So Funny She Forgot to Laugh

A new television program in Germany invites celebrities to trace their family histories. The first episode demonstrated why some Germans are reluctant to delve into their pasts.

The actress Mariele Millowitsch, 51, was the first guest on Auf der Spur meiner Ahnen (On the Trail of My Ancestors). Cameras filmed her as, for the first time, she watched footage of her actor father Willy performing comic routines for an audience of Nazi officers.

Miss Millowitsch appeared uncomfortable, protesting that her father must have been doing his best to earn a living, rather than performing out of any ideological conviction. [Link]

Europe's Exit Door

A new museum is opening July 5th in Germany called Port of Dreams - BallinStadt Emigrant World Hamburg. It's the mirror image of Ellis Island.

BallinStadt re-creates the world of the emigrants. Who the people were who left their homes in eastern and middle Europe, and why. How they got to Hamburg. What life was like in this last stop before their trans-Atlantic adventure. What happened to them at Ellis Island. Where they went next and how they fared in the New World. Some historians estimate that 20 million Americans may be descended from these Hamburg emigrants. [Link]