german americans ww1

They also harassed anyone who opposed the war, especially those of German stock, but also socialists, pacifists, and conscientious objectors. German Americans (German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States of German ancestry; they form the largest ethnic ancestry group in the United States, accounting for 17% of U.S. population. New laws restricting the rights of speech, publication, and trade were passed shortly after America’s entry into the war. German-Americans included “Germans” who had emigrated from various German-speaking territories prior to their official political unification in the German Empire of 1871, Reichsdeutsche immigrants, ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe, as well as members of religious groups with distinct identities, such as Mennonites. . [17] Public and university libraries ended their subscriptions to German-language newspapers, books written in German and even English books that dealt with Germany and Austria-Hungary (such as history books or tourist guides) were stowed in basements for the duration of the war. Some of these attacks were planned, financed, and carried out by officials from the German Foreign Office, while others resulted from private initiatives. Berlin and Vienna also called on emigrant workers from Germany and Austria-Hungary to stop producing goods for the Allies. Spending cuts and tax hikes, put into effect by emergency decree, had the result of increasing unemployment in Germany by 2.1 million. The same was true for most cultural societies. There was less harassment in places where there were few citizens of German descent, since they were not perceived as a real threat. German-Americans often worshipped in churches where German was used. [29] Wüstenbecker,Deutsch-Amerikaner im Ersten Weltkrieg, 286-89. However, when politicians and officials decided to use the situation to advance their careers, they were often able to incite a community to hatred against anyone who appeared to dissent – just as Joseph McCarthy did thirty years later. In doing so, they were often responding to ultimatums such as this: “Our love for America should not tolerate anything which is German ahead of anything which is American and we will not tolerate it. In 1915, 25% of all high school students in the US studied German. The first significant numbers arrived in the 1680s in New York and Pennsylvania.Some eight million German immigrants have entered the United States since that point. See also J.E. Thereafter, many – if not most – Americans identified German Kultur with destruction and barbarism, and they regarded Germans as “uncivilized brutes” and “Huns,” a term used by the Kaiser himself in a 1900 speech in which he instructed departing German troops to be as menacing and ruthless as “Huns.”, In 1915-16, several groups (among them German-Americans, but also pacifists and socialists) tried to keep the United States out of the war by demanding an embargo on munitions shipments to all belligerents. On March 28, 1918, an amendment to the Trading with the Enemy Act was passed. The vast majority of German-Americans, however, were loyal to their (adopted) country and did not understand why they – more than anyone else – had to prove something that was a matter of fact to them. Americans would immediately return fire, bring a punishing rain of artillery or air power on top of whatever they were fighting, and move to counterattack as soon as the rain of death ended. Others, like German Catholics and Lutherans, believed that the preservation of their faith depended on maintaining German language and … Although they were regarded as a model of successful assimilation, they faced vicious—and sometimes violent—attacks on their loyalty when the United States went to war against Germany in 1917. World War I had a devastating effect on German-Americans and their cultural heritage. . Fort Douglas in Utah was used for approximately 500 prisoners of war, but soon also included more than 800 “alien enemies” and about 200 American conscientious objectors. German Americans were highly assimilated, and the use of German in the United States had declined dramatically. Ever since the Colonial Era, America had welcomed German immigrants and regarded them highly. The more liberal congregations chose the first option and worked out a compromise with the Wilson government in which they allowed their young men to participate in the civil service. At once, German ancestry became a liability. They suggested “liberty cabbage” or “pickled vegetable” as more suitable names. [5] Thomas A. Bailey, “The Sinking of the Lusitania,” American Historical Review 41.1 (1935): 54-73. While today German-Americans are recognized as an important part of American society, there was a point in history in which Americans of German descent and German culture in the United States was very much under attack. Despite their differences, most Germans had one thing in common – a love for and an ongoing commitment to the German language. Film By: Elizabeth Arredondo DESCRIPTION: This is a very interesting badge featuring the 1813 Iron Cross in its center. With European entrance into the war, most citizens of the United States, German Americans included, supported neutrality. World War I saw the German immigrants assimilated into the American culture, and become German Americans. A Philadelphia German- language newspaper was the first to report the Declaration of Independence. Credit: Chicago History Museum/Archive Photos/Getty Images, June 1915, London, England. [8], The instant mobilization of the country became a matter of priority for the Wilson administration. Von der Reichsgründung bis zur Sequestrierung (Stuttgart: In Kommission bei Klett-Cotta, 1982), 293-94. Most well-known orchestras had conductors and