NEW ULM — After a lifetime of research and writing, Robert J. Paulson announces the launch of a new website, “Our German Bohemian Legacy,” www.germanbohemianlegacy.com. Co-author of “German-Bohemians: The Quiet Immigrants” (with LaVerne Rippley) and founder of the German Bohemian Heritage Society, Paulson has gathered some of his most valuable resources and made them available, for free, on the internet.

The purpose of this website is to collect, preserve, and share the historical and cultural legacy of German-Bohemians immigrants to the United States. Paulson’s hope is that this website will become a place where researchers can fill empty spaces in their family’s genealogy while opening new avenues of inquiry. If they do not find relatives, people might learn more about their ancestral homeland and even find stories about the villages where their ancestors were born. This German Bohemian legacy also includes the many customs that ancestors brought to America, including faith, food, music, crafts, and language. The site will show how these traditions have been transferred to new generations, born in this country, and are still a part of daily life today.

Paulson’s hope is that this website will become a place for sharing information, saying, “There are many energetic and industrious fellow researchers who add greatly to our knowledge and understanding of our legacy. We invite you to contact us, offering a platform for you to share your work and gain insights from other scholars. As a common ‘meeting place,’ this site will save many hours of research through sharing information, experiences, traditions, and perhaps even documents.”

The project finds its source in Paulson’s passion for his heritage and his gratitude to his mother and grandmother for sharing the importance of family traditions, and to friends like Rudi Kiefner. Paulson concluded, “It is our duty to forward this rich heritage to our children and theirs that they may prosper the same way in their inherent characteristic of honor, integrity, and unflagging commitment to their land and their families.”

The website is now available on the internet.

www.germanbohemianlegcy.com