Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Swiss Impact

Swiss American Historical Society Review

SWISS IMPACT highlights Switzerland's positive impact across the United States. We invite you to learn more about Swiss innovation, economic relations, sustainability, our culture, and the international partnership with the United States.

2022 Tell Award For Scientific Achievement And Cooperation, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Each year, the Swiss Embassy in the United States of America awards the Tell Award. This prestigious award is named after the legendary Swiss hero William Tell who symbolizes the struggle for political and individual freedom because he overcame the tyrannical rule of Albrecht Gessler who terrorized Swiss people.

The Americanization Of A Swiss Immigrant: Interviews With Nicholas Von Rotz, Nicholas Von Rotz

Swiss American Historical Society Review

This interview was sponsored by the Association for Northern California Records and Research (as it was called at the time) at California State University, Chico, within the purview of its Oral History Program, called the Northeastern California Project. This association is now the Association for Northern California Historical Research and has granted permission for this interview to be republished by the Swiss American Historical Society.

A Distinguished U.S. Ambassador To Switzerland— Joseph B. Gildenhorn, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

For over two hundred years, Switzerland and United States have enjoyed strong bilateral relationship. This relationship has endured so long due to the shared interests and common values. Leadership at governmental and business level in both countries have helped keep the bonds between Switzerland and United States strong and enduring.

Edgar B. Madsen. The Shoestring Letters: A Tribute To The Immigrant, Inger M. Olsen

The Bridge

Edgar Madsen’s parents, Niels and Signe Madsen, left their home and family in Denmark in 1928 to seek their fortune in the United States. For three decades after their emigration, their only contact with their loved ones back home was through letters, which inspired the name of Edgar B. Madsen’s charming, thought-provoking book, The Shoestring Letters: A Tribute to the Immigrant. After being stored in a thatched roof attic for decades, the letters Niels and Signe sent to their loved ones in Jutland came to light when the family cleared out their grandfather’s house; they made their return journey …

From Näfels To The United States: Emigrant Portraits From A Town In Switzerland’S Canton Glarus, Susanne Peter-Kubli

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Only a few, and mainly quite confusing, details are available about Feldmann’s life in Näfels and also about the date of his emigration. It derives, in part, from the fact that two people by the same name were living in Näfels. Both were butchers by profession and both had married women by the last name Müller. Checking the marriage and baptismal records of Näfels finally clarified the matter.

Economic Complementarity And Political Solidarity: Concerning The Sources Of The First Treaty Of 1850 Between Switzerland And The United States, Cédric Humair

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Civil War known as the Sonderbund and the institutionalization of the Federal State, in 1848, do not solely constitute important historical milestones in Swiss domestic politics. These events, which mark the advent of a modern Switzerland, also had repercussions upon Swiss international politics and diplomacy and, in particular, upon relations with the United States of America. Beginning in 1850, the new liberal-radical authorities concluded a General Convention of Friendship, Reciprocal Establishments, Commerce, and for the Surrender of fugitive Criminals with the "sister Republic."' For the first time in their histories, the two countries regulated several spheres of their relations …

My Re-Americanization, Willard R. Garred

The Bridge

They met in Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark. Ray Garred was a United States Navy sailor with a squadron of battleships sent by President William Howard Taft on a goodwill tour of England, the Scandinavian capitals, and Kronstadt, St. Petersburg's port city and Russian naval base. She was a Danish girl, Olavia Frederiksen, who had spent four years in the United States as a domestic servant and had learned English in an evening school for immigrants. The year was 1911, summer time. Tivoli, as many tourists know, is a natural place for visitors to Copenhagen to congregate, and it was where a …

A Business Economist With Swiss Heritage Looks At Switzerland, Donald P. Hilty

Swiss American Historical Society Review

For many in the United States, the word "Switzerland" conjures up pleasant thoughts of cows, mountains, Heidi, democracy -- maybe also a proud heritage and some dear friends -- but, perhaps, a country that is a bit dull. The purpose here is to alert this audience: Switzerland is not dull. It is in the big leagues of international business. This small country in the middle of Europe has gained the stature of an economic giant, not just in relation to its size but in absolute terms.

Book Review: Schattenkrieg Gegen Hitler: Das Dritte Reich Im Visier Der Amerikanischen Geheimdienste, Christof Muenger

Swiss American Historical Society Review

In the 1980' s the United States government decided to declassify the files of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was the organization preceding the CIA. Christoph Mauch, a German historian and Deputy Director of the German Historical Institute in Washington, DC, thoroughly studied the numerous now available documents. His research in the National Archives as well as in various other archives in the United States and Europe resulted in his Habilitationsschrift [a scholar's second study after the doctoral dissertation to make one eligible for a university position in Germany]. A shortened and revised version of the study has …

Book Review: Überfahrten. Das Leben Der Margaretha Reibold (1809-1893) In Briefen. Zürich, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The publication of Margaretha Mezger Reibold is a most welcome addition to the growing body of primary sources that highlight the migratory experiences of women. In a letter dated March 31, 1877, the historian, editor, and diplomat Heinrich Gelzer (1813-1889) of Basel had asked "his beloved friend,,: "Write for me a survey of the course of your life, inner and outer experiences, in the framework of six to seven letters,,(23). He labeled his proposal as "a Sunday task that I will enjoy and that will be beneficial to you,, (23 ). He even suggested the main chapter titles: " 1 …

The Bicameral Form Of The 1787 Constitution Of The United States As A Model For The Formation Of The Swiss Federal State In 1848, Simon Netzle

Swiss American Historical Society Review

In 1848, the year of the creation of the present-day form of the Swiss Confederation, Switzerland adopted some of the main elements of the American constitution: the federal constitution and the bicameral legislative. This happened not only for practical reasons to unite the conservative and the liberal cantons after the Sonderbund War in 1847, but was rather the result of a particular Swiss perception of America which had prevailed since the late Enlightenment when the United States of America were regarded as an identical Sister Republic. In this way, Switzerland was given an adequate example of identification for its own …

Translation Of An Article From The Liestal Newspaper 21 October 1915

Swiss American Historical Society Review

When a mother with four small children travelled to America, the eldest of which was barely over seven, and the youngest was still hanging on her back -- it was indeed a daring endeavor. It would have been worthy of mention even in peacetime.

