| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
US Regions Keeping Alive Their German Heritage
German-American communities have become woven into the fabric of American life in remarkably different ways. While by no means exhaustive, this section aims to give you a glimpse into how a handful of German-American communities are alive in modern-day America. German heritage Texas style:
New Braunfels, Texas, wears its German heritage on its sleeve. A proud mishmash of both Texas grit and German gemütlichkeit, it was founded by Prussian Prinz Karl of Solms Braunfels on Good Friday in 1845. The prince had been negotiating with authorities to bring German immigrants to the area. New Braunfels, known as the "City of a Prince," had a major impact upon the immediate area as well as opening West Texas to a civilized economy. The many artisans and craftsmen among the 6,000 settlers generated industry and commerce for the entire central Texas area. In addition to economic growth this early colony brought religion, organized public education, and other socioeconomic benefits to the area. But it wasn’t until the 1960’s that New Braunfels began to recognize the value in and actively promote its German heritage. Determined to preserve the remaining German sites in the city, historians set out to revitalize the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, the Ferdinand Lindheimer Home, Conservation Plaza, and the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture, all of which were of vital import to the German community.
Fredericksburg, Texas, as well has pride in German heritage that speaks loudly through its website, which greets visitors with a boisterous “Willkommen!” It holds true to its unofficial motto: blending German heritage and Texan hospitality for over 150 years. Fredericksburg, the county seat of Gillespie County, was founded in 1846 by a small group of settlers on a patch of land surveyed by Prince Karl of New Braunfels. The town was one of a projected series of German settlements from the Texas coast to the land north of the Llano River, which was the ultimate destination of the German immigrants sent to Texas by the Adelsverein, a group of German nobility. The city was named Fredericksburg after Prince Frederick of Prussia, an influential member of the Adelsverein. Each settler of the town received a lot and ten acres of farmland nearby. The town was laid out like the German villages along the Rhine, from which many of the colonists had come, with one long, wide Main Street that ran along Town Creek. The earliest houses in Fredericksburg were built in a humble manner, of post oak logs stuck upright in the ground. These were soon replaced by Fachwerkhäuser, built of upright timbers with the spaces between filled with rocks and then plastered or whitewashed. The bitter experience of the Civil War did nothing but bolster the traditional German determination not to get involved in state and national affairs, which in turn solidified the German community over time. The Germans tried to maintain their independence by steadfastly refusing to learn or use English, an isolationist move that they had given up by 1900. Fredericksburg Pennsylvania Dutch Country: Lancaster
The “dutch” in Pennsylvania Dutch refers not to the people of the Netherlands, but to the German-speaking (“deutsch”) religious sects that first settled in the area nearly three years ago. Today, three groups, the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Brethren still carry out their lives much as they did in centuries past. With a focus on simplicity that belies modern technologies and spurns the modern conveniences most of us rely on, these groups live very family-centered lifestyles outside of mainstream culture. All three groups share the Anabaptist belief that calls on worshippers to make a conscious choice to accept God. They also believe in brotherhood, the authority of the Bible, and the importance of family. The Amish are perhaps the most widely recognized – and widely misunderstood– group of the three. Dressing in the simple, unadorned black clothing of their forebearers, they carry out their daily farming without electricity, cars, motorized equipment, and other modern tools. The Old Order Amish is the strictest of these groups. The Amish have their roots in the Mennonite community, and came to Pennsylvania as part of William Penn’s “holy experiment” of religious tolerance.” The first large group of Amish arrived in Lancaster around 1720. Before fleeing from the mountains of Germany and Switzerland, the Amish had already begun to hold religious services in their homes, to evade persecution by Catholics and Protestants alike. Amish make no images of themselves, seeing photography as an open and unacceptable act of pride. This has made the Lancaster County tourism industry that blossoms around their communities an interesting exercise in local diplomacy. Nevertheless, the Amish are now such a strong pillar of Lancaster county economic life that it is easy to meet Amish by doing business with them or visiting one of the Amish-run stores. German-speakers will be fascinated by the way that the Amish have sustained their use of both their dialect, which is a 19th century dialect said to be similar to Plattdeutsch, English, which is used for business, and high German, which is taught in schools and used in religious services. The “German Athens:” Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The government of Wisconsin played an active role in attracting German immigrants to the state. In 1852, Wisconsin established a Commission of Immigration with a resident commissioner in New York whose duty it was to distribute pamphlets extolling Wisconsin's attributes. Disbanded in 1855, it was re-established in 1867 during the second great wave of German immigration. But the greatest motivation for German settlers was the firsthand accounts of friends and family members who attested to the quality of their new lives in the state, where land was relatively easy to come by and the German community had firmly established itself. German organizations and clubs were instrumental in creating a German consciousness in Wisconsin. Much of German social life revolved around the many musical and athletic societies, freedom of thought organizations, horticultural societies, cultural clubs, socialist groups, and religious organizations. A strong German-language press and the informal institution of the beer hall also played key roles in keeping with the traditions of the homeland while assimilating to their new home. All of these gave Milwaukee the nickname “the German Athens.” One of these was the Turnverein, or Turner Society, a group suppressed by then prince Metternich of Austria because it focused on an atmosphere of congenial, lively debate. The Turners, who were primarily gymnasts but also interested in disseminating political theory, became active in many German-American communities. Milwaukee’s Turnverein is perhaps the most famous. Today, Milwaukee citizens play an active part in revitalizing and celebrating German culture in their city. Milwaukee is now home to the largest German Fest in the United States, in its 25th year in 2005.
