Bye bye Glen Waverley and a big thank you
Sadly, we are leaving Glen Waverley Library to move on to our next venue - we were made so very welcome there - Janet Salvatore, Jason Brack and the team could not have been more helpful in giving us the space we needed and assisting with the three events besides the launch! Glen Waverley Library is abuzz with activity - apart from a wonderful collection of books (German ones too, including out book club list!), they run activities for all ages! Do visit! We also want to thank all our guests - you were wonderful! So many of you shared your memories - we feel privileged. A few impressions of the various events in our slideshows below!
What a wonderful launch at Stop 2: Glen Waverley Library
Thank you to everyone who made the evening of 5 February so very special: the Mayor of the Monash City Council, Cr Paul Klisaris who launched us officially and most enthusiastically; the lovely audience; Janet Salvatore and Jason Brack of the Glen Waverly Library who had pieced together the diverse ethnic history of Glen Waverley; the beautiful musicians, Zina and Shannon of the Lark Duo; our very own photographer Peter Haberberger and Glen Waverley's Han Tran; all the staff and the exhibition team – especially Ute Haberberger who organised the German supper (apart from all her other jobs ...) and Ingrid Ciotti, our marvellous IT wizard ... just have a look!
And while we are celebrating the migrants' contribution to Australia's recent history, we respectfully remember the traditional owners– the Wurundjeri people.
And while we are celebrating the migrants' contribution to Australia's recent history, we respectfully remember the traditional owners– the Wurundjeri people.
Feature events
Monday 9 February at 7pm
The forgotten German-Australian stories of Australian history: Lesbia Harford’s The invaluable mystery and the plight of German-Australians in WWI Dr Leo Kretzenbacher
NOTE: If you missed Leo’s talk, you have another opportunity to hear him on 17 April at the Goethe Institut-Melbourne at 6pm. Watch this space!
>>> Read Sabine Nielsen's blog post on Leo's presentation
The Australian writer Lesbia Harford (1891–1927) is well known among students of Australian poetry and of the history of left-wing political movements in Australia, but hers is not a very familiar name for the general reading public. Within her oeuvre of mostly poetic work, the novel The Invaluable Mystery seems oddly situated at first glance. One of the main themes of the novel, the predicament of German-Australians in the First World War, has been downplayed by many critics, as have the considerable aesthetic qualities of the work. Revisiting the novel allows to link its German-Australian theme with Lesbia Harford’s own involvement in student protests against the hounding out of two German-Australian lecturers from The University of Melbourne in 1915.
Harford’s involvement both in the leftist anti-war and anti-conscription movements and in protests against unjust persecution of German-Australians simply because of their ethnic background show another strand of Australian history in the First World War – the profound unpopularity of Australia’s involvement in it among the population and the jingoistic frenzy whipped up by the Hughes government in order to overcome this popular attitude. This part of Australian history can complement the Anzac myth that has almost monopolised the history of Australia in the First World War since the time The Invaluable Mystery was written.
In 2014 a new edition of some of Lesbia Harfords poetry was released.
About the presenter:
Dr Leo Kretzenbacher, born in Graz (Austria) in 1960, did his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the field of German as a Foreign Language and English and Portuguese Literature at the Unversity of Munich. After working as a research assistant at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin and a lecturer at the University of Munich as well as short guest lectureships at the universities of Graz and Cairo, he was appointed as a senior lecturer in German Studies at the University of Melbourne in 1995 and has been working here since then. His main research interests are Sociolinguistics, Academic Communication, German and Austrian Studies and Literary Studies.
Leo is Senior Lecturer at the School of Languages and Linguistics, German Studies Program, University of Melbourne.
The forgotten German-Australian stories of Australian history: Lesbia Harford’s The invaluable mystery and the plight of German-Australians in WWI Dr Leo Kretzenbacher
NOTE: If you missed Leo’s talk, you have another opportunity to hear him on 17 April at the Goethe Institut-Melbourne at 6pm. Watch this space!