musicians who were either German or German-American, such as Frederick Stock of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ernst Kunwald of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, or Karl Muck, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (who ended up in Fort Oglethorpe), to name only the most prominent. Some Germans assimilated quickly. In restaurants, sauerkraut became liberty cabbage; hamburgers, liberty patties. (Stanford University, 1937), 33-34. American officials had little trouble finding Horn, as he had changed into his German army uniform in order to claim to the neutral Americans he was a soldier not a spy. For these new Americans, life during the war would prove difficult as they were repeatedly asked to prove their allegiance to their new country. Immigrants from other nations were quick to identify their nativity, assuring the neighbors that they were not German. All current values (in 2011 USD) are based on Samuel H. Williamson, “Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to present,” MeasuringWorth, using the Consumer Price Index. [7] John Carver Edwards, Patriots in Pinstripe: Men of the National Security League (Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1982). The bank changed its name to the American Exchange Bank. By the outbreak of WWI, a majority of these German immigrants prospered in America. German companies were world leaders in the development and production of dyestuffs and medicinals, and now American companies were able to use their competitors' techniques and knowledge without having to compensate them. When, in 1915, loans were needed to support the war efforts on the part of the Germans… It was the most studied modern foreign language in the country. Starting in 1871, as a unified Germany became a more dominant power in European politics, the relationship encountered some frictions as a result of naval and economic rivalries. Unfortunately, Wilhelm and Heinrich’s efforts were to no avail. [27] Wisconsin State Journal (January 12, 1918). Another prominent person who spoke out against Americans with purported divided loyalties was former President Theodore Roosevelt, whose verbal attacks were often published in the nation's newspapers. [13] Donald Hickey, “The Prager Affair: A Study in Wartime Hysteria,” Journal of the Illinois Historical Society 62 (1969): 117-34. President Wilson appointed journalist George Creel to head the newly created Committee on Public Information (CPI), which was tasked with strengthening the war effort by rallying the public behind the government through speeches, posters, films, and door-to-door campaigns. Most of their fellow Americans shared this attitude, along with President Woodrow Wilson, who immediately declared the country's neutrality. Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com. He forced every German-American to get fingerprinted and registered and sent them into camps across the country, locked in like prisoners of war. The flagship case was the Mockett Law in Nebraska, which anti-German … German-Americans wielded strong economic and cultural influence in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, with the latter three forming the so-called German triangle. That was to be expected, given their regional, political, and religious diversity. But as tensions mounted in the 1930s, leading up to World War II, German Americans once again found themselves under the microscope. In the telegram, Zimmermann, writing on behalf of Germany, offered the Mexican government their lost territories in the American southwest in return for an alliance in the event of an American declaration of war. Faction: The German ArmyThe First World WarGermany was recognised as having the most efficient army in the world. This was especially true in rural areas, where churches were the center of cultural and communal life. They farmed in the Midwest, but also became urban workers. Actual legislation or local pressure led to changes in club names, the halting of publications (or at least a switch to English), an end to meetings for the duration of the war or even the outright termination of clubs. Many Americans charged German-Americans with divided loyalties or insufficient patriotism unless they proved their “innocence” by contributing generously to patriotic causes. The investigation soon revealed that Horn’s paymaster was Franz von Papen, a former military attendant to Kaiser Wilhelm II and military attaché in Washington, D.C., who had returned to the United States in 1914. German immigrants faced prejudice in all Allied nations. Still, only a few congressmen supported Senator William Borah (R-Idaho) when he spoke out against these measures, arguing: “It is not necessary to Prussianize ourselves in order to destroy Prussianism in Europe.”[11] In fact, the laws on the punishment of verbal criticism were even stricter than those in autocratic countries such as Russia, and they contravened all civil rights guaranteed in the constitution in an unprecedented way. Subsequently, in the September 1930 elections, the Nazi party polled 6.5 million votes, or 18.3% of the vote. Life in the United States, 1914-1918 (New York: Kodansha International, 1996), 436. 