Volkor K. Schmeissner was interviewed by John McKiernan Gonzalez on July 6, 1996. Schmeissner was born in 1935 in Stuttgart, Germany. He is a professor of German language and culture and is associated with the German Heritage Society of Greater Washington, DC, and the Society of German American Studies. Schmeissner first visited the Smithsonian in 1961. This interview discusses the work of the German Heritage Society of Greater Washington, DC; Adolf Cluss, the German American architect of the Castle; the other German American architects who built parts of Washington, DC; the disappearance of German American heritage and the rise of other ethnic heritage groups; Schmeissner's comments on the worldwide reputation of the Smithsonian; his numerous visits to the Smithsonian; his involvement with the German Heritage Society; his memories of the Festival of American Folklife; his visits to the Zoo; and what Schmeissner would include about Cluss in the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary book.

Object Details

See more items in: Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews; Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews / Interviews

Collection Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9594, Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews