Tolzmann to headline German-American Day celebration
Historian, author and educator Don Heinrich Tolzmann, Ph.D., will be the featured speaker during the Hanover College Department of Modern Language’s celebration of German-American Day.
Tolzmann currently serves president of the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati and is curator of its German Heritage Museum. He was previously the director of German-American Studies and curator of the German-Americana Collection at the University of Cincinnati.
Commonly referred to as “Mr. German-Americana,” Tolzmann was an instrumental figure in gaining official U.S. government recognition of German-American heritage and culture during the 1980s. His efforts encouraged President Ronald Reagan to proclaim Oct. 6, 1983, as German-American Day to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Germantown, Pa. In 1987, a Congressional resolution established Oct. 6 as German-American Day, marking its official national observance.
Tolzmann will speak at 3 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 1, in Classic Hall, room 102. Admission is free and the event is open to the public, free of charge.
He is an author of more than 30 books about German-American history and culture, with emphasis on the Greater Cincinnati area. His work has earned numerous awards, including the Federal Republic of Germany’s National Award of Merit, Ohioana Humanities Book Award and Outstanding Achievement Award of the Society for German-American Studies.
In addition to his writing, he serves as book review editor for German Life Magazine. He is also on the editorial board of the “Yearbook of German-American Studies” and “The Palatine Immigrant.” He was previously the Ohio editor for New Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold and a columnist for Amerika-Woche, two of the largest weekly German-language newspapers in the U.S.
Tolzmann assisted in the production of several PBS programs, including “The German-Americans” and “Zinzinnati Reflections.”
The 2002 recipient of the German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA’s Distinguished German-American of the Year Award, Tolzmann has served as a board member for several organizations and institutions. His memberships include the Society for German-American Studies, Steuben Society of America, German-American Hall of Fame, Friends of the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. and the German Emigration Center museum (Deutsches Auswandererhaus) in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Tolzmann’s appearance is sponsored by Hanover’s German Club and Department of Modern Languages, with additional support from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chicago.