The simple life: Amana Colonies, Iowa
In 1842, following a 40-day journey across the Atlantic from German, Christian Metz, along with several companions, landed in New York City with the intention of finding a suitable home for the 800 members of the Community of True Inspiration (CTI). A religious society, the CTI sought to evade intolerance and religious persecution in Germany by establishing a communal home in America. After a short period in Buffalo, they moved to Iowa, a new state abundant with farmland, and created the Amana Colonies – seven villages on 26,000 acres in the Iowa River Valley. They were laid out in classic old-world village style, with each having room for barns and sheds, factories, workshops, orchards, vineyards, gardens, a church, a school, a bakery, a dairy, a post office, and a general store. The Amana colonists were skilled German and Swiss craftspeople who created everything for communal use, including the food made in great communal kitchens which served everyone in the village each day. They practiced a highly successful form of communism, which had little to do with communist philosophy, and much to do with being free to practice the religion they held dear. Capitalism also played a role for the Amanas, as the communities became the first to own factories in Iowa and established themselves as premier manufacturers of textile goods. “The Great Change,” or the abandonment of the communal lifestyle, came in 1932, when the villagers decided to fully adopt the free enterprise system. Today, the people of the Amana colonies retain the old world atmosphere of their villages’ past and continue the hand working traditions of their fore bearers, welcoming more than 1.5 million tourists a year.
From “Kleindeutschland” to a re-emerging cultural scene: New York City
New York City and Ellis Island have served as the gateway to the United States for millions of Germans. In New York, Germans lived in enclaves alongside Italians, French, Irish, Polish, and many other ethnicities. Each year, the city’s annual Steuben Parade in September attracts thousands to Fifth Avenue in a celebration of German-American heritage. The parade ushers in the city’s German-American friendship week, an event that highlights the strong ties between the United States and Germany. Germans have always been a part of the social fabric of New York, but the German-American community there took its hardest hit on June 15, 1904, when 1,300 tourists, many of them woman and children from what was then called "Kleindeutschland" ("Little Germany") on the lower East Side of Manhattan, boarded the General Slocum steamboat for a daytrip along the East River. A fire broke out below deck just as the ship reached 90th Street and quickly spread to the upper decks. The ship sank, and more than 1,000 people drowned. For the German-American community in "Little Germany" the effects were devastating. Because so many in the 800,000-strong community knew someone who was a victim of the tragedy, it was if a dark cloud had settled upon that part of Manhattan, which had been a haven for German immigrants since the 1840's. A mass exodus began that saw many of these immigrants relocate to Yorkville on the Upper West Side. Although “Kleindeutschland” on the lower East Side has all but disappeared and Yorktown now has little particularly German flavor, New York City is still a bustling cultural center for all things German. In response to the growing interest in a re-emerging New York German culture, a new non-profit organization, Germany in NYC, has put together a website to direct people to events and festivals of today’s German community. These days, cold German draft beers stand alongside swanky Rieslings, hardcore rock bands beside oompah and schuhplattler. German film festivals and exhibitions, as well as traditional German food have again made the German-American community a vibrant and recognizable part of New York City life. One of the most appreciated cultural events is the Museum of Modern Art’s annual showcase of New German Film, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2003.
American Oktoberfest: Cincinnati, Ohio According to the 2000 census, more than four in 10 Ohioans claim German ancestry. But go to Cincinnati, known to the German-American community as Zincinnati, and the proportion rises to one half. Along with Milwaukee and St. Louis, Cincinnati forms part of the “German triangle” of German-Americana. What began in 1788 with the arrival of Major Benjamin Steitz (Stites) and Matthias Denmann and continued with the Danube Swabian immigration of the 1950's, flourishes today as a vibrant pride in German-American heritage. Cincinnati boasts more than 20 German-American societies, a bilingual school, a German language newspaper, a sprawling May festival, and the largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich, Cincinnati’s sister city. The “elbow” formed by the Miami and Erie Canal, nicknamed the “Rhine,” now forms the Central Parkway, the spine of the city that splits the city in half. The area known today as “over-the-Rhine” was once the German district. Of all the buildings in Over-the-Rhine, the one that expresses the German-American love for culture and learning and the arts is the Germania building, with a statue of a women who embodies Germany, with books, a globe, and a palette at her feet. During the Anti-German sentiment of World War I, she was renamed “Columbia” and draped with a black cape. But the most impressive embodiment of German culture in Cincinnati, is by far, its annual Oktoberfest, where 80,500 bratwurst, 64,000 sauerkraut balls, 56,000 sausages, and 24,000 potato pancakes are consumed each year.
|
|
 
Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
