The Wends of Texas: a Case Study of German Minority Immigration to the U.S.

press release: Room 126.

Speaker: David Zersen, president emeritus of Concordia University Texas

Sorbs or Wends are a Slavic minority living in a region of eastern Germany that borders Poland and the Czech Republic. In the mid-19th century, many Sorbs/Wends immigrated to Australia, South Africa, South America, and Canada, with the largest group settling in Lee County, Texas. This presentation will address the history of the Sorbs/Wends as they lived among German-speakers in Europe and in the U.S., including their contributions to literature, theology, and music.

Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies. Cosponsored by the Center for German and European Studies (CGES), the Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA), and the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.