On July 13th, the best American and German decathletes came together to compete shortly before the 2012 Olympic Games. The meet featured hurdles, discus and pole vault events. Thank you to all athletes and the city of Mörfelden! http://www.facebook.com/usconsulate.frankfurt
We hope everyone had a happy Independence Day! Here’s a few sights there were to see in Frankfurt to celebrate the USA’s 236th Birthday last week! Live music, cake, ice cream, burgers, and laughs were all part and parcel of the festivities at the Consul General’s residence in Frankfurt, where over 500 guests gathered to commemorate the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Opening remarks were given by our Master of Ceremonies, Willy Morgan, and our Acting Principal Officer, Charisse Phillips, gave a speech to mark the occasion. Lord Mayor of Frankfurt, Peter Feldmann, said a few words to the guests. A raffle was held, where the winners won an expenses-paid stay in the Presidential Suite at the Radisson Hotel in Berlin. Our Marine Color Guard presented the colors, and the Star-Spangled Banner, sung by Shelby McCarthy and Thomas Phillips, along with the German Nationalhymne led way to barbecue and beverages. Thanks to all of our sponsors for making our event possible, and thanks again to our guests for making the event a success!
Consulate colleagues and members of the community came together on the evening of Friday, June 15th, to enjoy excellent company and two films covering Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) issues.
The participants of this year’s UndertandinG project came together for their third workshop from Saturday, June 2nd to Sunday, June 3rd. A highlight of the weekend with the overall theme “Freedom and Democracy” was a tour of Wiesbaden Army Airfield where the group was hosted as special guests by the U.S. Army. The tour was led by USAG Wiesbaden Commander COL Carstens and 5th Signal Chief of Staff COL Saver, who were joined later by 5th Signal Command COL Whalen. They all answered questions about their life on base. The students were impressed by the hangar, where they were able to learn about the aircrafts and could even board one. Afterwards, COL Saver and COL Whalen shared their experiences with the participants at Wiesbaden HIgh School.
Special Envoy Hannah Rosenthal (on the right) and her sister Debbie Zemel with the stumbling block in memory of their father
MANNHEIM PRESENTS HANNAH ROSENTHAL WITH STOLPERSTEIN: On July 9th, the city of Mannheim recognized the memory of Franz Rosenthal, the last Rabbi of Mannheim before the Holocaust by presenting his daughter, Hannah Rosenthal, with a brass Stolperstein. Hannah Rosenthal is the U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism as appointed by the President, and was joined at the ceremony by her sister, Debbie Zemel. The special event was hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Mannheim. Mayor Dr. Ulrike Freundlieb spoke of the importance of preserving Mr. Rosenthal’s memory and his legacy in Mannheim before presenting his daughters with the Stolperstein, which will be placed a few blocks from community center at the location of the prewar synagogue. The event was attended by Mannheimers and members of the Jewish community from all over the world through Centropa, an oral history program preserving the stories of elderly Jews. In her closing remarks, Ms. Rosenthal said that her father always hoped that she and her sister would return to Mannheim, and now, with the Stolperstein, her father’s memory has been sufficiently preserved in the city he loved so much.
Ed Serotta (left) with Hesse’s Minister for Culture Nicola Beer
Preserving Jewish History through Multimedia Dialogue: American, Israeli, German and other European teachers came to Frankfurt on July 13th as part of a study trip organized by Centropa, an organization that uses advanced technologies to preserve Jewish memory around the world. Hesse Culture Minister Nicola Beer opened the event. A representative of Frankfurt’s University Library then gave an overview of Frankfurt’s Jewish history, which was followed by a discussion with the teachers, some of whom had relatives who were able to emigrate to the United States or Palestine before WWII. Each year, Centropa – under the leadership of American journalist Ed Serotta – brings together educators from dozens of countries for a hands-on approach to Jewish history through travel, seminars, and personal interviews with members of the Jewish community who have experienced history first-hand.
