America House (Schweinfurt)
The Amerika-Haus in Schweinfurt was an American cultural institution and meeting place with a library from its foundation in 1948 until it was closed in 1956.
history
Beginnings and construction
On April 11, 1945, the armed forces of the United States marched into Schweinfurt, which from then on belonged to the American zone of occupation . The Americans took over the existing Schweinfurt barracks and built one of the largest US garrisons in Europe in the city and the surrounding area, until they finally withdrew completely in 2014 (see: US Army Garrison Schweinfurt ). On May 11, 1948, the America House in Schweinfurt was opened in a converted barrack in the courtyard of the Peace School. The first cultural institution there was an open access library . In 1951, the Amerika-Haus moved to the upper floor of the arcade building in the Ernst-Sachs-Bad, not far away . The first German director was called Gärtner, followed by Günther Fuhrmann , who had previously managed the Amerika-Haus in nearby Bad Kissingen until 1951 and later became director of the Schweinfurt theater . The library had a democratically adjusted initial inventory of 3,000 books. At first the library was under strict American supervision. The America House was very well attended by the local population.
Transfer of the book inventory to the city library
After the America House was closed in 1956, a large part of the book inventory was transferred to the city library, which in June 1954 had moved to the Schrannen building of the Sparkasse Schweinfurt am Roßmarkt. The principle of the open access library was introduced there by the first German director of the America House library, Gertrud Dittmar, who moved to the city library. This created the first open access library in Bavaria
Goal of the America House
The America Houses were part of the American program to bring democracy closer to the German population. The program could be designed freely by the German leaders, with the only condition not to include anything anti-American. Entry was free.
deals
The Amerika-Haus had the following offers for visitors:
- Open access library,
- Slide shows and film screenings,
- Lectures by German politicians and authors,
- Discussion evenings on American politics, philosophy and literature,
- German American Bridge Club.
Reopening is discussed
In 2015, the SPD submitted a motion to the city council to reopen the America House. The proposed location was the former US headquarters in Schweinfurt (building 206) on Fahnenappellplatz on Niederwerrner Strasse, in the Ledward barracks , “to bring to life the connection between the city of Schweinfurt and the USA after US troops had been stationed for almost 70 years hold. As a house of popular education, it should open up broad cultural development opportunities ”. It was also said that the Amerika-Haus would be a good match for the i-Campus Schweinfurt , an international university campus currently being built in Ledward.
The idea was welcomed by the city's main and finance committee, but initially rejected and postponed.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Volker Dittmar: In Bavaria the first open access library. Schweinfurter Tagblatt, March 5, 2016
- ↑ a b mainpost.de: Amerika-Haus in Schweinfurt was opened in 1948. Retrieved February 18, 2018 .
- ↑ a b in-und-um-Schweinfurt.de: For the time being no America house in the former "Ledward Barracks". Retrieved February 18, 2018 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 2 ′ 37.4 ″ N , 10 ° 13 ′ 36.2 ″ E