Swiss-Americans In The 1990 Census, Terry Johnson

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Over one million Americans claim Swiss ancestry according to the 1990 ethnic data recently released by the U.S. Census. While this is up 6.5% over the 1980 figure, the Swiss remain a very small ethnic group, accounting for less than half a percent of total U.S. population. Nevertheless, the new data makes the 1990 census the first in which the Swiss pass the million population mark.

Transatlantic Connections: Nordic Migration To The New World After 1800, Hans Norman, Harald Runblom, George Nielsen, Reviewer

The Bridge

Transatlantic Encounters is actually two books in one. The first half of the study, written by Hans Norman, describes the conditions in Europe, while the second part, written by Harald Runblom, describes the immigrants in America. Instead of limiting the topic to Scandinavians (Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes), Norman and Runblom identify their subjects as Nordic, in order to include the Finns and Icelanders. Relying heavily on earlier research, and following the usual stages of migration history, the authors have produced a survey of the migration from these five countries to the United States.

Danish Perceptions And West Indian Realities: Slavery In The Danish West Indies, Karen Fog Olwig

The Bridge

The year 1987 marked the 70th anniversary of the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States of America. With the sale of the three small islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, Denmark had disposed of all her tropical colonies, which at one time had included possessions on the Gold Coast in Africa, the present Ghana, and in southeastern India, most importantly Trankebar.

From Scandinavia To America: Proceedings From A Conference Held At Gi. Holtegaard, Peter L. Petersen, Reviewer

The Bridge

In early September 1983, scholars from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United States gathered at Gammel Holtegaard, north of Copenhagen, for a three-day conference on Scandinavian emigration to the United States. Because a majority of the papers presented at the conference deal with elements of the Danish experience, readers of The Bridge should welcome this belated publication of the proceedings made possible by a grant from the Danish Research Council for the Humanities.

Language Transition And Danish Children's Schools In The U.S., Ejnar Farstrup

The Bridge

Very few Danish immigrants who came to the United States just prior to and immediately following the beginning of the Twentieth Century were acquainted with the English language. Immigrants of every ethnic group have countless tales, some comic and some rather serious, of the difficulties which befell them. Years after their arrival, most of them could regale themselve at length with stories of misinterpretations and the blending of language from their own experiences. A good sense of humor carried most of them through. Others succumbed to a nostalgia which drove them back to the homeland. Still others, who might have …

The Remigrants, Edward F. Sundberg, Gerda Sundberg

The Bridge

"Why did you emigrate to the United States?" Gerda asked.

Mr. R. let a smile play with his lips. " It was an accident," he said.

"Tell us about it," she encouraged.

He told the story of his emigration. Gerda and I listened. Our recording machine captured his words on a cassette tape.

"Now tell us about moving back to Denmark."

Gerda and I were interviewing in Denmark as a part of the research project, RIBBONS OF MEMORIES, an American-Scandinavian Ethnic Heritage Oral History Program.

Editorial Introduction, Gerald Rasmussen

The Bridge

Most Danish immigrants to the United States of America headed for the northern tier of the Middle Western states. The majority stayed there. The autobiographical pieces that follow present the accounts of three Danish immigrants to the Middle West. Each one is personal and subjective. Each of the writers came from different provinces in Denmark, and from different environments within those provinces. Readers will note that the three accounts represent three eras - the 1890's, the 1920's and late 1940's. Curious readers will perhaps explore whether the differences in chronological time of the uprooting, as well as the different backgrounds, …

Sketches From Our Family Life In The Early Nineties, Dagmar, The Eldest Of The Flock

The Bridge

In the late Fall of 1890, Father went to the United States to get a job and to make a new home for us all. From Brooklyn the Reverend Anderson helped to send him on his way west, since he had been a farmer. At Chicago the Reverend Nielsen sent him to the Danish School and settlement at Elk Horn, Iowa, where he studied a little English and hired out on a farm, there to learn more English by practical experience.

A Comparative Study Of Sophus Keith Winther And Carl Hansen, Rudolf J. Jensen

The Bridge

This short poem written by Carl Hansen expresses the essential conflicts of the Danish emigrant in the United States. In their relentless struggle to survive on the plains of the American midwest, two concerns dominated the consciousness of the emigrant. One was the continuous sense of doubt about the wisdom leaving the old country and the other was the necessarily unanswered question of whether the privations of their present life would be rewarded by the success of the following generations. The dreams and hopes of most Danish-American emigrants were in fact not fulfilled in accordance with their expectations. Neither the …

P.S. Vig And The Americanization Issue During World War I, Peter L. Petersen

The Bridge

World War I and the Americanization campaigns which accompanied it had a pr0found impact upon ethnic relations in the United States. Although German-Americans bore the brunt of rapidly emerging anti-foreign sentiments, no ethnic group was totally free of suspicion and public condemnation. In Iowa, Governor William Lloyd Harding defended his proclamation forbidding the public use of foreign languages by attacking the Danish element in the Hawkeye State's population. According to the Governor, who was speaking before a large crowd at Sac City on July 4, 1918, young Danes in Iowa were not getting a proper American upbringing. Pointing to the …