About Us

Milestones

1952

Founded as one of the U.S. government’s so-called America Houses across the country, today’s Carl-Schurz-Haus was intended to promote democratic values and cultural exchange in Germany after the end of World War II in the spirit of Western integration. The “bookmobile” – a mobile library bus – which is still often remembered in the city, supplied Freiburg’s schools and surrounding villages with English-language literature in the early years and made the idea of open education tangible.

1962

the Carl-Schurz-Haus was transformed into a binational center: the city of Freiburg, the state of Baden-Württemberg, the federal government, and the U.S. government now shared responsibility for the German-American Institute. The supporting association “Freiburger Amerika-Haus e. V.” with its board of directors, administrative board, and members was founded specifically for this purpose.

1966

moved to Kaiser-Joseph-Straße in the center of Freiburg’s old town—with its own library and lecture hall—and quickly became an indispensable address for transatlantic dialogue and local cultural life for the population.

1969

the institute was renamed Carl-Schurz-Haus – after the freedom fighter of the failed German Revolution of 1848, who emigrated to the United States and became a symbol of democracy and German-American exchange as a senator and secretary of the interior. The name change also marked a programmatic commitment to active binational bridge-building.

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1980s

Even in times of financial hardship, the institute remained in existence. When U.S. funding was drastically reduced in the 1980s, the sponsoring association took over responsibility for its continued existence—a decisive step toward independence.

1988

New alliances further strengthened the profile of the Carl-Schurz-Haus in the city’s society—and beyond: With the establishment of the Freiburg-Madison (Wisconsin) city partnership, the house found a lively link for citizen exchange on both sides of the Atlantic.

2006

The building finally opened with a ceremony—attended by Mayor Salomon—at its current address at Eisenbahnstraße 62.

Since then

the Carl-Schurz-Haus has continuously expanded its range of transatlantic cultural programs and diverse services for the local population: We organize lectures by experts, readings with Pulitzer Prize winners, panel discussions with international scholars, film series, exhibitions, concerts, dinner parties, and workshops.

In addition

language courses for all age groups with native-speaking teaching staff characterize our offerings. From children and young people to adults and corporate clients, all interested parties will find tailor-made solutions for their educational needs. We also offer student and academic counseling as well as projects on media literacy and promoting democracy. Last but not least, our in-house library has become a popular meeting and event space, serving as a kind of “third space.”

Today

the Carl-Schurz-Haus stands for open, multifaceted dialogue between the U.S., Germany, and Europe. It brings its founding history into dialogue with current issues: from transatlantic politics to literature and film to existential questions of democracy. This makes it not only a place of history, but above all a place of the present—and a forum for the debates of tomorrow.

Our eponym, Senator and Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz (1829–1906), exemplifies the close intertwining of German and American democratic history. Born in the Rhineland, he joined the revolution of 1848/49 as a student and fought for political freedom and liberal civil rights. After the revolution was crushed, he fled - with a number of detours - to the United States, where he settled in Watertown, Wisconsin, after arriving in New York. Schurz not only found a second home in the United States, but also quickly found a new, larger political stage.

In his adopted home on the other side of the Atlantic, Schurz had a remarkable career: he worked as a journalist, lawyer, and passionate speaker before fighting as a general for the Northern states in the Civil War. He later became a senator for the state of Missouri and, as Secretary of the Interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881), a leading voice for reforms in public service and fairer treatment of indigenous peoples. Even though this sparked controversy, he remained an uncompromising advocate of political integrity and a state oriented toward the common good.

Throughout his life, Carl Schurz was not only a politician with a desire for reform, but also a publicist and intellectual. He saw himself as a mediator between the old and new worlds – someone who brought the German ideals of freedom from 1848 to America and conveyed practical American experiences of democracy back to Europe. In this way, Schurz embodied the basic idea of transatlantic understanding long before this term came into common use. His work reminds us to this day that democracy can only remain alive if it is conceived across borders and courageously defended.