​Turner Hall will be holding the WWI Remembrance Day event in honor of the 100th anniversary of the New Ulm protest rally. Food stands and speakers will start at 6p.m. Admission is free and there will be $1 brats and $1 beers.
               The New Ulm Battery will kick off the event at 6p.m. in the Turner Hall Park. There will also be music performed by Dick Kimmel and Dan Chouinard. At 8p.m.Dr. Michael Neiberg will speak about “The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America” inside Turner Hall.
               The event will focus on the first draft of World War I and how citizens of New Ulm protested the sending of troops overseas where German Americans would have had to fight their relatives in Germany.
               During the original protest, an estimated 10,000 people gathered to hear speeches, while federal and state undercover agents investigated the event. Following the rally, Gov. James Burnquist removed public speakers from office. This included New Ulm Mayor Louis Fritsche, City Attorney Albert Pfaender, and county auditor Louis Vogel. Martin Luther College was also forced to fire its chief administrator, Rev. Adolf Ackermann. Turner Hall president Albert Steinhauser was arrested and charged under the espionage act.
               Dr. Neiberg is one of the nation’s leading WWI historians and is currently a professor of history at the U.S. Army War College. He has written notable books such as “Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I”, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the five best books ever written about the First World War. Dr. Neiberg can also be seen on the PBS series, The Great War.
               This event is family friendly. Admission is free and picnicking is encouraged. In case of rain all events will be held indoors. Events start at 6p.m. For more information please visit our website at newulmturnerhall.org.