There's a story of interest to researchers in today's New York Times about
emigration >from the port of Bremerhaven, and a new museum, known in German
as Deutsches Auswanderer Haus--or "Emigration House"--which opened in that
city a few weeks ago. The story can be read at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/international/europe/02bremerhaven.html

This museum tells the flip side of the experiences detailed at New York's
Ellis Island Museum--the departure of our ancestors to a new, unknown world,
versus their arrival in a strange land. And in this case, they were not
just heading to New York, but to ports in Canada, Brazil, Argentina and
Australia. Although Hamburg has been planning an emigration museum for years
(now scheduled to open in 2007), Bremerhaven's is the first to open in
Europe. You can learn more about it on the website:

http://www.dah-bremerhaven.de/english/hauptseite.html

It is interesting to note that Bremerhaven came into existence as a major
port to accommodate the overflow demand on the port of Hamburg, and its
prominence was due to efforts of one man, a Jew named Albert Ballin, who
took over the operations of his father's ticket-booking service and
eventually became general director of HAPAG, which is still one of Europe's
biggest shipping companies.

The complex he also built in Hamburg, on an island in the middle of the Elbe
River once held over 30 buildings, including dormitories, a bathhouse, and a
synagogue where housed people during their layovers between arriving in
Germany and departing for various ports.

The new Bremerhaven Auswanderer Haus is currently simulating the immigrant
experience for visitors, and introducing them to a specific immigrant by
providing a magnetic card with the story of one specific person, and
detailing each person's life story. On their website you can take a virtual
"tour" of the museum, and if you visit in person, they appear to have a
computer center called "forum migration" where you can use their database
and archives to "research your ancestors and discover the meaning of your
family's name." There does not appear to be any online research available
on the museum's website.

Also of interest might be the German Emigrants Database at the Historisches
Museum Bremerhaven at:

http://www.historisches-museum-bremerhaven.de/index.php?id=128

which contains information on emigrants who left Europe for the United
States of America between 1820 and 1939, primarily >from German ports, taken

from passenger manifests.

This new museum might be a destination one might want to add to a European
itinerary to gain another perspective into our ancestors' emigration
experience.

Pamela Weisberger
Santa Monica, CA
pweisberger@...