>>> Read Sabine Nielsen's blog post on Leo's presentation
The Australian writer Lesbia Harford (1891–1927) is well known among students of Australian poetry and of the history of left-wing political movements in Australia, but hers is not a very familiar name for the general reading public. Within her oeuvre of mostly poetic work, the novel The Invaluable Mystery seems oddly situated at first glance. One of the main themes of the novel, the predicament of German-Australians in the First World War, has been downplayed by many critics, as have the considerable aesthetic qualities of the work. Revisiting the novel allows to link its German-Australian theme with Lesbia Harford’s own involvement in student protests against the hounding out of two German-Australian lecturers from The University of Melbourne in 1915.
Harford’s involvement both in the leftist anti-war and anti-conscription movements and in protests against unjust persecution of German-Australians simply because of their ethnic background show another strand of Australian history in the First World War – the profound unpopularity of Australia’s involvement in it among the population and the jingoistic frenzy whipped up by the Hughes government in order to overcome this popular attitude. This part of Australian history can complement the Anzac myth that has almost monopolised the history of Australia in the First World War since the time The Invaluable Mystery was written.
In 2014 a new edition of some of Lesbia Harfords poetry was released.
About the presenter:
Dr Leo Kretzenbacher, born in Graz (Austria) in 1960, did his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the field of German as a Foreign Language and English and Portuguese Literature at the Unversity of Munich. After working as a research assistant at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin and a lecturer at the University of Munich as well as short guest lectureships at the universities of Graz and Cairo, he was appointed as a senior lecturer in German Studies at the University of Melbourne in 1995 and has been working here since then. His main research interests are Sociolinguistics, Academic Communication, German and Austrian Studies and Literary Studies.
Leo is Senior Lecturer at the School of Languages and Linguistics, German Studies Program, University of Melbourne.
Copyright © 2012 Verve Portraits
Thursday February 19 at 2.30pm
“Ostarbeiter” – Displaced: The story of my grandparents
Dr Kristian Ireland
>>> View photos of the event
Australia is home to many former Soviet citizens, including many who were displaced by the Second World War. In 1942, the German National Socialist occupation regime began conscripting and deporting Ukrainians and Russians to do forced labour. These individuals were designated as Ostarbeiter (East Workers) and required to wear a dark-blue and whit badge bearing the word OST (East). In late 1942, Olena Suglobowa (b. 1921 in Belarus) was forcibly conscripted and deported from Kuban, Russia, by the German authorities, to work as a forced labourer – an Ostarbeiter – in Germany. At the end of the war, from 1945 to 1948, Olena lived at the Wentorf and Heidenau DP (Displaced Persons) Camps in the Hamburg district. Olena met Alexandr Zacharczenko (b. 1918 in Kiev, Ukraine), who had been a Prisoner of War (POW). Olena and Alexandr married at the Heidenau DP Camp. Heidenau was under protection by the United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Among the DP Camp community of Ukrainians and Russians were musicians, artists, and intellectuals. The residents were involved in musical activities and theatre productions, for which they received a small stipend. In 1948 they were offered protected migration to the Commonwealth. Olena and Alexandr decided to relocate to Australia. They traveled on the migrant ship Castel Bianco from Naples, Italy. A group of their friends from the DP Camps followed. Arriving in Australia, after initially spending time at the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre, Olena and Alexandr Zacharczenko settled and raised a family in Melbourne. For many years, the family and their friends from the DP Camps maintained a close social circle in Australia.
Website: https://ostarbeiter.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2015 Kristian Ireland.
About the presenter:
Kristian Ireland – Composer, Musician, Researcher (b. Melbourne, Australia, 1975)
Kristian Ireland’s music has received performances across Europe, the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan, by leading exponents of contemporary music, at events including the Venice Biennale, Wien Modern, and others. Ireland holds a doctorate from Stanford University (California), he attended Harvard University as a visiting scholar (2009-2010), and was a DAAD Postdoctoral Researcher in connection with the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany (2013-2014). Ireland is the recipient of numerous international fellowships and residencies, most recently from the Experimentalstudio des SWR (Southwest Broadcasting) Freiburg, Germany (2014). Kristian Ireland’s music is published by Edition Gravis, Berlin. He has given lecture and paper presentations at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Leipzig), UC Berkeley, USC (Los Angeles), Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit | Stiftung Topographie des Terrors (Berlin-Schöneweide), the 2014 German Studies Association of Australia (GSAA) International Conference at The University of Sydney, the 2004 Symposium of the International Musicological Society, The University of Melbourne, and others.
