The Americans

Stories of Slovak emigration that must not go unheard. Some of the stories remind us how precious the word "new beginning" can be, which some 600,000 people attempted in our greatest emigration wave at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The stories of emigration are a painful testimony to our past, but also a testimony to incredible strength and resilience. The audiobook Amerikáni creates a historically faithful picture of Slovak immigrants in Pittsburgh at the beginning of the 20th century, bringing to life what immigrants had to sacrifice in order to win a decent life in America - and not to become just an anonymous mass without a voice. But it also shows what they have gained. They founded societies, churches, newspapers, trade unions. They have not only survived the daily drudgery in the factories, the many pitfalls of integration, but they have also proved that identity is not only born from origin, but mainly from perseverance and the courage to stand up for yourself - even when circumstances are against you. The year is 1913, and Pittsburgh's South Side is turning into a small "New Slovakia". Young Andy also comes here, together with the Jewish musician Loli, whose life he once saved in Auschwitz. But America is not a fairy tale: in the Jones & Laughlin steel mills, there is harshness, bullying and blackmail, especially from Irish foremen who see immigrants as cheap labour. Until one event triggers an avalanche that changes the fate of an entire community - the legend of the Slovak immigrant mafia and a working-class hero named Joe Magarac is born.