced "Nazis to be Guides for American Group," explaining that "visitors to Soviet Russia have long been familiar with this type of tour." Despite these criticisms, the 1934 trip become the model for a series of annual, fully funded trips for between 40 and 75 American students until 1939. By 1940, the Carl Schurz Organization became the subject of an FBI investigation for funding the activities of German spies.