German American National Congress

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The German American National Congress (Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress), also known as DANK, is a national German-American non-profit organization in the United States. DANK was established to unite Americans with Germanic descent, while preserving their heritage and traditions on a local and national level. With over 30 chapters and more than 100 associated members throughout the country, DANK is the largest organization of German-Americans. DANK was founded back in 1959,^[1] and 50 years later it is still actively uniting German Americans throughout the entire United States.

Throughout its history, the German American National Congress has had close relationships with numerous US governmental and civic bodies, some of which include the White House, the German Embassy in Washington DC, consulates, and a vast arrangement of other German organizations. In 1987, DANK was heavily involved in the adoption of declaring October 6th as German-American Day, which is still observed on a national level today.^[2]

German-American Journal

Cover of April/May 09 Issue

The German-American Journal is the official newspaper of DANK, and is published on a bi-monthly schedule. First published in from the start of DANK in 1959, the newspaper consisted of 6 pages, was issued every three weeks, and was written almost entirely in German. Today the paper is 16 pages and is primarily written in English (articles written in german are often accompanied with an English translation or summary). Recurring subjects in the German-American Journal include Current Events, Food & Entertainment, Reviews, Organization News, and various articles of German-American interest.

Members of DANK automatically receive a copy of the newspaper as part of their membership, but non-members can purchase an annual subscription for only $15.00.

National Website

Launched in the late 1990's^[3], DANK's website, dank.org, was one of the early cultural organizations to grab a presence on the World Wide Web. It served as a way to attract new members to the organization by offering information on what the German American National Congress was. In February 2009, the website underwent its first, and much needed, major update to its look and offerings in order to appeal to a new and younger generation of German-Americans. Not only can people learn about the organization, as they could in the past, but can now interact with each other by participating in a discussion forum, Facebook, and follow the National President's Blog.

Organization's Structure

DANK is made up of numerous chapters that are spread throughout the United States, and are divided into 3 regions: Region One, Region Two, & Region Three. Along with the chapters, DANK also has their national headquarter (DANK National) located in the heavily German influenced Lincoln Square in Chicago, Illinois. On the national and chapter level, there are board member positions that help in keeping the organization running, and are responsible for organizing events and activities that aim to unite people of German-American decent.

National Executive Board

List of Chapters

References