NYC aLIVE

Tracing German roots with the cell phone in New York City.

In 2000 more than 42 million people in the US stated that they have German roots. This makes Germans one of the largest ancestry groups in the US. Most of the immigrants arrived between 1840 and 1945. In order to visualize their cultural impact, the Goethe-Institut paired with Pratt Institute and the idea was born to create an app for cell phones that allows the user to access the architectural, literary and social heritage of the German immigrants.

Brigitte Doellgast, director of the library of the Goethe-Institut New York, is one of the creative forces behind German Traces NYC. She supports the project wholeheartedly because “in the past 100 years many things about the German heritage have been forgotten and we at the Goethe-Institut would like to lift the cover of history and make things visible again.”

It’s a modern way that leads the cell phone user to the places where Germans lived and worked in New York City. Behind the keyword “augmented reality” there is for instance the “Ottendorfer Library” in the East Village. This branch of the New York Public Library opened in 1884 and was built according to the plans of the German architect William Schickel. The project was financed by Oswald Ottendorfer, the publisher of the New York – Staatszeitung. Using the app means to be able to see on the screen how the building looked like more than 100 years ago while you walk past the site. It also provides the user with facts and interesting information about the building. The app also grants a look into the past when you are standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, pass Astor Place or take a stroll past Macy’s.

German Traces NYC is tailored to students and also a modern way of displaying history. “Everything is in English and German and it is easy to understand, so students of all levels of language proficiency can use it”, explains Brigitte Doellgast.

Launch in New York

Pratt Institute is in charge of the implementation. Associate Professor Dr. Debbie Rabina works with a team of library science students to research the German Traces in New York and create stories out of this raw material. Assistant Professor Dr. Anthony Cocciolo is in charge of the technical implementation, and he makes the content available to users via their mobile device. The content is available both through the mobile phone Internet browser, and through Layar, an augmented reality browser.

The application also makes use of game-like elements. For examples, learners can acquire points answering questions about Germans in New York and post their accomplishments to Facebook.

The official launch of the app took place on December 2nd in the Goethe-Institut New York. Are you interested? You can get the app here: www.germantracesnyc.org