German Emigration Center

The German Emigration Center is Europe’s largest and most modern museum on the topic of migration. You can follow the paths of 7 million Europeans who left their homeland via the port of Bremerhaven, in search of a better life in the New World. You can even begin a search for your own ancestors using the museum's state-of-the-art research facilities. Your electronic boarding pass allows you to embark on a journey of 300 years of immigration and emigration history. Each iCard contains the story of an individual who emigrated to the New World. The iCard also activates many audio stations and interactive displays. Equipped with the iCard, you will embark on an unforgettable journey through time and experience the stories of the emigrants firsthand. At the quay, you will meet emigrants from various European countries. Learn about how they experienced an emotional moment of farewell and departure to an unknown country. Together with them you will then board a ship, getting a glimpse of life aboard three eras of passenger shipping, for example, onboard the ocean liner Columbus in 1929. Having arrived at the immigration station on Ellis Island, you now have to undergo an immigration test at the legal desk. With the entry permit in hand, you will continue your journey to Grand Central in New York. Here, you will learn more about the life of the emigrants in the New World. Dive deeper into the history and factors of migration as you experience the various exhibition halls. Once you have completed the journey and learned all about the emigration process, you can embark on a personal search for emigrated ancestors in the Family Research room. This service is free of charge, and a trained assistant will be there to help guide you through your own family's emigration history.