Website: www.kristianireland.com
“Ostarbeiter” – Displaced: The story of my grandparents
Dr Kristian Ireland
>>> View photos of the event
Australia is home to many former Soviet citizens, including many who were displaced by the Second World War. In 1942, the German National Socialist occupation regime began conscripting and deporting Ukrainians and Russians to do forced labour. These individuals were designated as Ostarbeiter (East Workers) and required to wear a dark-blue and whit badge bearing the word OST (East). In late 1942, Olena Suglobowa (b. 1921 in Belarus) was forcibly conscripted and deported from Kuban, Russia, by the German authorities, to work as a forced labourer – an Ostarbeiter – in Germany. At the end of the war, from 1945 to 1948, Olena lived at the Wentorf and Heidenau DP (Displaced Persons) Camps in the Hamburg district. Olena met Alexandr Zacharczenko (b. 1918 in Kiev, Ukraine), who had been a Prisoner of War (POW). Olena and Alexandr married at the Heidenau DP Camp. Heidenau was under protection by the United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). Among the DP Camp community of Ukrainians and Russians were musicians, artists, and intellectuals. The residents were involved in musical activities and theatre productions, for which they received a small stipend. In 1948 they were offered protected migration to the Commonwealth. Olena and Alexandr decided to relocate to Australia. They traveled on the migrant ship Castel Bianco from Naples, Italy. A group of their friends from the DP Camps followed. Arriving in Australia, after initially spending time at the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre, Olena and Alexandr Zacharczenko settled and raised a family in Melbourne. For many years, the family and their friends from the DP Camps maintained a close social circle in Australia.
Website: https://ostarbeiter.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2015 Kristian Ireland.
About the presenter:
Kristian Ireland – Composer, Musician, Researcher (b. Melbourne, Australia, 1975)
Kristian Ireland’s music has received performances across Europe, the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan, by leading exponents of contemporary music, at events including the Venice Biennale, Wien Modern, and others. Ireland holds a doctorate from Stanford University (California), he attended Harvard University as a visiting scholar (2009-2010), and was a DAAD Postdoctoral Researcher in connection with the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany (2013-2014). Ireland is the recipient of numerous international fellowships and residencies, most recently from the Experimentalstudio des SWR (Southwest Broadcasting) Freiburg, Germany (2014). Kristian Ireland’s music is published by Edition Gravis, Berlin. He has given lecture and paper presentations at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Leipzig), UC Berkeley, USC (Los Angeles), Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit | Stiftung Topographie des Terrors (Berlin-Schöneweide), the 2014 German Studies Association of Australia (GSAA) International Conference at The University of Sydney, the 2004 Symposium of the International Musicological Society, The University of Melbourne, and others.
Website: www.kristianireland.com
Wednesday 25 February at 7pm
Maintaining two mother-tongues in an Australian home
Dr Averil Grieve
>>> View photos of the event
The last night at Glen Waverley Library - and it was devoted to Bilingualism. Our speaker, Averil Grieve, is a very active supporter of maintaining two mother tongues in the Australian home and she had some great insights to share, and lots of marvellous tips!
Amazingly, there are 260 languages spoken in Australia (60 of those indigenous). Despite a study in the 1950's which 'found' that bilingualism confuses the child and leads to learning difficulties and all sorts of other problems, Dr Grieve cited recent studies that found, the bilingual brain promotes strong thinking skills, greater cultural awareness and increases reading comprehension. It allows for more career opportunities and makes travel a more exciting prospect - and: it delays the onset of Alzheimer by about five years!
Interesting diagrams and pictures helped Averil to demonstrate the positive effects of bilingualism. What happens when you have more than one language to see, understand and comprehend your world, she asked. Well, you have a unique way of expressing yourself!
