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Dankeschön to our PATRON Members:
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What to do in Alabama
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March 2- Oct. 26
Huntsville
August 3-6
Fort Payne
August 5
Orrville
August 11-20
Birmingham
August 11-20
Statewide
August 18-19
Ozark
August 19
Gadsden
August 19
Pell City
August 26
Guntersville
August 26
McCalla
August 26
Rainsville
Please note that the dates are shared to the best of our knowledge. If you plan to attend any of the events - please make sure to check information directly with the host of the event. Thank you!
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Save the Dates
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August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Tuscaloosa
August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Birmingham
August 3
AGP Board Meeting
Tuscaloosa
August 8
AGP German Business Committee
Birmingham
August 24
AGP Young Professionals
Birmingham
August 31
Birmingham
September 10
Tuscaloosa
Please note that the dates are shared to the best of our knowledge. If you plan to attend any of the events - please make sure to check information directly with the host of the event. Thank you!
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AGP's New Members
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Corporate Regular
Sterrett
Educational Professionals
Benjamin Geiger Willis
Engineer
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Laura Buder
German Teacher
Vestavia Hills High School
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Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members:
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German Word
of the Month
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"Urlaubsreif"
Did you forget to make plans this summer? Are you watching all of your coworkers go on vacation while you are tied up in your office? You are probably
urlaubsreif.
Urlaubsreif means "vacation ripe". It is an adjective used to describe someone who is desperately in need of a vacation; in other words, "ripe for vacation". People usually become
urlaubsreif when they have been working consistently for many months without taking time off.
What happens to a ripe tomato if you don't eat it? It will eventually go bad. Likewise, someone who is
urlaubsreif could develop a bad mood if they don't satisfy their need for a vacation.
So if you are feeling
urlaubsreif
this summer, it may be time to plan a trip. And if you can't afford to travel, you may want to consider going for a hike, a swim or even camping to get satisfy that summertime feeling.
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German Idioms
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"eine Extrawurst verlangen"
Literal translation: "to ask for an extra sausage"
Receiving an extra sausage is something
worth being grateful for, especially in Germany. Who doesn't love German sausage? This phrase meaning "to ask for special treatment" is brilliant. One that receives an extra sausage is clearly shown favor.
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Events & Seminars Offered by AGP Members
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August
GACC South Events
GACC South
August
NAITA
August 22
AITC
October 4-6
AAMA
Are you a corporate AGP member in good standing that would like to share an event or seminar hosted by your company?
Please e-mail us a link to the event.
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AGP
Executive Committee
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Chair
Dr. Anna Gramberg
Auburn University
Vice Chair/Chair Elect
Brian Hilson
Birmingham Business Alliance
VP Education
Dr. Wolfgang Kneer
SWJ-BREILMANN U.S. LLC
VP Business Development
Jo Bonner
The University of Alabama System
VP German Business
Albert von Pelser
REHAU Automotive, LLC
VP Communication
Devin Dolive
Burr & Forman LLP
VP Culture
Dr. Thomas Fox
University of Alabama
VP Membership
Kirk Atkinson
Adah International, Inc.
Secretary
Bobby Ingram
JamisonMoneyFarmer
Treasurer
Arnold Servo
Rödl & Partner
Immediate Past Chair
Warren McCullars
Retired from Alagasco
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AGP Affiliates
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Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
Detlev Ruenger
Marquis Two Tower
Suite 901
285 Peachtree Ctr Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 934-5474
Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany
for the
State of Alabama
Michael Johnson
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Phone: (205) 250-8335
German American Chamber of Commerce of the
Southern
United States
Stefanie Jehlitschka
1170 Howell Mill Road
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: (404) 586-6800
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Contact Us
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Executive Director
Tine Hoffmeister
Office
205-943-4772
director@alabamagermany.org
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Join Our List
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AGP New Member Reception
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Join us in welcoming our new members who has joined AlabamaGermany Partnership during this past year:
Thursday, August 31, 2017
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
New Offices of EDPA
Birmingham
Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments while uniting with old friends and making new connections. We will introduce all our new members and celebrate all our current members.
This is a wonderful opportunity to visit EDPA's (Economic Development Partnership of Alabama) new location in downtown Birmingham.
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| AGP Young Professionals |
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AGP's Young Professionals (age 21 to 39) are getting ready for their next meetup:
Thursday, August 24, 2017
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Ghost Train
Birmingham
We have invited Morgan Copes, president and general manager of Birmingham Hammers to join us. He will share his story about being one of the driving forces behind the team going from dream to reality - creating a professional soccer team in Birmingham. This year Birmingham Hammers played their first game in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). There will also be plenty of time for networking.
