Cultural Identity Project: German-American

Liberty University Online
PACO 504

European ethnic groups began immigrating into America during the colonial period and immigration continues to this day. As each European culture assimilated to the English American culture immigrants intermarried and developed a so-called “melting pot” or “salad bowl” of culture, traditions, and values (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 389). German people, as they made their way to a land of freedom and promise, experienced a constant change in their identity with regard to the cultures, values, beliefs, and traditions that some German Americans continue to practice today. As each culture or ethnic group becomes assimilated or acculturated many of their initial cultural qualities are lost and replaced with new ones. Hays & Erford (2014, p.386) assert that acculturation can be considered as bidirectional in that the individuals encountered from both or multiple ethnic groups may experience changes in their primary set of cultural variables based on their interactions with each other. Acculturation and assimilation have certainly occurred with the German American.
Brief German History Germany was a fragmented society and full of conflict before 1871. It was made up of approximately three hundred and fifty principalities and one thousand small nation-states until Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor. His reign led to the unification of the German Empire (Amato, 2006). Millions of people from various cultures immigrated into the United States, the country for the oppressed, for many reasons. Some of these reasons for this immigration included overpopulation, unemployment, hunger and crop failure, political oppression, racial persecution, religious freedom, and war. Many had heard of the “American Dream” which was the nation’s stated ideals of liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness and they felt a strong pull to pursue their own dreams (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 389). It is important to note that Germany was not even a country until after 1871 so many of the emigrant Germans did not understand Germany as a nation by itself as they came from nation-states (Baker, Benson, Outman, Valentine, Matuz, 2004).
Immigration into the United States
During the 1800’s in America the German contingent was the largest as confirmed through the 1900 census, where approximately 57.9% claimed to be of German ancestry or ethnic origin (Adams, 1990). This 1900 census indicated that German Americans comprised a very large segment of American ethnic ancestry; yet, today the German public expression is hard to see due to acculturation (Holli, 1985). Baker, et al (2004) reported that in 2000, people of German descent comprised the largest nationality or ethnic group in the United States. Baker’s report on German immigration gives the following information: in the 2000 U.S. Census, 46.5 million people, or 15.2 percent of the population, claimed German ancestry and roughly seven million Germans have immigrated to North America since the eighteenth century (Baker, et al, 2004).
German immigration actually began during the colonial period with between sixty-five thousand and one hundred thousand people settling in areas like Germantown, Pennsylvania. By the end of the 1700’s, the American colonies had roughly three hundred and sixty thousand German immigrants (Baker, et al, 2004). European mass migration began after the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the German population immigrated mostly due to crop failures around 1816 (Adams,1990). The peak of German immigration came in the year 1854 when more than two hundred twenty thousand arriving Germans were registered in American ports. These Germans emigrated due to a failed revolution and political unrest (Hays & Erford, 2014, p, 385). They were prototypes of the well-educated, liberal, and radically democratic German-Americans who lived in the United States during the peak of immigration in the late 1800’s. As the Germans immigrated, they formed neighborhoods with other Germans where they felt at home. Because of crop failure, the potato famine, and widespread economic troubles, they preferred to head to an area where they could get reasonably priced farmland and be near German-speaking churches and schools. Farmers searched out land that reminded them of the “fatherland” and settled in the farming belt of the American Midwest in states such as Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota (Lehman, 2000). According to Hays & Erford (2014) many German immigrants also settled in Philadelphia and other Midwestern cities in Illinois and Wisconsin (p. 385). Germans who came to Chicago after 1850 were skilled workers and craftsmen.
Religion of Germans and German American Religion

A native German, Bernstein (2004, p. 81) reports that Germany has become a largely secular country, but Christianity remains tied to its German culture and history. Today there are three primary religious groups: Christianity, with which 65 percent of the population identify, a growing Jewish population and a large Muslim population. Christianity in Germany is composed of Catholics, Protestants, and Greek Orthodox. Even though the Christian population identifies with the Christian faith, many do so primarily out of tradition. According to Bernstein (2004) Christmas Eve is the only day that church attendance increases (p. 84). From his research he reports 44% of all Germans consider themselves religious; however, they pick and choose the features of the church with which they agree. Believing that religion is important they lean on the church to provide services of baptisms, marriages and funerals.
In America, the German speaking churches continued with the old traditions, rituals, and customs. Most German immigrants worshiped in the Catholic, Lutheran, or Reformed churches. Parochial schools were supported by these churches and served the congregation. Community gatherings were generally held in the church. The strong connection to heritage and ancestry keeps many German Americans involved in these denominations today although religion has become more diverse among this ethnic population. German immigrants also included German Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians, Pietists, Jews and Free Thinkers (Adams, 1993).
German Language and American Schools The German language has had an obvious influence in the United States. Words such as: kindergarten, hamburger, sauerkraut, delicatessen, wiener, haversack, bagel, and dachshund are now commonly used. From 1850-1870 German was the second most widely used language spoken in America after English (Lehman, 2000). The fear of losing their native language began to concern many German Americans and they began to push for laws to ensure their language and traditions were valued.
