Named in 1959 after Freiburg (technically Freiburg im Breisgau), Germany. Whittier’s association with Freiburg began in 1947 when various local organizations banded together to send the Black Forest city baby formula and food, as well as clothing and other supplies, after World War II. The American Friends Service Committee, a pacifist charity founded by Quakers, recommended aiding German cities in the French occupation zone as they had been hit particularly hard by bombs, famine, and drought. Locals allegedly selected Freiburg because, like Whittier, it was a university town in the foothills. Freiburg was soon known as Whittier’s “sister city” – that was noteworthy, as the official “Sister Cities” initiative, pairing American municipalities with others around the globe, wouldn’t be launched until 1956. (See Torrance’s Kashiwa Street for some background.) Ironically, despite years of friendly contact and exchange, the sister city relationship between Whittier and Freiburg was never formalized. Attempts were made in 1987 but Madison, WI had already beat Whittier to the punch.
Find it on the map:
