The 2019 US/German City-Partnership Award

of the Steuben-Schurz-Gesellschaft (SSG) goes to the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft. We are incredibly honored and will continue to promote and strengthen the ties between Freiburg and our sister city Madison, WI.

In October 2019, the FMG was invited to participate in a competition for the most outstanding partnership of a German city with one in the States.

In December, our President, Toni Schlegel, received a letter with the message that the FMG had been elected as the award winner and that the vote was unanimous.

The objectives of the Steuben-Schurz-Society in Frankfurt are the promotion of German-American relations and international understanding. Its motto is "Providing stability and friendship in a challenging environment." Founded in 1930 and dissolved in 1933 by the Nazis, the SSG was re-founded after the war on August 1, 1948.

The two Germans who lent their names to the SSG achieved high recognition in the United States. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben fought on George Washington's side in the War of Independence. He was appointed Inspector General of the United States Army.

On the other hand, Carl Schurz fought with Abraham Lincoln against slavery. As Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Hayes, he directed the fight against corruption and fought for the rights of Native Americans. Margaret Schurz, the wife of Carl Schurz, founded America's first kindergarten in Wisconsin, now the partner state of Hesse.

Read more about SSG's history on its website. Strangely enough, the SSG does not have a Wikipedia entry.

The award ceremony is scheduled at Frankfurt's Hotel Maritim on January 28, in the framework of the New Year's reception of the SSG. Red Baron will report.

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