The German city that helped launch our Germantown in 1683 still honors Philly today

KREFELD, Germany — He is the only Quaker in Krefeld, and the first in a long time, because the footprints of Quakers in Krefeld disappeared sometime in the 18th century.

Olaf Radicke does not come from a Quaker family: He was raised Protestant, but as a young adult he started looking for his religious calling. In Thailand, where he wanted to study Buddhism, he came across Pennsylvania founder William Penn’s book No Cross, No Crown through a series of coincidences that some will understand as providence.

“It immediately captivated me. It reached my heart and made something in me resonate,” he recalled. That’s how he became a Quaker. Three years ago, Radicke moved to Krefeld, rekindling a tradition that goes back centuries.

On Oct. 6, 1683, 340 years ago, 13 families from Krefeld landed in Philadelphia to start a new life. A freer life.

These German families were Quakers and Mennonites, both religious communities that at the time were persecuted in Europe. They founded Germantown, which is now part of Philadelphia. Krefeld and Philadelphia have been connected ever since. We went in search of traces and asked: How much Philadelphia is in Krefeld today?

First stop of our little journey is the Philadelphiastrasse (Philadelphia Street), which commemorates the emigration of the 13 families. The Philadelphiastrasse got its name in 1951.

The naming of Philadelphiastrasse in Krefeld was intended to express gratitude and recognition for the help that Quakers and Mennonites from the U.S. and Great Britain provided Germany after World War II. The Quaker Relief Society was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for this reconciliation work. The naming of the street may also be understood as a symbol of a newfound cosmopolitanism of Krefeld and Germany after the fall of Nazi rule.

» READ MORE: These German immigrants landed here in 1683. Philly would never be the same.

In 1983, when Krefeld and Philadelphia commemorated the 1683 migration, the days of celebration were called the “Philadelphiade.” Vice President George H.W. Bush also paid a visit to Krefeld.

In an office room of the church hangs a copy of the Petition Against Slavery, which Krefeld Quakers and Mennonites wrote in Germantown in 1688. This was the first written protest against slavery in America. The declaration was signed in Germantown in the home of Thones Kunders, a man from Krefeld, and was addressed to long-established Quakers in America, many of whom were themselves enslavers. Based on the handwriting, it is assumed that Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651-1719), a German but not a Krefelder, was the author.

For the third stop of our tour, we head to Linn, a former village that is now a part of Krefeld. There, in the Museum Burg Linn, the design for a monument commemorating the founding of Germantown can be found. In the center of the composition stands Pastorius. To his right and left are the Krefeld emigrants, who pay homage to him as well as to their new home in America. A shining sun in the background symbolizes the bright, hopeful future in the New World, but at the same time crowns Pastorius’ head. The monument shows how he was and is revered.

The design is a gift to the city from the descendants of the Krefeld emigrants: In 1901, the “Deutsch-amerikanischer Nationalbund” (National German American Alliance) in Philadelphia decided to erect a monument to Pastorius and the Krefeld immigrants, which was to be built in Vernon Park in Germantown. The artist Jakob Otto Schweizer (1863-1955) emerged as the winner of a competition. In 1931 a bronze model of his design was sent to the Linn Museum of Local History. Instead, the model of the second-place winner, Albert Jaegers (1868-1925), was erected. The reasons behind this decision are not clear.

» READ MORE: Test what you know about Philly’s German heritage

Pastorius is considered the founder and initiator of the emigration from Krefeld to America. He bought land in Pennsylvania for the immigrants. On his own journey to the New World, he stopped in Uerdingen (now a part of Krefeld) in April 1683, walked to Krefeld, and encouraged the emigrants to make their plans. A street in Linn is named after him.

The fourth stop is Hüls, on the north end of Krefeld. There stands a building that is the oldest evidence of Mennonite life in Krefeld: the “Mennonitenhaus” (the Mennonite House), where the Mennonite family Te Neues settled at the beginning of the 17th century after fleeing Mönchengladbach.

The name Te Neues goes way back in Mennonite history and is important today. Elmar te Neues, president of the local chamber of commerce, stood in front of the Mennonite House as he explained how his ancestors settled in Hüls. “Some stayed, some went to Krefeld and then emigrated to America,” he said. The bond in the worldwide Mennonite community is still strong today, he emphasizes. Recently, he met the Nyce family — the name goes back to Te Neues — from Philadelphia in Krefeld. They are Mennonites who were traveling in Europe in the footsteps of their ancestors.

Elmar te Neues had met with Randy Nyce, his wife, Juanita, and son Garrett at the Mennonite Church. Randy said a beautiful phrase at that meeting about the spirit of the Mennonite faith: “When you pray, move your feet.”

Our last stop is not a stop, but a sightseeing flight over Krefeld. It is about the American way of life, which has found expression in many places here. The 1683 emigration was — abstractly speaking — a globalization push. The emigrants created a link between Europe and America, which continues today.

And so Krefeld is also American: The city has the so-called Dolphins cheerleaders of our soccer team SC Bayer Uerdingen 05, who won bronze at the World Championships in Florida this year. It has the Ravens American football team, which won promotion to the regional league this year and has more and more fans in Krefeld. In Forstwald, there is a Forest Ranch, a club that faithfully re-creates life in the “Wild West.” In Hüls, there is a German-American Diner Max, a restaurant/sports bar, where U.S. football games are shown on television. Krefeld’s dance schools teach line dancing and square dancing. And Krefeld has a thriving burger culture that has developed from this American tradition.