August tax
August Steuer (born June 22, 1902 in Großheubach , † January 22, 1969 in New York City ) was an American publisher of German origin. Tax emigrated to the United States in 1923 . In New York he owned several restaurants and in 1953 took over the largest German-language newspaper in America, the New York State Newspaper and Herold . From 1937 to 1941 and from 1956 to 1959 he was President of the German American Football Association (GAFA). In his hometown of Großheubach he appeared primarily as a benefactor and organizer of football matches.
Life
August Steuer was the eldest son of the stone carver Alois Steuer (1876–1914) and Rosa Steuer, nee. Stapf. When he was eleven years old, his father passed away. In order to support his mother and six younger siblings, he was released from school a year early. In 1917 he completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith at Moll in Aschaffenburg-Leider . Then he returned home and worked in the Kleinheubach iron foundry and machine factory in Wetzler.
August Tax's sister Franziska emigrated on September 1, 1923. On December 5, 1923, August Steuer also followed her to the United States on the ship "America". August Steuer's three other siblings emigrated on January 1, 1929. Initially, Steuer found a job as a toolmaker at RH Hoe & Co., which mainly manufactured printing machines for newspaper companies. In 1926 he married an American of German-Hungarian descent, Elisabeth Pitter (1907–1990), on March 11, 1928 son Erwin (1928–1992) was born. August Steuer became a US citizen on February 20, 1933. In the summer of 1938 he and his family visited his home town of Großheubach for several weeks for the first time.
During the Second World War, family contacts ceased due to the political situation. The family's first contact with Germany only came about shortly after the World War, when August Tax's brother Ludwig was stationed in Schweinfurt as an American occupation soldier and provided the family with food and gifts. This also made contact by letter possible again.
Between 1933 and 1950, Steuer ran several restaurants or takeaways in New York, which he bought, ran for a few years and then sold or rented at a profit, for example a five-family house during World War II, which he rented out alongside his restaurants. He could use it to build a house in New Jersey. But the wealth generated in this way was not enough to retire permanently. On March 29, 1953, he took over the largest German-language newspaper in America, the New York State Newspaper and Herold , and was now active as a publisher. A few years later he acquired shares in the Philadelphia Gazette. The publisher, cabaret artist and entertainer Herbert Feuerstein worked there as an editor and from 1968 as editor-in-chief. August Steuer was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the summer of 1964 to the federal committee " Community Relations Service " (body for immigrant issues). The City of New York made him a volunteer councilor around 1964 . His sphere of activity included the promotion of traffic and protocol tasks.
After the Second World War, Steuer began social engagement. In the post-war period, he sent CARE packages to the Großheubachers . From 1950 August Steuer visited his hometown Großheubach about every two years and gave presents to kindergarten children. He collected funds for the construction of the youth home on Friedhofstrasse (inauguration on June 7, 1953). After the church tower in Großheubach collapsed on August 1, 1958, Steuer collected donations for reconstruction. He also collected donations for the renovation of the hospital (today St. Elisabethenstift) at the end of the 1950s. The community of Großheubach made him an honorary citizen on his 60th birthday on June 30, 1962.
August Steuer died of a stroke on Wednesday, January 22, 1969, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, when he was about to pick up a guest. The local history meeting in Großheubach had his parents' tombstone moved at the entrance to the cemetery. On September 18, 2010, a memorial plaque for August Steuer was handed over in a small ceremony.
August tax and football
August Steuer was already playing for SV Leider in Aschaffenburg-Leider. After his training back in Großheubach, August Steuer co-founded the football club “Sportfreunde Kleinheubach” in 1922, later renamed “Eintracht Kleinheubach”. Shortly before his emigration in December 1923, he was made honorary captain there. Half a year before he emigrated, he was a co-founder of the VfR Großheubach. At the founding meeting on April 21, 1923, he was elected 2nd chairman.
No sooner had he emigrated than Steuer founded his first football club, “FC Austria”, in New York. Steuer became a member of the German American Football Association (GAFA) at an early stage, and he was a member of its board from 1932. From 1937 to 1941 and from 1956 to 1959 he was President of GAFA. Steuer was also head of the German American Soccer League . He campaigned strongly for German-American friendship by organizing international tours with American and German football clubs. He received numerous honors for his commitment. On December 4, 1959, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. The reason for the proposal states, among other things: “As long-time president of the German-American Football Association, he re-tied the threads of the sporting exchange between the United States and Germany as early as 1948/49. This exchange achieved effects that went beyond the field of sport. ”Steuer is one of the initiators and sponsors of the Steubenparade , which after its resurgence last year has become a new crystallization point for Americans of German origin.
As a representative of GAFA, August Steuer was also a guest at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. A close friendship developed with the national coach Sepp Herberger (1897–1977) and his wife Eva. Steuer organized several soccer friendlies in his home town of Großheubach, to which Sepp Herberger was a guest.
He also had an intense friendship with Eintracht Frankfurt . He donated - through donations from the DAFB - the foundation for the construction of a grandstand at what was then the Riederwald Stadium . The grandstand was inaugurated in July 1954. When the stadium was demolished in the early 1980s, the plaque was recovered and is now on display in the Eintracht Frankfurt Museum. The football club Eintracht Frankfurt made August Steuer an honorary member on May 2, 1959.
August Steuer was made an honorary member of the “ Offenbacher Kickers ” and “ 1. FC Nürnberg ” around 1959 .
Web links
literature
- Matthias Klotz: August Steuer (1902–1969). In: Municipality of Großheubach (ed.): Großheubach and its emigrants. Großheubach 2018, ISBN 978-3-937996-65-3 , pp. 93-102.
Individual evidence
- ^ Matthias Klotz: August Steuer (1902-1969). In: Municipality of Großheubach (ed.): Großheubach and its emigrants. Großheubach 2018, ISBN 978-3-937996-65-3 , pp. 93-102.
- ↑ Willibald Steuer: My brother Ludwig is coming as a US soldier. In: Heimatkundlicher Treff Großheubach (Ed.): End of the war in Großheubach. The events during Holy Week 1945. Plexus Verlag, Großheubach 2015, ISBN 978-3-937996-44-8 , pp. 85–94.
- ↑ Herbert Feuerstein: The nine lives of Mr. F. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-550-08087-6 , p. 144 f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tax, August |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-American publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 22, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Großheubach |
| DATE OF DEATH | 22nd January 1969 |
| Place of death | New York City |