Page 7 - GC-Sept-Oct-23

German Day – a day for a parade,

amusements, food and drink

As the Swiss Gruetli Asso-
ciation, the Wurtt-Suabian
Benevolent Association, and
GREGORY the Frohsinn Club arrived
WITUL they were greeted by 15,000
revelers filling the park.
Marlene Dietrich in "The Blue Angel." Image: dpa/picture alliance
Association, and the Frohsinn Club
Germany's historical Studio s we exit the summer heat, we arrived they were greeted by
Awalk into the best time of the 15,000 revelers filling the park.
Babelsberg under threat year, festival season. Ahead of us Once everyone arrived and all
are dozens of events that showcase With all the details in place, and the societies were seated at the re-
August 18, 2023 cisions in the course of next year at and celebrate German-American spective tables the formal opening
The legendary film studio host- the latest," Scholz said Tuesday food, music, and culture across the the promise of clear weather, the of the day began. Ferdinand Teute,
ed stars including Marlene during a visit to the film studios. state. But if we harken back to group released the public an- the third vice president of the Ger-
nouncement that the 1906 German
1923 Germany’s Dietrich and served as a set for The industry "must be maintained Western New York in the early Day would be held Sunday, Aug. man-American Alliance of the
here and elsewhere in Germany be-
State of New York and Dr. Gaetner
films like Tarantino's "Inglourious
Basterds" and Wes Anderson's cause once it's gone, it's hard to years of the 20th century, there was 12. As the weekend approached, were the main speakers of the day
one Teutonic celebration that
"Hotel Budapest." rebuild," he added. trumped them all, the Buffalo Ger- delegates representing German so- with both touching on the point of
Located just outside Berlin, Babelsberg's co-chief executive man Day with the 1906 celebration cieties from Rochester, Erie, Her- being true to America while still
Studio Babelsberg has been under a officer, Andy Weltman, called for being one of the best. kimer, Utica, and other New York holding a corner of their heart for
cloud after the US company Cine- competitive tax incentives so Ger- In its third year, Chairman and Pennsylvania communities be- the homeland.
space – a subsidiary of the real many could "once again play a George Weiss and committeemen gan arriving in the Queen City. With the talks completed the
estate company TPG Real Estate leading role" in film production. Dr. William Gaertner, Henry Bren- As churches began to let out children’s athletic competitions got
Partners (TREP) – became the ma- German film del, Alex Kercher, Louis Fritz, F.X. that Sunday morning members underway. Besides the traditional
jority shareholder at the beginning industry stagnating Schwab, Henry Fink, William from 46 different German societies, running races, egg races, bag races,
of 2022, since when hardly any According to a 2021 industry Blessing, and George Lehman in suits and regalia, began gather- and running backwards races were
filming has taken place at the stu- forecast published by Statista, the wanted to make the 1906 celebra- ing at the intersection of Jefferson also held. While Henry Finck
dios. film industry's revenue in Germany tion something special. The com- and Broadway. Once there, they served as the official judge, the
German film director and Oscar by 2025 will be around €10.5 bil- were organized into three different enthusiastic crowd overrode him
winner Volker Schlöndorff added lion ($11.4 billion) and largely mittee began planning for the divisions to march to Teutonia more than once declaring their own
festival in the first half of the year
to those fears as he spoke of the stagnating. gathering input from over the 50 Park. winner.
"danger" posed to the studio's exis- Founded in 1912, the Babels- Led by Grand Marshal Alexan- For the adults there was plenty
tence. He said that since the compa- berg film studios are regarded as German-American societies of der Kercher, a fuel magnate who of food and drink which paired
Buffalo.
ny Kino Bidco, a subsidiary of the cradle of German film and the also served on the boards of the nicely with the carnival games. Af-
Cinespace, became the main stake- oldest large-scale studio in the The men quickly agreed to re- German Hospital and Schuetzen ter a few drinks the house had the
holder, there were hardly any films world. Today the studios have, turn to Teutonia Park on Fillmore, Verein, the marchers headed east advantage in the ring toss game, but
being produced in the historic stu- among other things, 21 state-of-the- the home of the first two Deutscher up Broadway, made a left onto lost it to found strength at the high
dios. Schlöndorff, who has also art studios, outdoor sets covering Tags, and to continue using pins as Johnson Street to turn on Genesee striker. But after a day of carous-
served as the CEO of Studio Ba- more than 173,000 square meters entrance passes, this time with a making their way along Fillmore to ing, the merry-go-round became
belsberg in the past, warned that the and Europe's largest prop ware- design that incorporated the flags Teutonia Park. All along the way
studio could be wiped out of exis- house. of Germany, Austria-Hungary, houses, businesses, and people, the only amusement most people
could handle.
tence. Switzerland, and American into a could be found decorated in the red,
Earlier this week, German shield surrounded by an oak white, and blue of America and the As the day came to an end and
Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke out wreath. New for the year the com- red, white, and black of Germany. things began to wind down, a num-
in support of preserving Studio Ba- The views of columnists and mittee incorporated a parade into As the Swiss Gruetli Associa- ber of the committee men could be
letter writers do not necessarily the celebration. found sitting at a table, already
belsberg amid fears over the future tion, the Wurtt-Suabian Benevolent
of the oldest large-scale film studio reflect the views of the German planning the 1907 German Day.
Citizen. Letters to the editor are
in the world. He said he wanted to
keep the multi-billion dollar busi- welcome at mail@the
germancitizen.com or by mail:
ness of film and TV productions in
Germany. The German Citizen 3620 Har-
lem Rd., Cheektowaga, NY
"We will make far-reaching de-
14215.