Mathew 1

Reena Mathew
Dr. Martin
HON 1000
21 October 2015
Christofs Journey to America
It was the year of 1923, and a man from the Weimar Republic (present-day Germany)
named Christof had worked in his own stand in a street market. He was 29 years-old and had a
wife named Emmeline who was 26 years-old. They had a daughter together named Anneliese
who was 6 years-old. They lived in the town of Freiberg. His dad had owned the store and it had
been extremely successful. Business was booming in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, no one
else had a single Mark to spend. Currency was inflated because of the depression after World
War I.
Christof one day said to Emmeline, I dont think I can take another day of this.
Emmeline had responded We have family here, Christof.
He told her that there was nothing left for them there and that they should leave the city,
but Emmeline disagreed. A month later, Christof ran into his longtime friend Fred while he was
walking down the street looking to buy new clothes. Christof and Fred caught up with each other.
Christof revealed to Fred, I dont know if I can afford to keep the shop open again. Its
getting really expensive to maintain it and now Im just running on my fathers savings.
You should just come with me! exclaimed Fred.
Christof was bewildered. Where?

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To America! I hear its the land of opportunity, a few of my friends have gone there too!
Here, I have something to give you. Fred had dug out a brochure from his bag and handed it to
Christof.
TheFordManual? What is this? wondered Christof. He opened it up to see the
words Profit-Sharing Plan.
Ford is a company for automobiles, it is pretty big in America. You can easily find work
there in the factories! The Profit-Sharing Plan is a new plan that can let you invest a portion of
the companys profits and it ensures that you have a good standard of living. Because of it,
workers earned 8.62 Mark ($5) per hour and they only had to work for 8 hours!1 said Fred.
Christof was amazed at what he had heard. Fred told him that was a ship that comes every month
leaving Amsterdam to Ellis Island in New York. Christof thanked him for the information and
went home thinking of all the opportunities he could have in America and hoped Emmeline
would change her mind about moving. Once he came home, he told all of the great news to
Emmeline. Emmeline was still reluctant to agree, but she eventually did. Christof was overjoyed
and was excited for the new journey. Christof decided to go to Freds house to tell him the good
news. He arrived at his door and told him he could go and asked when the next time the ship will
arrive. Fred told him the ship will come next week and that they have to take the train from
Freiburg to Amsterdam to board the ship there. Christof headed back home and packed
everything within that week. Emmeline and Anneliese were feeling emotional because of what
they were leaving behind. Anneliese was crying for a couple of days because she did not want to
leave her friends, but Christof and Emmeline cheered her up because they told her she could
have even more in America. The next week, Christof, Emmeline, and his daughter Anneliese met
1 Martelle, Scott. "6- The Auto Era." Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2012. 72-75.
Print.

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up with Fred and boarded the train. After 10 hours, they finally reached Amsterdam to board the
overcrowded ship. After about a week and a half, he had spotted a green figure that looked
familiar. He noticed that it was the Statue of Liberty and was excited to finally be in America.
The ship had finally arrived at Ellis Island and once the boat docked, a swarm of people were
trying to get out all at once. Once they arrived in the building, Christof noticed there were a
multitude of different races. There were people from all over such as Italy, Lebanon, Ireland,
Russia, Poland, Greece, and China. They were all crowded in a room with a huge American flag
near the ceiling.2 After hours and hours of waiting, Christof and his family were next to take
different tests. One of the doctors there checked their eyes and once they passed, they went to the
next station. Then they had to solve arithmetic problems and pass a literacy test. After that, they
left to board a train to any major city they wanted. Christof had asked Fred where most of the car
manufacturing jobs were, and Fred said Detroit. He decided that he wanted to go there because
there would be a higher chance of him finding a job.
Once he arrived in Detroit, he applied to Ford Motor Company in the automotive factory. He had
gotten a job as one of the workers in the assembly line. A few months later, Christof encountered
a hostile man. Why dont you go back to your country, no one wants you here! shouted a
random man. He realized that there were still people who were against his nationality because of
World War I.3 He did not want to stay different and wanted to assimilate with America as much
as possible.4 Thus, their family changed their names from Christof to Chris, Emmeline to
Emma, and Anneliese to Anna. America was difficult to adjust to for Chris and his family
2 "Processing Immigrant Arrivals at Ellis Island." Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary
Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006.
135-137. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
3 Ermarth, Michael. "Hyphenation and hyper-Americanization: Germans of the Wilhelmine Reich view
German-Americans, 1890-1914." Journal of American Ethnic History 21.2 (2002): 33+. Academic
OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

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because of the Anti-German sentiment. Nevertheless, Chris enjoyed America because he had a
job working at the factory instead of wondering if he would get any sales at his shop. Emma had
gotten a job making clothes and made many friends as well as Anna. Emma had also been very
involved in their church and taught Sunday School.5 They were all satisfied with their life
because they found their place in history and belonged, similar to Diego Riveras point of view
from his mural in the DIA.6As Tocqueville mentioned, Americans like Chris and his family found
their path and their place in their country to create for themselves a good future and standard of
living.7
Works Cited
Ermarth, Michael. "Hyphenation and hyper-Americanization: Germans of the Wilhelmine Reich
view German-Americans, 1890-1914." Journal of American Ethnic History 21.2 (2002):
33+. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
"German Americans." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Ed. Timothy L. Gall
and Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Americas. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 230-232. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

4 "German Americans." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and
Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Americas. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 230-232. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
5 Harzig, Christiane. Journal of American Ethnic History: The Role of German Women in the GermanAmerican Working-Class Movement in Late Nineteenth-Century New York. 8 Vol. Transaction Publishers,
04/01/1989. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
6 Rivera, Diego. Rivera Court: Detroit Industry Murals. 1933. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI.
7 Pierson, George Wilson. "Fortnight in the Wilderness." Tocqueville in America. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins UP, 1996. 249-50. Print.

Mathew 5
Harzig, Christiane. Journal of American Ethnic History: The Role of German Women in the
German-American Working-Class Movement in Late Nineteenth-Century New York. 8
Vol. Transaction Publishers, 04/01/1989. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Martelle, Scott. "6- The Auto Era." Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2012.
72-75. Print.
Pierson, George Wilson. "Fortnight in the Wilderness." Tocqueville in America. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins UP, 1996. 249-50. Print.
"Processing Immigrant Arrivals at Ellis Island." Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential
Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth
Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 135-137. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Rivera, Diego. Rivera Court: Detroit Industry Murals. 1933. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit,
MI.