I'm An American -- Charles Pergler

Recorded Sound | Digitized | RG Number: RG-91.0029

Overview

Description: On June 1, 1940, Dr. Charles Pergler shared his thoughts about immigration with the Chairmen of the Board of Review for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Ralph Stewart, on the NBC radio broadcast. The gentlemen discussed Pergler’s duality of foreign birth and upbringing in America. Stewart describes emigration as “a stranger in the gates”. He urges Americans to have tolerance and patience for foreign-born citizens as they assimilate. He gives an example of close-knit immigrant communities who do not learn English and have no connection to American life except during election season. Dr. Pergler suggests real democracy may only exist in homogeneous societies. He goes on to condemn any special organization created in defense of the foreign born. He explains the union will only bring attention to cultural differences and cause segregation. Dr. Charles Pergler warns Americans to be vigilant in protecting their own rights because their own thoughts or characteristics could one day place them in a minority grouping.

Dr. Charles Pergler (b. Karel Pergler) was born on March 6, 1882 in Liblin, Bohemia. He immigrated to Chicago in 1890 at eight years old. After he graduated high school, Pergler returned to Bohemia. He became involved in the Democratic Socialist and anti-Austrian movement in Prague. The young scholar returned to Chicago in 1903 to continue his education at Kent College of Law. After graduation in 1908, Pergler moved to Howard County, Iowa where he practiced law for a decade. The Czechoslovak Republic claimed independence in 1918 and appointed Charles Pergler as its first Ambassador to the United States.
Date: Broadcast: 1940 June 01
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: Ambassadors. Americanization. Cultural pluralism. Czech Americans. Democracy--United States. Ethnicity--United States. Immigrants--Cultural assimilation--United States. Immigrants--Interviews. Immigrants--United States. National characteristics, American.
Geographic Name: United States.
Personal Name: Pergler, Charles, 1882-1954. Stewart, Ralph.
Corporate Name: National Broadcasting Company United States. Immigration and Naturalization Service

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. Charles Pergler - http://www.perglers.com/Perglers/Charles_Pergler_1882.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 07:30:12
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn615680

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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 -- Charles Pergler

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