German Americans were intent on having their children educated well, but educated with the additional knowledge of the various German military, cultural, and educational contributions along with the elements of their new culture. Langer (2008, p. 507), reports that in 1900, the German language was taught to six hundred thousand students in five thousand American schools and consequently, many German teachers came to America to support the local German-American communities.
Since keeping their culture was very important, the German people began to feel a need to act politically to keep the language vital for their children in schools. Laws were passed in states like Indiana in 1869 to ensure the German language would be included in the curriculum (Ramsey, 2002). States like Missouri who had no foreign language laws included German naturally into their curriculum, and by 1900 over two hundred public elementary schools offered German language instruction throughout the country (Ramsey, 2002). Even though the United States school systems presented educational material to German children, it contained concepts of Christianity, life in Germany, and life in America (Langer, 2008, p. 511). The intent was to assimilate German student’s identities by bringing them up as modern Americans with a German history. School books were later printed for descendants of German-Americans who no longer spoke German, but wished to learn German as an academic subject. The German grammar school textbooks printed in the late nineteenth century included important aspects of the ethnic heritage of recent immigrants and the cultural knowledge of their new German identity in America.
The American-German did not assimilate in a quick fashion due to the tight-knit German communities around the country. They had their needs met through their communities and had little social connection to other Americans or to other immigrants from other countries. This reinforced their use of the German language and other customs. After the World Wars, German people began to lose their cultural identification at a rapid pace. The fear and stigma of being linked to the atrocities in Germany and Europe was the major influence for this. According to Hays & Erford (2014, p. 394), Americans of German descent would often hide or deny their ethnic heritage. The events in Germany during World War 11 “brought about a very high cultural rejection of exerting power and words like authority, respect, obedience, hero, or power had emotionally negative connotations” (Giesekus, 2014, p.165).
In America today there are pockets of German communities in America such as Herman in Missouri, Frankenmuth in Michigan, and the Amana Colonies in Iowa as well as many other locations. Celebrating German culture is now more acceptable through parades, ethnic food, and traditions. The assimilation of the German American has been a positive process in this regard as German-American students relate to the culture in which they live.
Employment
The dream for most German immigrants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was to own a debt free farm (Adams, 1993). Many times they bought additional land for siblings and children in an attempt to farm as families for generations. An interview from a German American relative, M. D. Fuerniss (personal communication, May 3, 2015), confirms the family farm from nearly one hundred and forty years ago is still in continuous operational condition in Delmont, South Dakota to this day. Her German ancestor purchased a vast amount of acreage and his descendants have been working the land since 1878. She is quoted as saying, “The family came originally to Fair Play, Wisconsin to open a brewery. Some tired of that profession and wanted to return to farming. With the money they earned from working in the brewery, they later moved to South Dakota and purchased that farm” (M.D. Fuerniss, personal communication, May 3, 2015).
These farmers found great success in America, but other German immigrants brought other skills. Skilled craftsmen composed the largest group of German immigrants with a quarter of the immigrants registered as common laborers and a quarter listed as farmers according to the census from 1870 Chicago (Adams, 1993). In urban and rural areas alike, German shopkeepers, and businessmen were abundant and other German Americans worked as blacksmiths, tailors, butchers, typesetters and printers. Occupations almost exclusively filled by Germans during that time were brewers, distillery workers, watchmakers, and land surveyors. Often women became domestic servants, but few worked outside the home as they contributed to running the family farm (Adams, 1993).
Politics
German Americans have had the reputation of being staunch Republicans before the Civil War according to many scholars (Anderson, 2008). Although Midwestern cities such as Cincinnati and Milwaukee had large German Democratic populations during the Civil War, cities such as St. Louis, Missouri remained radically Republican. This Republican affiliation was because so many Germans opposed slavery. After the war unaddressed economic concerns caused many Germans to abandon the Republican Party. Across the country three issues concerned the German American in politics: leisure-time consumption of alcohol, allowance of beer gardens to remain open on Sunday, and German instruction in schools (Adams, 1993). They viewed these legal limitations as discriminatory over their personal lives. In the 1930’s the Democratic Party opposed the Prohibition movement and for German Americans the more geographically isolated the election district was the more Democratic the vote became (Adams, 1993).
Discrimination Experiences
When Germans began their migration to America they were hopeful. They had a mindset of obtaining freedom and prosperity. Due to the influx of German immigrants, many were targeted as being “foreign therefore, dangerous” so other residents determined to stay away from social situations where there might be a German present (Baker, et al, 2015). They had many differences for which the other settlers could not understand: language, religious and political beliefs, customs, and cultural traditions. During World War I, America experienced a rise in strong anti-German sentiment followed closely by another wave of unrest for the German American during World War II. After World War I, German Americans began the earnest effort to blend in by changing their German names and suspending their German festivals (Baker, et al, 2015). Although not as many Germans were interred in camps like the Japanese Americans, they still had a difficult time and many were mistreated and even killed. The freedoms and rights of thousands of citizens were restricted during this time and they were often labeled as enemy aliens and were required to carry identification cards. Travel was restricted and property either searched or seized.