Example: A table is not just a table but also a "Tisch". And everything you associate with the table (food, decorations, people gathering around to talk or to play a game, doing homework), the brain registeres simultaneously in the other language! Wow, how busy our brains are! And not only do they store away the vocabulary, at the same time the emotions associated with these activities are scored up - taste, comfort, beauty, fun, excitement ... Since these activities are coloured by culture and traditions (Australians eat different food to Germans, gather for different traditional activities etc), the brain processes that information as well! No wonder then that our childhood memories remain such a strong feature in our lives - that's when we learned to distinguish various activities and learned our internal language.
Averil delighted us with her story about the "language police" in her home. To give their children the best possible chance to maintain their German language, Averil's family speaks German at home. Inevitably (we all know!), the odd English word slips into a German conversation - simply because it's the one we first think of or because that particular expression is not a German one. If that happens, Averil's daughter (die Sprachpolizistin) is quick to issue a fine to the offender!
And should you wonder how children who are raised in a language other than English manage to cope in the world outside the home, well: English comes for free! Inevitably, children hear English! On the radio or the TV, when Mum or Dad make a phone call, when the neighbours call by, when the family goes shopping or to the playground ... English is all around and children are exposed to it every day.
If you are interested to find out more about the bilingual child, visit the Deutsche Schule Melbourne at its next open day and watch bilingualism in action! It is a marvellous experience! And most likely you get to meet Averil, she usually speaks at the Open Days!
The Deutsche Schule Melbourne is at 96 Barkly, Street North Fitzroy.
Maintaining two mother-tongues in an Australian home
Dr Averil Grieve
>>> View photos of the event
The last night at Glen Waverley Library - and it was devoted to Bilingualism. Our speaker, Averil Grieve, is a very active supporter of maintaining two mother tongues in the Australian home and she had some great insights to share, and lots of marvellous tips!
Amazingly, there are 260 languages spoken in Australia (60 of those indigenous). Despite a study in the 1950's which 'found' that bilingualism confuses the child and leads to learning difficulties and all sorts of other problems, Dr Grieve cited recent studies that found, the bilingual brain promotes strong thinking skills, greater cultural awareness and increases reading comprehension. It allows for more career opportunities and makes travel a more exciting prospect - and: it delays the onset of Alzheimer by about five years!
Interesting diagrams and pictures helped Averil to demonstrate the positive effects of bilingualism. What happens when you have more than one language to see, understand and comprehend your world, she asked. Well, you have a unique way of expressing yourself!
Example: A table is not just a table but also a "Tisch". And everything you associate with the table (food, decorations, people gathering around to talk or to play a game, doing homework), the brain registeres simultaneously in the other language! Wow, how busy our brains are! And not only do they store away the vocabulary, at the same time the emotions associated with these activities are scored up - taste, comfort, beauty, fun, excitement ... Since these activities are coloured by culture and traditions (Australians eat different food to Germans, gather for different traditional activities etc), the brain processes that information as well! No wonder then that our childhood memories remain such a strong feature in our lives - that's when we learned to distinguish various activities and learned our internal language.
Averil delighted us with her story about the "language police" in her home. To give their children the best possible chance to maintain their German language, Averil's family speaks German at home. Inevitably (we all know!), the odd English word slips into a German conversation - simply because it's the one we first think of or because that particular expression is not a German one. If that happens, Averil's daughter (die Sprachpolizistin) is quick to issue a fine to the offender!
And should you wonder how children who are raised in a language other than English manage to cope in the world outside the home, well: English comes for free! Inevitably, children hear English! On the radio or the TV, when Mum or Dad make a phone call, when the neighbours call by, when the family goes shopping or to the playground ... English is all around and children are exposed to it every day.
If you are interested to find out more about the bilingual child, visit the Deutsche Schule Melbourne at its next open day and watch bilingualism in action! It is a marvellous experience! And most likely you get to meet Averil, she usually speaks at the Open Days!
The Deutsche Schule Melbourne is at 96 Barkly, Street North Fitzroy.
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