“Verschleppt: The Carrying Off of Markus & Anna Mattes" at the German American Heritage Center -- April 12.
Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Taking place as part of the venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series, the German American Heritage Center's Verschleppt: The Carrying Off of Markus & Anna Mattes will offer a haunting, moving family saga on April 12, the program presented by John Mattes and Debbi Nitekman Kohl, the latter of whom will also deliver a powerful performance on piano.
With its translations by Diana Reiss Gingell, and told mostly in the written words of the titular Mattes spouses, Verschleppt: The Carrying Off of Markus & Anna Mattes will include slides of the family’s letters, photographs, and documents. The program will also include music from the Shoah performed by Debbi on piano, and speaks to universal and current themes of trauma, diversity, and resiliency.
Markus and Anna Mattes, a Polish Jewish couple, moved to Mainz, Germany in 1908 to raise their family. Through family pictures, documents, maps, and firsthand accounts in letters written by members of the Mattes family, we learn of the couple’s witness to the beginnings of the Holocaust, and their desperate attempts to escape Nazi Germany and join their children who found a home in the Quad Cities. These attempts, which ultimately failed, are haunting and echo the experience of many Jewish families during this time. The story of the Mattes family, as told through their own words from 1938 to 1941, honors the memory of those who did not survive.
The mission of the German American Heritage Center is to preserve and enrich for present and future generations knowledge of the German immigrant experience and its impact on American culture, with its focus on cultural programs and immigrant contributions. Those at the venue reach out to other cultural groups and demonstrate the contributions made by immigrants from many countries and from varied backgrounds to the ethnic palette which is the United States.
Verschleppt: The Carrying Off of Markus & Anna Mattes will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on April 12 with refreshments for this “Kaffee und Kuchen” event served at 1:30 p.m. and the program beginning at 2 p.m. Guests are welcome to bring their own mugs if they wish; disposable cups are provided, but mugs from home will help the venue reduce waste. Participation is free for Heritage Center members and $8 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.
