HISTORY: The Germanic Heritage Auxiliary was founded in April, 1991, as the Kentuckiana Germanic Heritage Society. KGHS merged with the German-American Club Gesangverein to become the Germanic Heritage Auxiliary on January 1, 2002.
MISSION: The mission of the Germanic Heritage Auxiliary is to preserve, study and promote the Germanic heritage of Kentucky and southern Indiana. The GHA supports and assists other organizations whose members are interested in preserving our common heritage. The GHA is a constituent Society of the Society for German-American Studies (SGAS) and, as a part of the German-American Club Gesangverein, is an Associate of the German-American National Congress (DANK).
MEMBERSHIP: All dues-paying members of the German-American Club Gesangverein are members of the GHA. All members of the German-American Club and guests are welcome to attend GHA functions and to participate in planning and organizing GHA activities.
MEETINGS: GHA meetings are varied in content and have featured speakers, presentations, trips and many types of events and community activities. All GHA activities are announced in the bi-monthly newsletters of the German-American Club Gesangverein.
ACTIVITIES: As KGHS, and now as GHA, a wide variety of Sunday programs have been presented with an amazing array of guest speakers, including:
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Local historian Tom Owen
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Encyclopedia of Louisville editor John Kleber
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Political science professors Nathan Schwartz and Landis Jones
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St. Joseph Children's Home chaplain Rev. Herman Naber
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German Military Liaison Lt. Col. Werner Gruhl
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Representatives of Sister Cities of Louisville and World Communities of Louisville
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Honorary Consul E. Frederick Zopp (now deceased)
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German genealogy expert and Civil War historian Joseph Reinhart
As KGHS and as the GHA, the heritage group has participated in numerous festivals and events, such as the St. Joseph German Heritage Festival, the Festival of Faiths, the Heritage Exhibit at the Kentucky State Fair, German-American month exhibits at the Bon Air Library, ethnic fairs at several schools and community centers, and National Migration Week celebrations.
The first event sponsored by the GHA as part of the German-American Club Gesangverein was a symposium commemorating the 140th anniversary of the August Bloedner Civil War monument in Cave Hill Cemetery. The GHA now features a series of “Video Voyages” which involve travelogue-type videos of cities and regions in Germany with commentary by natives of the area and samples of typical regional foods.
Suggestions and recommendations for future programming are always welcome.
INFORMATION: Vicky Ullrich, President
Telephone: 502•459•6820
E-mail:
Vicky Ullrich