Two on the Aisle Review of an Amazing Story German Abolitionists of Missouri

Published February 21, 2019 at 5:02 AM CST

Missouri Historical Society Collections

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It's the early to mid 1800s in Missouri. The state's German language population is seeing an increase, especially in the cities of St. Louis and Hermann. Many are traveling to the U.S. to seek a better life, gratis of injustice from German rulers. Amongst those immigrants is Arnold Krekel.

Krekel'southward story is non known to almost St. Louisans.  He arrived in America at 17 years sometime and somewhen became a federal approximate. He was also one of many from his region to fight for the abolitionism of slavery in Missouri.

Krekel's legacy might be unknown to the masses, but a symposium on Feb. 23 will explore his legacy and the part of he and others in the abolition of slavery. "Faces of Love: Symposium on the History of German and African Americans in Missouri" is beingness produced by Gitana Productions, an African-American led organization. The focus of the event is to highlight the German language leaders who settled in St. Louis, St. Charles and Hermann.

Taking A Stand

Some of the German immigrants came to Missouri from Prussia, said Sydney Norton, an assistant professor of German at St. Louis University and a speaker of the symposium. Others came from Bavaria, Baden and other High german states.

She said many of those immigrants weren't able to own property and didn't have the right to vote in their homeland. Norton said many German settlers recognized slavery equally a much harsher class of injustice and decided to speak out on the thing.

"Forth the Missouri River, a lot of the people were slaveholders," Norton said. "This German grouping in Hermann were non, and they started a newspaper there and wrote all sorts of articles confronting slavery."

Credit Missouri Historical Society Collections

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Heinrich Boernstein was a German language immigrant and abolitionist. He was a publisher for the St. Louis paper, Anzeiger des Westens. The newspaper was known for its antislavery stance.

The Hermanner Wochenblatt was founded in Hermann by Germans Carl Strehly and Eduard Muhl in 1845. The newspaper, Anzeiger des Westens, was published by immigrant Henry Boernstein, an Austrian. Both papers were not only notable for their anti-slavery manufactures, but too included copies of antislavery literature. The Wochenblatt published installments of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," for 26 weeks.

Yet, abolitionist policies were ofttimes dangerous positions to accept, peculiarly for newspaper reporters and editors.

"When y'all took a position, you did that knowing your life may exist in danger, and y'all may not be readily accepted in the customs," said John Wright, a local historian and author.

Wright said that danger was heightened in 1837 when Elijah P. Lovejoy, the editor of the Alton Observer, was killed by an angry mob. Lovejoy was known for his abolitionist stances.

Krekel And Turner

Krekel founded a newspaper, besides: the St. Charles Demokrat began publication in 1852 and ran through 1916. The paper published anti-slavery articles and editorials. And Krekel helped establish the Lincoln Institute — now known as Lincoln University — working with other abolitionists including James Milton Turner, a freed slave from St. Louis.

That partnership will be previewed at the symposium and will be the focus of a play in June. The play was written past Cecilia Nadal, the founder and executive manager of Gitana Productions.

"It'due south very impressive that this group of German abolitionists could fight for what they believed was important," Nadal said. "Across merely the fact that they're German and just the fact that they were helping slaves is the issue of standing up for what you believe in."

Credit Land Historical Club of Missouri

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James Milton Turner was a freed slave and abolitionist from St. Louis. He and Krekel played significant roles in the founding of Lincoln Academy, a historically black higher and university in Jefferson City.

St. Louis actors Garrett Bergfeld and Abraham Shaw will portray Krekel and Brown respectively. The play will too highlight the contributions of several other German abolitionists including Boernstein and Friedrich Münch.

Nadal hopes the symposium and the play volition open up to deeper conversations surrounding racial disinterestedness.

"This is a boondocks where we're split by housing, we're split by economics, nosotros're split by race," Nadal said. "How is it that we get past that? Information technology's not through intellectual discussions, it'due south through actual interpersonal engagement."

The symposium will run from ii-5 p.m. Saturday. The June product will run from June 20-23.

Follow Chad on Twitter @iamcdavis

Transport questions and comments well-nigh this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org

Correction:Henry Boernstein is Austrian. A previous version of this story said he was German language. Besides, most German settlers in Missouri did not come from Prussia as previously stated. They also came from Bavaria, Baden and other areas.

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Source: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/arts/2019-02-21/a-little-known-history-german-immigrants-in-missouri-were-anti-slavery-allies

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