AEMI

108 AEMI JOURNAL 2015
Fig 8 Ludwig Nissen (1855-1924), born in Husum
and emigrated to New York in 1872 where he lived
the «American Dream» par excellance.
Source: Portrait in oil from Richard Creifels, NordseeMuseum
Nissenhaus
from a long illness but to find a wife and
had been engaged already. The reports
of the police-authorities in this matter
were worthless, so he wrote. He could
not prove it but he was sure that they
suggested to the visitors the statements
which were most likely to be successful.
They, so he summed up, always take the
side of the people. Likely he was right.
The Landrat came from outside, but
they were natives and most of them had
relatives overseas, as e.g. the head of the
police in Husum, Hardesvogt Cumme,
whose son Theodor resigned his Prussian
citizenship in 1887 and went to the
USA – 16 days before he became liable
for military service.
But in general the practice was rigid
and sent a negative image across the
Atlantic. This fits well with the picture
of the German empire that after 1900
became increasingly prevalent in the
U. S. as autocratic, militaristic and arbitrary.
On the other side, the United
States were identified more and more
with unlimited possibilities, freedom
and riches. Careers like the one Ludwig
Nissen made, telling of luxury and influence
in abundance, even including
friendship with an American president
promoted this image. After World War
I Nissen organized gifts for the relief of
the people in Germany and Austria as
soon as possible. He had travelled to
Europe and Germany annually since the
late 1880s. But to his birth town Husum
he returned for the first time after nearly
50 years in 1920. Neither had he nor
his brothers, Fritz and Wilhelm, who
did also emigrate to New York, served in
the German army. But no one cared for
that anymore after the war, and surely
no one would ask such questions of a
visiting millionaire from New York. Humanitarian
aid and Care Packets came
again across the Atlantic after the next
war. So the United States remained for
most Germans the land of their dreams.
This positive image was furthered by
rich visitors and many, many letters.
On the other hand, stories that tell
about misfortunes very seldom found
their way back home. As we can read in
the 1847 newspaper article:
I can recall many a person who does not
talk much about how they found it in
America. The one who has been lucky
praises his faith loudly, but the one who
failed remains stock still … because no
one likes to be laughed at. 10
So from the very beginning we have
here a kind of self censorship. Who likes