Gallagher 1

Morgan Gallagher

Rowley

Honors 1000 Sec 507

Oct 7, 2017

Who Are We?

The beginning of the 20th century revealed the United States as a land of great new

opportunities for immigrants. As migration to America became more and more possible, 31-year-

old Audwin Ziegler began to look on with curiosity. The city of Weimar, Germany proved to be

a near dead-end for Audwin and his small family. Though it would always remain special to the

Ziegler family, now consisting of Audwin, his 26-year-old brother, and their widowed mother,

Weimar held its own respective future for them. Audwins father had been a shoemaker before

his death in 1895, leaving the small business to his oldest son. Audwin spent his days running the

shoemaking business, which had lately been bringing in significantly less revenue than the

family needed. Audwin, having taken on the role of provider for the family, was stricken with

worry. How could the family survive on a dying business? Audwins younger brother brought in

little money from his late apprentice work in the metal smithing shop; not nearly enough to

support the family if the business went down. Audwin would have to find another job, but

worried that there were few well-paying trades that required no special experience. Soon enough,

Germany was on the brink of battle with France and Russia. The country had proposed the

Schlieffen Plan in 1906,1 which outlined an attack strategy against the two armies. Audwin

desperately wanted to avoid war for the sake of his family; how would his mother survive if both

of her sons were drafted? The suffering business, the threat of war, and Audwins sealed fate of

1
Limbach, Raymond. Schlieffen Plan. Encyclopedia Britannica. Annals of American History Online
[Encyclopaedia Britannica], www.britannica.com/event/Schlieffen-Plan.
 Gallagher 2

endless money struggles in Weimar gave him a seed of an idea one fateful night. He would

migrate to the United States. An old friend of the family had done so a few years prior- he had

gone to the city of Detroit, in Michigan. This is where he would go. In 1911, Audwin had taken

the only savings his family still had, promised his family of the better life he would construct for

them, and boarded a boat to America.

Audwin arrived to Detroit in late summer. Back in Germany, he had written a letter to the

familys old friend- Garvyn Schuster. Garvyn was delighted to hear from Audwin, and

reminisced about the great opportunities he had encountered in Detroit. He had settled in a small,

apartment-style living space on the crossroads of two streets called Gratiot and Jefferson, and

invited Audwin to move in. Upon his arrival, he had realized that nearly everyone in the

immediate area of Garvyns location had also came from Germany- they had even referred to it

as Germantown. 2 Here, Audwin felt at ease with the transition, as a small sense of familiarity

remained. Soon enough, Audwin found a job constructing stoves in one of Detroits factories.

Until this point, Audwin was unaware that the stove industry was so prominent.3 Because the job

only required minimal experience and only involved a small part of the process, Audwin was

hired quickly. Though his expenses of living in the city proved substantial, Audwin worked

many hours in the factory, and eventually started to make enough American money to start

generating savings to move his family to the United States as well. It would take time, but

Audwin remained determined.

It was early October, and Audwin had picked up an issue of the Detroit Free Press,

reading the headline Want Changes in Immigration Law- German Americans are Opposed to

2
Hardiness, Honesty, and Honor. Our German Story, Our Story of...,
ourstoryof.com/german/index.html.
3
Martelle, Scott. Detroit: a Biography. Chicago Review Press, 2014.
 Gallagher 3

Physical and Educational Tests. 4 It was odd to be part of a group such as this- a German-

American. Here, Audwin was an outsider. Even so, America seemed to be made of outsiders.

Audwin would reminisce about this in letters to his family in Weimar. He thought about the

headline further- were immigration laws threatening to change? Audwin knew little about

American politics, but he knew that his family needed to leave Germany before it was too late.

He worked in the factory as much as possible, and even took on odd jobs. When Audwin

couldnt sleep, he would often spend time painting. He had brought few items with him on his

journey- among his clothing, he had a large sketchpad and a few pots of paint. Audwin had

learned to paint from his mother, a skilled artist without means of discovery. Garvyn had come

across Audwins work and praised his skill. He explained to Audwin that, in America, European

artists were praised heavily, and often were the only ones to make money off of their

work.5Audwin had remembered his visit to one of Detroits small art galleries during his trek

home from work; entirely European names. Upon Garvyns encouragements, Audwin decided to

try his hand. Before long, he had sold multiple of his paintings on street corners around the

bustling environment of Detroit. Though they never sold for very much money, Audwin was

beyond grateful to make a profit from something he loved so dearly- something that he couldnt

spend time loving back in Germany.

As 1914 began, starting Audwins third full year in the United States, urgency to move

his family out of Germany was at an all-time high. The Great War was breaking out, and his

family wouldnt be able to last much longer in a war-stricken Germany. He was incredibly close

4
"WANT CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION LAW." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 3. Oct 08 1911.
ProQuest. Web. 1 Oct. 2017 .
5
Jirousek, Charlotte. The Development of Modern Art in the US. The Development of Modern Art In
the US, Cornell, 1995, char.txa.cornell.edu/art/fineart/modernus/modernus.htm.
 Gallagher 4

to gaining enough money to move them to Detroit. Letters to his mother promised only a few

more months. Audwin tried to ease his familys unspoken worry with excitements of the

American Dream. He had been living in the center of it- here, one could work to achieve

anything. Back in Germany, Audwin was a shoemaker. He would become nothing but a

shoemaker, and even so, what would he be when his fathers business officially perished? Here,

in Detroit, Audwin was able to establish himself. America had made his goals achievable; they

were possible with hard work. In his last letter to his mother, Audwin would tell of his great

success. He had achieved his own American Dream - for he had finally broken free of his

finite destiny. Here, it was possible. He would express his excitement for his family in the final

letter, for he had gained enough money to send them towards a better life; one that would prove

limitless and new.

Works Cited

Secondary

Hardiness, Honesty, and Honor. Our German Story, Our Story of..., ourstoryof.com/german/index.html.

Jirousek, Charlotte. The Development of Modern Art in the US. The Development of Modern Art In the
US, Cornell, 1995, char.txa.cornell.edu/art/fineart/modernus/modernus.htm.

Limbach, Raymond. Schlieffen Plan. Encyclopedia Britannica. Annals of American History Online
[Encyclopaedia Britannica], www.britannica.com/event/Schlieffen-Plan.

Martelle, Scott. Detroit: a Biography. Chicago Review Press, 2014.

 Gallagher 5

Ogburn, Christopher G. Brews, Brotherhood, and Beethoven: The 1865 New York City SNgerfest and
the Fostering of German American Identity. American Music, vol. 33, no. 4, 2015, pp. 141.,
doi:10.5406/americanmusic.33.4.0405.

Rippley, LaVern J. The German-Americans: A Course Proposal. Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching

German, vol. 9, no. 2, 1976, pp. 2430. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3529473.

Primary

"WANT CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION LAW." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 3. Oct 08 1911.
ProQuest. Web. 1 Oct. 2017 .

The Little Italies of Michigan. Jovina Cooks, 2 Apr. 2015, jovinacooksitalian.com/2013/05/10/the-

little-italies-of-michigan/.