German ambassador to visit New Ulm

Gutknecht,

German politicians coming in August

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger and members of the German Bundestag (parliament) are expected to visit New Ulm during the last week of August, with First District Congressman Gil Gutknecht.

Speaking at the Society For German-American Studies symposium banquet at Turner Hall Friday, Gutknecht, R-Rochester, who is the chairman of the Congressional Study Group on Germany, said he meets often with the Ischinger and other German politicians in hopes of improving U.S-German relations.

Ischinger will be accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Daniel Coats, Gutknecht said.

Gutknecht described his meetings and what interests the Germans.

"They love to argue about all kinds of things including agriculture, trade, terrorism and military policy. We're very good friends, able to disagree without being disagreeable," Gutknecht said. "They can't wait to see Hermann and the Glockenspiel here."

He talked about the importance of continuing the dialogue with Germany which he called the fulcrum of economic power and the leader of continental Europe.

Gutknecht expects to continue his dialogue with German politicians in New Ulm in August, then enjoy some beer, wine and fellowship.

Regarding military policy, he stressed that Germans understand that America cannot fail in Iraq and that doing so would have huge repercussions in Europe, particularly Germany.

"They understand that the U.S. is at war with terrorists, but in Germany, the word war is a very sensitive thing (due to the Weimar Republic)," Gutknecht said. "German politicos say we're in a fight with terrorism."

He told a story about an e-mail he got from a sailor on the USS Winston Churchill shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. Navy ship was operating off the English coast when it got a message from the German destroyer Leutgens, asking permission to come alongside.

All German sailors were topside in their dress uniforms with an American flag and a bed sheet with four words written on it, "we stand by you."

Gutknecht later received the actual bed sheet from four German sailors. He talked about it in Congress.

"It says so much about the relationship between the U.S. and Germany," Gutknecht said.

He added that he was very happy that the Society For German-American Studies (SGAS) exists.

Earlier, New Ulm City Council President Dan Beranek accepted the first SGAS award for Cities Making Outstanding Contributions to German-American history.

"New Ulm is a German oasis in the American northwest," was the way J.H. Strasser described it in his historical book.

Denis Warta of New Ulm led off the program by saying it was a privilege and honor to talk about his favorite subject, New Ulm. He talked about four giant paver stones, honoring some of New Ulm's more prominent citizens, to be placed in German Park.

Pavers will honor Joseph LaFramboise, who helped settle New Ulm; Ludwig Meyer of the Chicago Land Co. who created the New Ulm's first plat; Christian Prignizz who's 1856 plat included the current wide streets and magnificent parks; and Jules Berndt, who built the first Turner Hall and designed the Hermann Monument.

Other paver stones will honor Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the Green (Biotechnology) Revolution, Dr. Norman Borlog; Dr. Albert Einstein, a native of Ulm, Germany; New Ulm pioneer Dr. Louis Fritsche; New Ulm artist and author Wanda Gag; and New Ulm photographer Flip Schuelke who chronicled the life of Martin Luther King and the life of the Berlin Wall for Life Magazine.

Warta said citizens wishing to get their family names on pavers next to the prominent blocks may do so for $100.

The SGAS Outstanding Achievement Award in German-American Studies went to Jerry Glenn, Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Cincinnati.