Thanks to tedious planning and preparation on the part of the German Club, the folk music group Daft came to Levering Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
A group of five musicians, Daft performs a brand of music deeply rooted in German culture, and is comprised of several German band members as well. Daft's genre of folk music has a large following in East Germany, home to one of the group's members.
The German Club is a non-SAC group, affiliated with Johns Hopkins through the German department, a technicality that club president Rob Freundlich finds beneficial, saying that their status, "provides the flexibility necessary to promote a unique method in the study of German language and culture."
Daft's performance, made possible through the efforts of the German Club, is truly a milestone in the evolution of the newly formed club. While living in communist East Germany, singer/songwriter Wilfried Mengs was denied his right to practice his musical profession for many years. Daft now performs their music avidly and freely, spreading their multicultural music to American and German audiences alike.
The successful occasion was also made possible by another benefactor: Deborah McGee Mifflin, President of the Maryland chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). Mifflin was an integral factor in the planning and promotion of the event as well as in acquiring the funding from the AATG necessary for the event. Mifflin's success in these endeavors along with aid from the German Club yielded a smoothly run and very successful event.
The German Club is the only language club on campus, a somewhat surprising statistic. Initially, the club had been formed as a place where people of a common German heritage came together to speak German and embrace German culture in any way possible. All club members are German and most are fluent, and while some newer members are less proficient in the language, they contribute what they can and learn from the fluent speakers around them.
The members approach their involvement in the German Club not as an activity, but as an integration of German culture in their daily lives. Rather than revolve their activities around meetings, the members of the German Club frequently go out to dinner together and host house parties, taking these special opportunities to speak some German, drink some beer and connect with their common roots.
With the planning and successful production of the Daft performance, the German Club has begun a long process of reconnecting many German Americans with their ancestry. "Fifty percent of Marylanders have German roots, and what we are trying to do is tap those roots," said Freundlich. Freundlich singled out other establishments with goals similar to the club's own, such as the Lutheran Zion's Church of Baltimore. The church hosts many cultural German events that achieve a similar purpose, and, on the night of such an event, is a common stop for many German club members.
The German Club hopes to work with such establishments and continue to embrace the traditions of a unique heritage, while continuing to fill their own ranks with avid German enthusiasts.
