Burkardt 1

Kristoffer Burkardt
English 101
Cultural Essay
October 17th, 2016
Why I Am Who I Am; The Burkardt Immigration
Culture can derive from an endless amount of perspectives originating from all around
the world. In American society, the magnitude of cultural diversity is stupendous in contrast of
other major first world countries. Whether it be from the food you eat, the religion you follow, or
the way you act and dress, it is inevitable to come across numerous displays of culture when
simply driving through the city. Which in some opinions, is the reason why America is such a
great place to live; the ability to freely enjoy and express your cultural values and practices.
For myself, the major cultural influence would be my Omah and Opah; What majority
would call Grandma and Grandpa. Both of them were born and raised in Munich, Germany and
eventually immigrated to the United States. It was through them that foreign traditions and
values were implemented into our family with foods, sayings, and traditions. For example, one
common weekend breakfast was German pancakes; sweet popovers filled with various fruits and
jelly made from scratch. Along with the food, came the gradual usage of German Vocabulary
aside from the Omah and Opah titles, such as donke and bitte for thank you and youre welcome.
Lastly, the traditions and traits that were passed down was the love for German Soccer, the
requirement for German food for Easter, and the classic blonde hair with blue eye German look.
Although I am not aware of prior relatives before my Omah and Opah due to their
passing in my youth before my particular interest in heritage, the events to which caused my
Opah to flee the country were shocking and honorable. The year is 1939, Hitler had been in

Burkardt 2

control for six years now and to many was seen as a strong leader up until his ultimate outbreak.
My grandfather was newly married to my grandmother and active in the German Air Force at the
age of twenty. With the tyranny of the Nazi Party in full effect, came a knock to my grandfather's
door and two Nazi officers have come to lay out his options. Option one, he fights for the Nazi
Party in preparation to the invasion on Poland; option two, he and his wife will be killed. Being
that his options were pretty limited and his strongly fueled hate for Adolf Hitler, my grandmother
and him fled the country on a cargo ship to America in hopes for a better life and freedom
towards the newly beginning tyrannical power. With nothing but the little money saved and the
clothes on their backs, they were able to make it to the land of possibilities and create a life
worth living here in America. My Opah became a watchmaker and my Omah was a stay at home
mother to my father, aunt, and uncle. Together they had been through everything and were
inseparable till death, with the level of challenges they faced I have nothing but the utmost
respect for them for persevering for the greater good. I only wish to have heard the stories first
hand, in an age where I could fully comprehend and appreciate the events. If it were not for
them, there would be no I, therefor I am forever grateful.
With this cultural background, it has indefinitely had an impact on me and my
perspective on things. For example, learning of World War II and the Holocaust has always
sparked my interest and has been a reason for my strong liking for history. With the food, the
traditions, and the stories, it is on my high priority list to explore Europe and more specifically,
Germany. To see the castles and architecture, the memorials and remains of the holocaust, and to
consume the most authentic German food possible, would be a dream. It is also a goal of mine to
further research my German lineage and discover current relatives or past ancestors with some
historical value. As well as the ancestry of my Mother's side of the family for I have not the

Burkardt 3

slightest clue where they derived from and in what orderly fashion did they immigrate to
America.
Therefore, I believe it is rather important to know family history and very interesting to
discover links in the family tree because without them doing exactly what they did in their time,
the change in events could have very well altered the events that led to you being born. Overall,
culture plays a major part of everyones lives because without it, everyone would be the same.
Regardless of geographical derivatives or foreign ethical values due to the fact that everyone has
their own twist to culture that makes them who they are. Whether it be watching a specific sports
team religiously, binge watching television shows while eating junk food, or having lunch at the
park every Sunday; everyone has certain traditions and values that make them who they are.