Associated German Societies of New England

In 1930, when the City of Boston celebrated its Tri-Centennial, all of the German Societies in the area (some 10 or 12) were invited to participate. Although they knew of each other, they had never officially collaborated in a joint venture other than to hold bazaars for the German Red Cross following World War I. In order to make a good showing, however, they organized themselves, and the "Verband Deutscher Vereine" came into being. Their program on Boston Common was a huge success.

Even though the organization was not active for many years, one dedicated man, Arthur Schumann, had kept it alive by filing the necessary papers with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the reason that he believed the name would be needed some day. Thus, in 1983, for the celebration of 300 years of Germans in America, it was easy for the existing clubs in Massachusetts to come together as an umbrella organization under the name of "Associated German Societies of Massachusetts (AGSM). By 1995, the AGSM comprised of 14 Societies from the shores of Cape Cod to the hills of the Berkshires. In 1996, the German Dramatic Society of Providence, R.I., joined the AGSM. Not long after, in May of 1997, the AGSM Vorstand and Delegates unanimously voted to change the name to "Associated German Societies of New England" (AGSNE), and on June 6, 1997, the new title was registered with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Two new organizations joined in March of 1998, one from Rhode Island and one from New Hampshire, and in June 2002 the German School Boston, Inc. has been added to our roster, bringing the present membership of the AGSNE up to 17.