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE
REGISTRATION
WILL OPEN SOON!
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Winkelmann Group to Establish Production Facility in Alabama
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By Jerry Underwood
Germany-based
Winkelmann Group
, a high-tech manufacturer serving the aerospace industry and other industrial sectors, is creating an Alabama-based subsidiary that plans to invest $12 million to establish a metal forming operation in Auburn, creating approximately 50 jobs over the next five years.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Winkelmann Group CEO Heinrich Winkelmann made the announcement at a press event today at the
Paris Air Show. The Alabama operation will be called Winkelmann Flowform Technology LP.
"As we declare to the world that Alabama is open for business, we welcome Winkelmann to our family of aerospace and defense-related companies in Alabama," Governor Ivey said.
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| Bolta Marks New Plant's Opening |
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By Jerry Underwood
Global auto parts supplier
Bolta Group
announced earlier in July the opening of its new $48.7 million production facility at the Tuscaloosa County Airport Industrial Park, which will employ 350 people by the end of 2018.
State and local officials joined members of Bolta's global management team at an on-site ceremony to celebrate completion of the 200,000-square-foot facility.
Anil Puri, chairman of Bolta's U.K.-based parent company,
Purico Group, said the Tuscaloosa factory will play an important role in Bolta's plants to expand its international footprint. In addition to Alabama, Bolta has advanced production facilities in Germany and Mexico and plans for a location in Eastern Europe.
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At the Table with Stammtisch Birmingham
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By Mary Lauren Palmer, AGP Summer Intern
Stammtisch, German for "regulars' table, is an informal group meeting held on a regular basis. A Stammtisch is not a structured meeting, but rather a friendly get-together.
As a Birmingham native and student of German, I had always had a desire to attend the Birmingham Stammtisch. Visiting with the members allows for the opportunity to use German while within Alabama and have a fun, casual conversation with fellow German speakers.
This group meets every Thursday night at 7:30 at a quaint restaurant called Giuseppe's Cafe in downtown Birmingham. This Stammtisch is open to anyone who is interested with one key rule:
speak German. The group provides a mixture of native German speakers and those who have learned German as a foreign language. I sat down with David, Marlene, Rod, Kerstin, and Gerda to find out more about the group and those involved.
David explained to me how the group started around 20 years ago.
It began as a way for UAB professors to practice their German. It provides a "little bit of Germany" here in Birmingham.
Anywhere from 6-12 people meet weekly. A German-speaking Stammtisch meeting at an Italian restaurant might seem odd, but they chose the location because of its ability to
accommodate a large group of people who plan to sit and talk for an extended period of time. The group has no official name, although
Deutscher Stammtisch suffices. Kerstin tells me that because it is a Stammtisch, there is no need to call it German. Marlene suggests that the group needs more
"fresh blood". She would love it if more students would attend. Kerstin comments that this makes it sound as if they are a group of vampires. The Stammtisch is promoted solely through email. Those who express an interest get added to the email list, and that is the extent of the announcement. There is no President of Stammtisch. The entirety of organization for the dinner is present in a weekly email, and those who wish to join them simply show up.
After a half hour, the interview changed to a more personal level. I was able to hear the stories of how the individuals ended up in Alabama and their backgrounds:
Marlene was born in a tourist town in Tirol, Austria. She lived in Rome before moving to the United States. Since the passing of her husband, she likes to call herself the "merry widow" because of her positive attitude toward life.
Kerstin was born and raised in Mainz. She studied in Berlin and moved to the U.S. for work in the health industry, and she currently works at UAB. She met her husband David (a fellow member) here and Stammtisch has given the couple an outlet to use their German together.
David studied at the University of Göttingen, and his roommate spoke German. The roommate was only allowed to speak German to David while David was only allowed to speak English to him. Without continuous practice, he started to lose his German, and Stammtisch has helped him to keep his German fresh.
Having been raised in Pennsylvania, Rod grew up with many Italians. He learned to speak Italian with his friends who spoke Italian at home. In school he learned Spanish and French. Later, he lived in Western Africa for a period of time and perfected his French there. By "attending Stammtisch [he has] learned to speak German".
Gerda's father came from Germany and her mother came from France. At home, her father only spoke German to the family. She studied in Paris for two years. Now, she makes pottery, jewelry, and other artwork.
