I'm An American -- Anton Lang

Recorded Sound | Digitized | RG Number: RG-91.0028

Overview

Description: On May 25, 1940, Dr. Anton Lang spoke with Marshall E. Dimock, Second Assistant Secretary of Labor, on the NBC radio broadcast about the power of democracy. The two men discuss America’s resilience and its rating of “the happiest country in the world”. Lang reveals to Dimock, that unlike America, status and opportunities in Europe are fixed. To him and many other migrants, life in America can bring achievement and freedom. Dr. Lang states democracy is like religion because it is an experience. He says naturalized citizens are eager to learn new ways of living, however Americans criticize and question the foreign homeland instead of assisting in their neighbors adjustment. Dr. Lang shares an excerpt from a letter he received from a friend living in Germany in 1940. It reads: “We never knew how much our faith meant to us, until we had to suffer for it”.

Dr. Anton Lang was born in Oberammergau, Germany. The Lang family is historically connected to the Oberammergau Passion Play, which was first performed in the 1634. Dr. Lang moved to United States in 1926 to further his education in language. He acquired degrees from universities in Massachusetts, Munich, France, and Germany, and returned to Washington, D.C. in 1932 as a language professor at Georgetown University. He taught German and literature for four decades. Dr. Lang went on to become the Institution’s Chairman of the Modern Languages Department.
Date: Broadcast: 1940 May 25
Format: WAV

Physical Details

Language: English
Genre/Form: Radio broadcasts.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
Copyright: NBC Universal
Conditions on Use: Contact NBC Universal at www.nbcuniarchives.com for permission to duplicate and use this film or sound recording.

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Americanization. Democracy--United States. German Americans. Immigrants--Cultural assimilation--United States. Immigrants--Interviews. Immigrants--United States. National characteristics, American. Executive departments
Geographic Name: United States.
Personal Name: Lang, Anton, -1987. Dimock, Marshall Edward, 1903-1991.
Corporate Name: National Broadcasting Company

Administrative Notes

Legal Status: In process
Recorded Sound Provenance: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of these sound recordings from the Library of Congress in March 2018.
Recorded Sound Notes: More information about Dr. Anton Lang
http://gloverparkhistory.com/glover-park/family-pictures/the-lang-family/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/02/07/obituaries/6e3477a9-fb87-4ba1-a6ea-76ba8466db71/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ea08af08115

Marshal E. Dimock
https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/19/us/marshall-e-dimock-88-author-and-public-administration-expert.html

More information about I’M AN AMERICAN:
https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/im-american
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557338355/im-an-american-radio-show-promoted-inclusion-before-world-war-ii
Recorded Sound Source: Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)

Record last modified:: 2024-02-21 07:30:13
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn615679

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Also in "I'm An American" NBC radio broadcasts

I’M AN AMERICAN premiered in 1940 on the eve of WWII. The NBC radio broadcast was spearheaded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Labor to foster a “deeper consciousness of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and more tolerance for fellow american of all birthplaces”. The weekly program featured distinguished foreign-born citizens discussing their naturalization process, the meaning of “democracy” and reminding all Americans of the value/privilege of U.S. citizenship. Sound recordings of I’M AN AMERICAN are available from the NBC Radio Collection in the Library of Congress.

Date: 1940-1944

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I'm An American -- Anton Lang

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