Family from Germany celebrates US citizenship
Published: September 19, 2005
Historic Hanna’s Town may not resemble their former home in Bavaria, Germany, but for the Voigt family — who moved to the United States in 2000 and became naturalized citizens on Friday — it was close enough.
Thomas and Ulrike Voigt, of Murrysville, and their children, Sven, 11; Torsten, 9; and Natalie, 7, chose Hanna’s Town Sunday as the site to celebrate their new citizenship by hosting an all-American barbecue for close to 100 friends.
“That ceremony was special,” Thomas Voigt said. “We couldn’t just have a party in our backyard; we needed to have it some place special.”
And for the Voigts, Hanna’s Town was that special place.
Two years ago, Sven and Torsten Voigt had attended Colonial Camp at the historic Westmoreland County site, and every day they would go home and tell their parents about all the fun they had and all that they’d learned about their new homeland.
“We love history, and this area is such a great place because there is so much history,” Ulrike Voigt said. “So to come here today was just perfect.”
Joanna Moyar, education coordinator at Hanna’s Town, said the Voigt barbecue was the first citizenship party the site had hosted.
“Normally, we have groups affiliated with Hanna’s Town or local heritage groups,” she said. “I think it’s a real honor they thought to come here.”
Hanna’s Town volunteers led tours of the site while the children enjoyed a variety of colonial games.
American flags lined the path leading to the pavilion where the food and some special German brews were being served. The picnic tables were decorated in red, white and blue, and Voigt and his sons got into the spirit of the day as the boys donned tricorn hats and Voigt dressed in colonial garb after being named honorary mayor for the day.
The Voigts said taking the citizenship oath at the U.S. District Court in downtown Pittsburgh Friday was something they took very seriously. At the same time, it was a dream come true.
Since the late 1980s, when Thomas spent time in the U.S. defending his doctoral thesis and Ulrike did a student internship in North Carolina, they looked forward to someday moving to the States.
“I fell in love with it here when I did my internship,” Ulrike Voigt said. “From that time on, I knew wanted to live here.”
But moving to the U.S. wasn’t easy. It wasn’t until 1998, when the family was chosen by lottery to receive five of the 90,000 Green Cards to be issued to foreign nationals that year, did they begin to realize their dream.
It took two more years, but in December 2000, the family, which had been living in Nuernberg in the Bavarian region of Germany, finally stepped off the Queen Elizabeth II and started their new life in the U.S.
It all began to come together when the German company, Siemens AG, took over a division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Voigt, who had been working for Siemens in Germany, accepted a position with the Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., working out of the former Westinghouse research facility in Churchill.
The family moved to Franklin Estates in Murrysville and quickly fell in love with the area. In 2003, when Siemens wanted Voigt to return to Germany, he left his job rather than move.
He currently works at Chem Image, of Pittsburgh, which is in the business of developing new medical technology.
But their love for their new homeland has not replaced their affection for their old.
The family now holds dual citizenship in both Germany and the U.S., and each summer, Ulrike and the children vacation with her parents in Aschaffenburg for a month, visiting the many relatives that remain in that area.
“We want the kids to live in and understand the two cultures,” he said. “We think that’s a great opportunity for them.”
Voigt also attempts to get away from work and travel to his native land during that time.
Asked how it fells to be new citizens, Ulrike Voigt said: “I’m a little shaky. It’s like getting married. It’s a milestone in your life. … But it is wonderful. How many have the privilege of having two countries who want you to be their citizens?”
Thomas Voigt expressed his feelings in a speech he gave at the naturalization ceremony.
“Times have changed, but still in our day people come to seek liberty and want to fulfill their dreams,” Voigt said. “I am also excited and impressed with the powerful belief in the future of this country. Especially today, this country not only believes in the future, it still cherishes the pioneer spirit. … You may fail sometimes, but you don’t give up.”
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