For me personally, the moment that stood out to me was when David told me, "Wir dutzen hier" (meaning, we address one another using the informal). This shows how friendly and inviting the members of the Birmingham Stammtisch can be. They truly welcome anyone who has an interest, regardless of age or level of German.
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Americans and E-Mail: What's the Deal?
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By Dan Donahey
Germans don't get how Americans handle Email communication. First of all, most Americans don't include a proper greeting or complimentary close in their Email correspondence, which seems very rude to most Germans. Next, Germans complain that if they write a longer Email, thier American colleagues don't appear to read it. That becomes clear when they get bombarded with questions that a previous Email has already answered. Not only that, if Germans ask two questions in an Email, their American counterparts only answer one of them. If they ask three questions, the Americans still answer one, and if they ask four questions, the Americans don't answer at all. So, what's the deal?
The problem with Email for Americans is that it isn't considered urgent and Americans are expected to work on the most urgent priorities first. There just isn't a lot of time available to spend on reading or writing Emails. If something is urgent, Americans pick up the phone. By the way, if someone has enough time to write a meter-long Email, the subject matter probably isn't too urgent. The ideal length of an Email is 10 sentences or less, the less the better. That leaves enough room to cover one point and ask one question. If your Email is longer, it will probably end up in "pending," which means they intend to get back to it when they have enough time, but, in reality, they will never see it again. Email is just a poor format for handling complexity. However, if you really need to send a longer Email, then I suggest that you call the recipient and say that you know the Email is long, but you would appreciate it if they could take time to read it. They will, but try to make that the exception and not the rule.
Click Here to read the full story on LinkedIn.
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What You Should Know about Apprenticeships, Trump's Answer to the Skills Gap
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By Sarah Kessler
Trump's proposed federal budget would cut job training programs by 40% and reduce other types of workforce training programs, such as financial aid for college students.
But this week, which the White House has dubbed "workforce development week," Trump expressed support for at least one workforce development initiative. On June 15, Trump signed an executive order that he said would "expand apprenticeships and vocational training to help all Americans find a rewarding career, earn a great living, and support themselves and their families and love going to work in the morning."
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| Who Were the Prisoners Who Came to the Fort McClellan POW Camp? |
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This third installment is taken from The Fort McClellan POW Camp: German Prisoners in Alabama, 1943-1946 by permission of author Jack Shay, whose parents were stationed at Fort McClellan during the war.
The prisoners who came to Alabama after capture at various battlefields across the Atlantic Ocean were a varied mix, ranging from battle-hardened veterans to raw, wary recruits. Some were Nazis (a nickname taken from the sound of the first two syllables of the Nationalsozialistiche Deutsch Arbeiterpartei -in English, the National Socialist German Workers' Party), melded to the philosophy of Germany's ruling party; others were mere draftees, conscripted from the ranks of schoolboys and civilians. Some were not even German, but rather men from countries allied with or annexed to the Fatherland. They spoke Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech, French, Finnish, or any of the Baltic or Balkan languages. Some were in their 30s, even 40s, but most were teenagers and young men in their early 20s. They tended to look the same - windswept, sunburned, fatigued from months or even years of fighting enemy artillery and the constant onslaught of intense combat conditions.
They were all individuals with aspirations and dreams, likes and dislikes, and loved ones back home, their lives suddenly interrupted in a manner they could not have dreamed of a scant few years earlier.
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| Oma's German Schnitzel Recipe |
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Article Subheading
Oma's German Schnitzel Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 veal cutlets, pounded lightly (use pork for Schweineschnitzel)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- about ½ cup flour
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 egg
- about 1 cup bread crumbs
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
- 1 lemon, sliced
Instructions:
- Trim fat from meat and clip edges to stop edges from curling during cooking.
- Sprinkle cutlets with lemon juice and salt.
- Place 3 shallow bowl on counter. In first one, put flour. In second one, mix egg and water. In third one, put breadcrumbs.
- Coat schnitzel, first with flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs.
- Heat butter and oil over medium heat in skillet.
- Fry cutlets until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately, garnished with lemon slices.
Hints:
- If schnitzel are too big to all fit in the pan, just fry 2 at a time. Once done, put finished schnitzel on a paper towel lined pan and place, uncovered, in the oven to keep warm while frying remaining schnitzel.
- This German schnitzel is often served garnished with anchovy fillets if desired.
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