1987 - German-American Day was established by Congressional resolution and presidential proclamation. Internment camps were set up across the United States, where German POWs and sympathizers alike were held. [17] I.N. Ambassador James Gerard that there were approximately 500,000 German reservists in the United States who could easily be called upon to fight. Even though they were being attacked for alleged disloyalty from both Democrats and Republicans, German-Americans voted as they always had – not as an ethnic bloc, as some politicians had hoped, but in accordance with their previous political allegiances, just like the rest of the country. German Americans are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. It was rumored that spies were poisoning food, and that German-Americans were secretly hording arms. [3] By 1913, America’s share of international trade had reached 11 percent, putting the country in third place behind Great Britain (15%) and Germany (13%). Under Kaiser (or Emperor) Wilhelm II, Germany had developed a militaristic reputation, and, to make matters worse, the United States and Germany had already been embroiled in a confrontation over the Philippines in 1898. Its agents submitted their own accounts to German-language newspapers and sponsored the founding of the journal “The Fatherland,” which became the mouthpiece of the German government. Their investments and possessions were preserved unharmed until the end of the war. Reports that German soldiers had committed atrocities against Belgian civilians circulated widely and gave rise to anti-German sentiment in the United States. James W. Gerard, My Four Years in Germany (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1917), 237. American banks recalled money from Europe, and cancelled the loans that made it possible for Germany to pay reparations. [23] Nagler, Nationale Minoritäten, 455-60. Crown Prince Heinrich and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in New York, February 25, 1902. No other immigrant group founded so many different societies: there were specific occupational groups, shooting clubs, singing groups, literary associations, and gymnastic clubs, as well as societies for Germans from particular regions, to name just a few. They had to disclose their bank accounts and any other property to an Alien Property Custodian appointed by the attorney general. The Wilson administration, however, argued that wartime contracts with participating nations were still within the scope of American neutrality. Members not only attended weekly meetings, but also participated in weekend activities and charitable events. [6], The year 1916 saw the growth of the preparedness campaign. Anti-German Violence in World War I-era Wisconsin. [10] Stephen Vaughn, Holding Fast the Inner Lines: Democracy, Nationalism, and the Committee on Public Information (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1980). This project is sponsored by the Transatlantic Program of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through funds of the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The most notorious case of mob action was the lynching of Robert Prager in Illinois in April 1918. Likewise, there were fewer arrests of German-Americans and less scrutiny in places where local politicians and lawyers resolved not to enforce laws to the fullest. Many local German-American businessmen were fortunate to have loyal customers who continued buying their products throughout the war. Disclaimer: Visitor traffic is tracked using Google Analytics, © 2010 - 2020 German Historical Institute |, http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/german-americans-during-world-war-i/, American Reactions to the Outbreak of War in Europe, The Effect of Anti-German Sentiment on German-American Cultural Identity, German-American Entrepreneurs during the War, Alien Property Custodian A. Mitchell Palmer, German Immigrants in the United States Brewing Industry, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918. Although German immigrants had begun settling in America during the colonial period, the vast majority of them (more than five million) arrived in the nineteenth century. Ph.D diss. [2] Kathleen Neils Conzen, “Germans,” in The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, ed. Once the United States entered the war, German-Americans found themselves in a “no win” situation: if they told anyone that they opposed the war, they could face trial; if they avoided the topic altogether, they were considered “lukewarm” patriots. German-Americans also held patriotic meetings in cities such as New York and Chicago and collected for war relief funds. Darrell miller German Americans in WWI 1. Not long after the outbreak of World War I, Americans started to view the conflict as a war of ideology: the Allies were portrayed as defending “civilization,” the Axis Powers were seen as asserting their “cultural superiority.” This fateful equation of German culture with military might soon proved disastrous for German-Americans. Additionally, German societies, musical organizations, and theaters were shuttered and the German-language press in America was forced to shut down. In the years leading up to and during World War I, the US experienced a wave of anti-German sentiment, fueled by superpatriotism and xenophobia, that resulted in open … When the United States entered the war in 1917, some German Americans were looked upon with suspicion and attacked regarding their loyalty. In order to mobilize Americans behind the war effort, so-called patriotic organizations and the federal government alike employed anti-German propaganda. Although many of them strongly sympathized with their relatives in the old “Fatherland,” they identified firstly as Americans and thus wanted to stay out of the war. [18] Gerlof D. Homan, “Mennonites and Military Justice in World WarI,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 66.3 (1992): 365-75. Many employers received anonymous telephone calls asking whether they still employed German-American “spies” (i.e. By 1914, the vast majority of German-Americans were American-born … [11] Cited in Edward Robb Ellis, Echoes of Distant Thunder. From that point on, any criticism of the government, the draft, or any aspect of the war could be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to twenty years. [21] Annual Report