This photo shows a German student in New York carrying on a cherished family tradition—baking Plätzchen (German Christmas cookies)—a ritual her family maintained after immigrating in the early 2010s. During this decade, a steady wave of emigration saw 150,000 to 180,000 Germans leave their homeland each year. For this student, these peaceful family traditions reminded her intensely of home despite being physically on foreign soil.

2010s

Emigration Wave from Germany

German Schools Abroad Society