MEET THE CHAMPIONS: In preparations of the London Olympics, decathletes met in Mörfelden-Walldorf on July 14. Among others, German (Jan Felix Knobel) and American decathletes (Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee) met in Hessen to show that they are ready for the Olympic games. Men participated in 110m hurdles, discus and pole vault. Women competed in 100m hurdles, javelin and longjump. Although the U.S. decathletes finished last (due to the rainy weather), the event that was hosted by LG Mörfelden-Walldorf and SKV Walldorf sport clubs was a great show of German-American friendship. More than 500 decathlon fans cheered for the athletes. All local and regional media, as well as some national media including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung and ARD’s Saturday Sportsschau reported about the event. PAO Jeffrey Hill represented the Consulate at the event. On behalf of PA-Frankfurt, intern Alina Tishchenko produced a video on the competition.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHfSeevQ9xI&feature=plcp).
Trey Hardee, Ashton Eaton and organizer Hermann Holzfuß have fun at the press conference after the event
Acting Principal Officer Charisse Phillips welcomed about 400 guests at the Consul General’s residence for Frankfurt’s official July 4th event. Frankfurt’s new Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann was among the first to wish a Happy Fourth of July, first on his own Facebook page and then later in person at the reception. The guests represented local and state governments, media, cultural, educational, financial institutions and companies in the region.
In her speech, APO Phillips stressed the importance of the Independence Day in 1776 and its meaning today in 2012. She thanked the guests for their attendance and support of the German-American friendship and invited them to visit and explore the United States, both virtually on the consulate’s Facebook page and on DiscoverAmerica.com as well as in person. After her remarks a raffle was held, and Lord Mayor Feldmann assisted Ms. Phillips in drawing the winners of a free stay in the Presidential Suite of the Radisson Hotel. Then the crowd enjoyed delicious burgers from the barbecue and a variety of delicacies from the sponsors. The consulate’s band “City Tour” provided entertainment and together with the sunny weather it was a perfect evening.
From right: Acting Principal Officer Charisse Phillips, Protocol Chief Mitra Hohler, and Frankfurt’s new Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann at the drawing of the winners. (Photo: State Department)
Public Affairs Officer Jeffrey Hill along with staff & interns greeted American and other artists from around the world at the annual graffiti festival “Meeting of Styles” in Mainz. The artists used 3000 square meters of concrete wall to create their pieces of art. The participating U.S. artists Zore (Chicago), Demonology, COL (New York), and Prisco (Puerto Rico) joined their counterparts from Germany, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Canada to discuss the history of graffiti art in the U.S. and how it evolved through the years. Talented DJs provided great hip hop music, and dancers showed off their break dancing skills. PA interns conducted interviews with the U.S. participants for the Consulates Webpage and Facebook account, and established excellent contacts for futer youth outreach activities in Wiesbaden and Mainz.
Consulate interns Alina Tishchenko and David Payne interview American graffiti artists Demonology and COL for the consulate’s Youtube page (Photo: State Department)
The Consulate General of the United States in Frankfurt am Main represents the interests of the United States government in Frankfurt, Germany and nearby surrounding areas. It is the United States’ largest Consulate General, and is larger, in terms of both personnel and facilities, than many U.S. Embassies. In 2006 The Frankfurt CG relocated most all of its operations to a single facility (photo)- a former hospital, once operated by the U.S military and before that by the German military during World War II.
The official web-site for Consulate General of the United States in Frankfurt is http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/ . It is located on Gießener Str. 30, 60435 Fr
ankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany.
One of the first things I noticed, when I arrived at Frankfurt, is that the city is very bicycle friendly. The network of modern cycle roots is very advanced throughout the city. The cyclists usually share a road with the pedestrians. Today, 15 percent of Frankfurt’s citizens use a bike and the number is expected to grow to 20 percent in the next years.
I arrived to Frankfurt Germany last week to start my State Department internship. The flight was very long with layover in London and I was happy to land at the Frankfurt International Airport. Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany with 2011 population of 695,624. Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe. In 2011, the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual “Quality of Living” survey of cities around the world. According to, The Economist cost of living survey, Frankfurt is Germany’s most expensive city, and the 10th most expensive in the world.
atishchenko 