These areas of discrimination added to the identity crisis of German Americans. More recent events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and the unification of East and West Germany have caused today’s current Germans to question their identity. According to Anton (2010) the Nazi past is still an open wound for the German people. The author points out that many attempts have been made by the contemporary German government to acknowledge the country’s political and moral obligation to the victims of National Socialism and to apologize to their surviving families (Anton, 2010). The European German people are experiencing identity confusion today, but the German American has largely experienced assimilation.
Contributions/Cultural Traditions Many stereotypes surround German culture. Germans are often viewed as large beer-guzzling, stoic people. Although beer production was certainly part of their culture and they did drink beer, many Germans were farmers, bakers, musicians, and merchants (Lehman, 2000). Germans do tend to be stoic or emotionally reserved, but many are jolly with a large desire to socialize. Clubs, groups, and societies were formed in many German cities (called “Little Germanies”) and old German traditions were celebrated. In an effort to promote “down home” nostalgic feelings, Germans became involved in singing societies, theater clubs, and Free Mason lodges. All of these activities helped build a bridge between the German and the American (Adams, 1993).
Recognition of the Germans’ contributions to the arts and science is seen all over the world. German contributions have been the base for many of the American Christmas traditions including gift giving, the Christmas tree, and respect of family and ancestors. Famous immigrants or children of immigrants include Albert Einstein, the famous physics and atomic scientist, and sports heroes such as Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Erik Erikson and Carl Jung were well known Germans in the field of psychoanalysis and then there were brilliant German musicians which include Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Von Beethoven, and Georg Handel to name a few (Lehman, 2000).
Today, German Americans are beginning to embrace the cultural heritage from their past ancestry. German American Day, October 6, was officially proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 (Baker, et al, 2004). This is the day that Germantown, Pennsylvania was founded in 1683. Octoberfests and other cultural festivals promote German American heritage traditions for all people whether they are German or not German. The popular Steuben Day Parade is held during the middle of September in large cities like Chicago and New York City as well as in a variety of small towns nationwide. This parade commemorates the German general Baron Friedrich von Steuben who came to the aid of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The parade features German music, dancing, costumes, and floats.
Identity of German Americans today and Assimilation In summarizing the German American identity it is appropriate to say that the German-American identity is a paradox. According to J. Amato (2006) who reviewed a book written by Russel Kazal entitled, “Becoming Old Stock, The Paradox of German American Identity,” Germans took up an identity as “white ethnics” after the World Wars declaring their expressed solidarity with fellow Italians, Irish and others. Today, most people who are of German descent and live in America are unclear about their identity due to the level of assimilation. Assimilation takes time before it is visible. It may take many generations to complete or may be completed in a decade through one generation. Factors such as immigrants’ attitudes toward change and their adaptation to those changes as well as the integration into the current population’s views regarding politics, economy, and society determine the time frame of assimilation.
In the United States today it is common for persons to claim they are from this country or that country even if they were born in America. The beliefs and customs of one’s ancestors are often still practiced in the home on special occasions, but many do not know much about the country of origin. Gingrich & Smith (2014, p. 140) identify ethnic identity as the “name given to a community that shares: a common proper name; a myth of common ancestry; shared memories of a common past; elements of a common culture; religion, custom , and language; a link to homeland; and a sense of solidarity.” Much as with many other subcultures and ethnicities, the German American of today has become assimilated as they now identify primarily with the new culture.

References
Adams, W. P. (1993). The German Americans: An ethnic experience, American Ed.. A Publication of the Max Kade German-American Center Retrieved from: http://maxkade.iupui.edu/adams/toc.html
Anderson, K. L. (2008). German Americans, African Americans, and the Republican Party in St. Louis, 1865-1872. Journal Of American Ethnic History, 28(1), 34-51.
Amato, J. A. (2006). Becoming old stock: The paradox of German American identity. Journal of Social History, 40 (2), 526-529.
Anton, C. (2010). Repositioning German identity. German Monitor, (72), 1-25, 267. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/868725737?accountid=12085
Bauman, M. K. (2009). On German American and American Jewish History. Journal of American Ethnic History, 37-71.
Bernstein, E. (2004). Culture and customs of Germany. (2004). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, Group, Inc.
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Giesekus, U. (2014). A systems-based training program for cross-cultural workers in Germany. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 33 (2), 164-167.
Gingrich, F. & Smith, B. (2014). Culture and ethnicity in Christianity/psychology integration: review and future directions. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 33 (2), 139-155.
Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2014). Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson
Holli, M. (1985). German-American ethnic identity from 1890 onward: The Chicago case. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20172720
Langer, N. (2008). German language and German identity in America: evidence from school grammars 1860–1918. German Life & Letters, 61(4), 497-512. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0483.2008.00439.x
Lehman, J. (2000). Gale encyclopedia of multicultural America, 2nd edition. In Gale Group Editor. New York: Gale Group. Retrieved from: http:// www.energyofanation.org/4e667f77-e302-4cla-9d2e-178a0ca32.html?NodeId=