Leaving Home - Migration Yesterday & Today

Purchased at the Deutches Auswanderer Haus (German Emigration Center) in Bremerhaven, Germany. This is one of several publications we recommend that address the topic of emigration. We hope that it can help to answer questions such as "why did our ancestors leave?", "what path did they travel?" and "how difficult was the journey?" 

Within the pages of this beautiful hard bound book, the reader will find some real life stories of a few emigrants that pass through Germany, on their way to the new world.  Certainly the way to America was not easy. From their homes throughout Europe, emigrants converged on the port towns of Hamburg and Bremen in Germany. There, authorities managed one of the greatest movements of people in history, 44 million persons between 1821 - 1914. 

This book has 277 pages with B/W and color pictures and illustrations to compliment the text. The topics describe political unrest, economic crisis, and the effects of shipping agents efforts to sell passengers a dream. 

The museum where this book was published is what I call Alt Ellis Island. It is but another piece of a family history puzzle. While we can take people to see their ancestral villages throughout Central Europe, only a museum like this can respond to the above stated questions. This book may inspire its reader to include the museum on any family history trip. Reading this book alone, will help the descendants of emigrants to appreciate their ancestor's sacrifices.