Excerpts from the American Turners NYC website:

The 1848/49 revolution in Germany brought several thousand political refugees to the United States. Among these refugees were Turners, who soon after their arrival, started to build Turner societies after their German models. These German/American organizations were for the development of physical education as well as vehicles with which German immigrants could continue their cultural endeavors in North America during the 19th century. On June 6, 1850, a group of 36 young men, all German, founded what was then called the Socialistischen Turn Verein. In the fall of 1851, this first New York Turner Society established a school for teaching gymnastics to boys. By 1853 there were ten Turner Societies in the nation. On March 20, 1857 the Society was incorporated by a special act of the State Legislature and its name was changed to “The Turn Verein, in the City of New York,” commonly referred to as the New York Turn Verein (N.Y.T.V.). It operated under this name another 126 years until it merged with Mount Vernon Turners to form the American Turners of New York, Inc. in 1983.

With the start of the Civil War in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln, on April 15, called for 75,000 volunteers for the Union. Within two weeks, the 20th Regiment of New York Volunteers was organized, with 1,200 officers and men, all Turners. The 20th Regiment saw two years of heavy action—Wilderness, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Salem Heights. The State of New York erected a monument commemorating the Regiment’s gallantry and marking the place on the Antietam battlefield where the Turners made a charge. They were the only ones in that battle to be so honored by the State of New York.

One major goal of the Turners after the Civil War was the reformation of the American educational system. In 1868 they sought compulsory school attendance for all children until the age of 14 and devoted themselves to the promotion of German gymnastics in American public schools.

The years following World War 1 saw the development of high-grade gymnasts at the NYTV. Among them were Kurt Rottman and Adolph Zink; both were on the 1924 U.S. Olympic team. Adeline Gehrig, a superb fencer, was also on that team. The 1948 Olympics in London saw Anita Simmonis and Vincent D’Autorio on the gymnastic teams and our distinguished gymnastic instructor, Henry Schroeder, as a gymnastic judge. D’Autorio competed in the 1952 Helsinki games as well as did Ruth Lehle Topalian.

(today) The National American Turners membership approximates 13,000. Its Societies have dropped their political engagement but they still promote not only health and physical education through their programs, but also cultural projects, urging their members “to exercise the right of independent thought and action through the ballot and to follow the dictates of their conscience in religious matters.” Although the American Turners have lost their influence on physical education in public schools, they are very proud to be among the first to have introduced physical education to American public schools.

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