Meet the woman working to keep German language and culture relevant to new generations

The Germanic-American Institute has called the mansion at 301 Summit Av. in St. Paul home since 1965. Started as a social club for German immigrants in 1957, the nonprofit hosts its annual Deutsche Tage (German Days) on June 8 and 9. It’s the longest-running ethnic festival in St. Paul, said Jeana Anderson, the institute’s executive director.

Eye On St. Paul recently met with Anderson at the institute to talk about its past, but also its future as it teaches language, cooking and culture to young people far removed from the institute’s immigrant roots. This story was edited for length.

Q: How many people are you expecting for German Days?

A: Anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 over the course of the weekend.

Q: I read that people of German descent are the largest ethnic group in Minnesota — 38%. Why was it important to have a gathering place for the German community?

A: We hear stories of some of our longtime members who were just 17 years old and were put on a ship to start a new life. And they didn’t have close family [here]. They needed to create some sense of community. You’re going to crave food and you’re going to crave people that you can talk to in your native language and you’re going to just miss all those cultural traditions. And that’s what this became.

Q: People today say new arrivals need to assimilate. But didn’t German immigrants work to preserve their language and culture?

A: They were assimilating. But they also recognized this need to hold on to those traditions and those things that they valued so dearly. They wanted to be able to ensure that the next generations could speak German and would have those opportunities later in life by being bilingual.

That continues. We have a German immersion preschool that’s in the carriage house behind us. Anybody is welcome to enroll their child. Much of what we do here is related to language education, because there’s power in being bilingual.

Q: How many children do you have enrolled in the preschool?

A: We have 20 kids per day. I’d say there’s probably about 30 kids total in the program, because not every kid comes every day. And it’s really fun because sometimes they come over here and they’ll be dancing in the ballroom. Or they might work in the kitchen learning to make some basic German foods. We’ve had kids who went to the preschool and then started at the charter school and gone to college. Now they’re coming back and working for in our summer camps.

Q: Are you affiliated with the German immersion charter school in Como Park?

A: There was this group of parents that very much wanted their kids to be able to learn German. And, unfortunately, many schools have chopped their German programs. There was a group from here — we say we’re a co-founder of the school. I just remember the energy and chaos that went on that summer before opening a brand-new school and it was this giant leap of faith.

Q: How do you attract new generations to the institute?

A: Through a variety of lenses. You know, there is the heritage component. There are people who connect here and maybe they’re retired, and they want to finally learn German or go back to Germany. They started learning in college.

But also, really making these modern connections to Germany. We support as much as we can any type of exchange programs or sending students to Germany. For us it’s really about how can we help support young people have an experience in Germany, because that’s really what’s life-changing.

Q: How do you grapple with the ugly parts of German history?

A: If you look at our value statement, we always want to be a place that’s telling the truth about Germany’s history. We openly reach out to the Jewish community and work quite closely with them. And we help honor Holocaust remembrance every year. Part of our programming is to reach out to those communities and, I think, give hope. If the German and the Jewish community can come together and find peace and a path forward, then it is possible, right?

Q: What can we expect for Deutsche Tage in June?

A: It’s just a fabulous event. What’s remarkable is that we’re able to turn the lawn out there into a giant beer garden, an authentic German beer garden. And when the weather’s nice, we have this beautiful green space. On the patio, we will have music throughout the event.

And what I’m really excited about this year is we’re bringing a group from Wisconsin. They’re called the Pommersche Tanzdeel Freidstadt. They are this group of dancers and performers that are amazing. We have fabulous beer, of course, Paulaner. And we have worked with German food vendors, like the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis. We also still do some of our own food.

This is what’s really special about the GAI: We have older members who still are very active and contribute. We have a group of German ladies, led by Helga. I always joke that Helga is one of these people with only one name — like Madonna. She’s legendary here. They do coffee and cakes, these amazing German cakes. And you can just really taste the love.