Club Departments

We have many departments for various interests. Our departments have meetings, activities, and events that happen throughout the year. Find out more about what the Germania Verein has to offer below!

After having attended many Carnival festivities in Las Vegas for several years, Frieda Sonksen and Georg Breitling started the Germania Carnival Group in 2001.

The carnival season is celebrated every year, starting on the eleventh day of the eleventh month and ending on Ash Wednesday in February. Our group holds a traditional Costume Ball at our club house which is always well attended.

The Carnival Group is a member of German-American Mardi Gras Association (GAMGA), an umbrella organization for all the carnival groups within the U.S. and Canada. Every year this association holds a big carnival event in Las Vegas, which is attended by approximately 1400 carnival lovers coming from as far as Germany.

We also have other get-togethers with good food and dancing, enjoying each other’s company.

Supporting the great German choral heritage through group singing has been a major activity in the Germania Verein since its inception 150 years ago. The Germania Choir traces its roots back to the early 1900’s, beginning in the form of a men’s choir which can be seen in wonderful old group photos hanging on the upstairs rooms of Germania Hall. The choir history includes some prize-winning appearances in San Francisco in the 1910’s and 1920’s.

In our present form we have been carrying on the best of German classical and folk musical tradition since 1973, when the Germania Women’s Choir and Germania Men’s Choir combined into one choir. The Germania Mixed Choir has been enjoying an especially creative period under the direction of our directress Diana Mayper, a choral music specialist who has been with us for 10 years). With over 30 women and men singers, we have been impressing listeners all around the Bay Area.

Proceed to the Choir Page

The Germania Verein Tanzgruppe (dance group) is always interested in people with any ancestry, not just German, Austrian, Swiss, to join us! Germania Verein is especially family-friendly. The Tanzgruppe welcomes all ages. Regardless if your interests lie with dance, costumes, language, or music, Germania Verein Tanzgruppe will surely have something of interest for you.

If you are interested in joining our club, the first step is to visit us during our monthly rehearsals at our historic clubhouse’s spacious dance floor. Neither prior dance experience nor fluency in the German language is necessary to join us. Prospective members are eligible after three visits to our clubhouse and participation in any of our activities, whether they are social, rehearsal or performances. We want to get to know you all, and for you all to get to know us!

Our dancing activities include: Country Western, Bohemian, Polish & German Polka, Waltz, Schottische, Rheinlander, and Folk Dancing. Our dance section meets monthly, generally on the last Friday of the month, from 8pm until our feet hurt, throughout the year (except July). A social no-host Stammtisch (happy hour) usually follows rehearsal at our Jägerstube (upstairs bar) or at Ludwig’s German Table, our award-winning in-house restaurant. For more information, contact Stephanie Tuma. Auf geht’s!

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The Historical Society of Germania, which grew out of an informal project team. For nearly a year the team managed the effort to prepare a manuscript of historical notes by Maria Brand and to publish and market it as an attractive book.

This Book has been published in 2019 and is available for purchase on Amazon, or contact the board of the Germania Verein for a copy.

Proceed to the Historical Society Page.

The Kaffeeklatsch Group started on July 30, 1923.

The group meets monthly on the second Saturday of the month. Doors open at 11:30. in the downstairs Germania Hall, starting with a potluck lunch.

All Germania member and their friends are welcome 3 times prior to joining or group! Please call 24 hours before attending!

Our goal is to have friendly conversations and exchange of ideas and we play “Bingo”
Our yearly dues include a catered New Years/Winterfest in January!

If you want to join please contact Marianne Grotheer.

The San Jose Germania Schützen Verein was founded in 1992 by Georg Breitling and fourteen charter members. Their purposes for creating the Schützen Verein include honoring the German Schützen tradition, promoting comradeship, developing marksmanship and reinforcing firearms safety through target shooting using air rifles. We look forward to honoring both our founders and current members at our 25th anniversary in 2017.

Each Fall, the Germania Schützen Verein hosts a traditional dinner dance in full uniform splendor, reminiscent of an earlier time. We never miss the opportunity to enjoy food, beverage and comraderie at our monthly meetings and target shootings.

The highlight of our year is the Annual Schützenfest and presentation of our king or queen. Our royalty reigns over our annual King’s Ball, hosts social events including the Summer King’s Party, and represents our Verein at other shooting events. In addition to honoring our king or queen, we recognize our top shooters, the accomplishments of all members, and their important life events.
The Schützen remain very active in supporting the Germania Verein and its many cultural and social functions.

For an evening of conversation in German please join us at the Stammtisch. It is currently an online zoom event. To join the Online Stammtisch  send a request for the meeting link and zoom password to: Ursula 

This is for non native speakers, who want an opportunity to practice speaking German. Topics of conversations are based on the interest of the participant.

You do not have to be a member to attend and find out whether this is of interest and value to you.

This group is for people who know a little/some German and want to improve their German language skills.
Meeting time: Every other Monday starting November 7, 2022 (except summer and winter break) from 7:30pm to 8:30 pm.

Please contact Claudia for the Zoom invitation:

Skat has probably always been played at the Germania! Wherever there is a group of Germans, Skat cards are not far away. At the annual meeting in December 1979, our group officially became a part of the Germania Verein. We are a small, but dedicated and active group. Members have participated in tournaments from Portland to San Francisco, down to Anaheim and San Diego, as well as in Las Vegas and Braunsfeld, Texas. We have participated in World Championships in Anaheim, Las Vegas, Dortmund (Germany), Kitchener (Canada), and even Sydney (Australia). Before that, we played on a Skat Express train through Germany. One of our players even played at the top of the Zugspitze to represent the American team! There is a lot of fun and camaraderie in playing Skat.

If  you want a quick tutorial visit:

https://www.skat-spiel.de/skat-regeln.html

Book Club Activities

  • Book Reading events
  • Buch Club
    Our Book Club meets monthly to discuss contemporary German literature
  • Sterntaler Family Story time – podcast

    Children’s stories are being read. New episodes of our podcast are released weekly: sterntaler.buzzsprout.com
  • Family Game Night
    Throughout the evening clues will be solved together, revealing fun challenges or trivia questions for you to compete in.

Please contact Pamela Sommer director3@germaniaverein.org for Zoom invitations and more information