of the Attorney General, here: the report for 1918 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1916-22): 32. [18] In times of frantic mobilization, when the German language was as much an enemy as Imperial Germany itself and when war opponents were seen as traitors, there was no room for tolerance for ethnic peculiarities and pacifist ideals. Mitchell Palmer, however, was more concerned about possible German shares in U.S. companies. They also got a new nickname. [28] Other so-called German products were renamed as well – for example, “hamburgers” were now called “liberty sandwiches,” and the “Bismarck pastry” was renamed “American beauty.” When it became clear that the aversion to all things German even encompassed German shepherds and dachshunds, breeders renamed them “Alsatian shepherds” and “liberty pups,” respectively. For the duration of the war, “alien enemies” needed a permit to withdraw or transfer money from their accounts. [4], In May 1915, the Lusitania, a British passenger steamer, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the Irish coast, resulting in the loss of nearly 1,200 lives, including 124 Americans. Before long, however, the news from Europe began to divide the country. Additionally, after the passage of the act, all German citizens had to disclose any other property to Alien Property Custodian A. Mitchell Palmer. Furthermore, in 1918, Germans had to fill out registration affidavits and be fingerprinted. Unwilling to fight in Europe, American voters narrowly reelected President Wilson, who had campaigned under the slogan “he kept us out of war.”. What they did do, however, was expand the scope of anti-German sentiment to encompass not only German nationals, but also German-Americans, who were now viewed as potential spies and saboteurs. The Food Board concurred and the product was henceforth sold as “liberty cabbage.” This led to an immediate rise in sales, since consumers no longer felt that it was unpatriotic to buy it. In accordance with the popular slogan “If you can't fight over there, fight over here,” members of patriotic societies made certain that everybody in their neighborhood contributed to the war effort. The aversion to German names was not limited to persons and companies, however. Many had settled in German communities, but with a government looking for proof of patriotic devotion, they were now expected to buy war bonds, sing the national anthem, and publicly renounce their native country. Some Americans even feared that these immigrant populations would make trouble and slow the war effort, triggering a wave of anti-German sentiment. Even those who fully embraced patriotic activities were often suspected of being hypocrites who were hiding their “true” feelings. They abandoned their culture when they were targeted, at first by force, then by their own decision. As a result, German-Americans attempted to shed the vestiges of their heritage and become fully “American.” Among other outcomes, this process hastened their assimilation into American society and put an end to many German-language and cultural institutions in the United States. In Chicago, the situation grew even worse on May 1, 1918, when the city council withdrew trade licenses from all non-naturalized persons of any nationality, leaving more than 6,000 craftsmen, shopkeepers, pub owners and other businesspeople (and their workers) unemployed. President Wilson barred all German-Americans from living near military facilities, airports, port towns, or the capitol. None of them felt any loyalty toward Germany; they just wanted to be left alone to practice their faith and live according to their religious beliefs. (Ironically, they had once left Europe to evade military service and find religious tolerance.) And while … Still, it was not enough to combat an anti-German sentiment that had been growing in the U.S. for two decades. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980), 405-25, here: 417. Bigger companies were often asked to make office space available so that members of patriotic organizations could work directly on their premises and keep an eye on employees. Several members of these religious groups were beaten, churches were destroyed, their cattle was sold in order to buy liberty bonds in their names, and American flags were hoisted on their schools. In fact, as late as 1910, about nine percent of the American population had been born in Germany or was of German parentage – the highest percentage of any ethnic group. [12] The laws were passed in part to stem individual acts of vigilantism, which in the past had led to lynchings, beatings, and the tarring and featherings of war opponents. Even the “German measles” needed a more patriotic name, and the malady was thus renamed “liberty measles.”[29]. They demanded compulsory military training at schools, the end of foreign-language instruction, and “100 percent Americanism”: a slogan that was shorthand for patriotism, loyalty, and unwavering support for the government. They could live on city streets or in towns with German names. According to the 1910 U.S. census, more than 10 million immigrants from the Central Powers were living in the United States. They were told to stop advertising in allegedly disloyal newspapers, to hoist the American flag on their buildings, and to make sure that their employees contributed to liberty loan campaigns – even if that meant threatening them with unemployment. [22] See The New York Times, March 23, 1918, 6. Ohio, Iowa, and Nebraska passed the strictest language laws in the country; since their laws also prohibited the use of any foreign language in public places or on the telephone, the U.S. Supreme Court declared them to be unconstitutional in 1923 and 1925, respectively. 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