German Footprints in the Bay Area
Listen to stories about the lasting effects of German immigrants in the Bay AreaClips from the audio documentation of German immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area will air on the Excelsior German Radio Show. Here you will find each chapter of the audio series along with a short summary written by Arndt Peltner, the author of this work. Follow this link for the German version of the audio series.
Photo by Joachim Krueger
There are traces of German immigrants in almost all parts of the USA. They came via New York to the Midwest, Texas, and as far as California. San Francisco in particular promised a bright future for Many Germans.
Here it has always been possible what was unthinkable in other parts of the country. From the gold rush in the mid 19th century, to the start-ups in Silicon Valley at the end of the 20th century: German adventurers and immigrants were drawn to the Golden Gate to become rich, to find a new home, and to become part of the San Francisco ethnic melting pot.
Many came, at first for just a few years, only to realize that a new life in a completely different place had begun. In this audio series we search for traces of the German immigrants in and around San Francisco. What brought them to the Pacific coast, was they found here, what they built, and how they became a part of this unique cosmopolitan city.
– Arndt Peltner
