A Day in New York 1882

A Day in New York 1882 follows future lawyer Georg Schmidt. He is one of around 400,000 German emigrants in New York – living in what would later be known as the Lower East Side.

Kathryn Lloyd, our Senior Director of Programs and Interpretation, highlights the history behind the Lower East Side’s start as Little Germany and its eventual boom into not only the most densely populated cities in the US, but worldwide.

What would it have been like if you were a German living there in 1882?

View Terra X’s documentary below. We hope you enjoy!

A Day in New York 1882  | 43 min | Subtitles Available

[Translated Description]  It is July 14, 1882. The United States of America is still young, the state was only founded a good 100 years ago. The USA is the number one emigration destination for people from all over the world. For Europeans, New York is the gateway to their new homeland. At that time, the city did not extend beyond the island of Manhattan – immigrants lived in narrow neighborhoods that were mostly separated by nationality. “Little Germany” in the south of Manhattan is the quarter of the German immigrants. The Germans largely keep to themselves, defy the harsh conditions, and set their ideals, determination and drive against them. And they hope for opportunities that they would never have had in their old homeland.