Kultur 1

Raise your hand if you knew that, in 2000, 42.8 million Americans identified themselves as being of German ancestry. Don't worry I didn't have a clue either. In fact before reading "How German Is American?" I didn't know how pervasive German culture was in America.

I think for me one of the most interesting aspects of the article was the section on the Turners. Here was an immigrant group that did not "strive to create 'little Germanies' " and yet still brought new and somewhat revolutionary ideas to their adopted country. We can thank them (or not) for Gymnastics, which never really struck me as something Germans would go crazy for. The Turners started the first of their societies after fleeing Germany because of a few botched democratic revolutions. Some of the Turners were also Freethinkers, who promoted a new breed of liberalism "unencumbered by religious dogma". They believed in such 'crazy' things as voting rights for women and the abolition of slavery. Beliefs that led them to volunteer for the Union army in droves! My view of Germany is largely colored by events that took place in the 20th century. Mainly two "isms", Nazism and Communism. So I was shocked to find such liberal free thinking Germans in the American midwest. When I think of social progress my mind doesn't scream "Germany!" but the Turners were obviously ahead of the pack in that regard.

Another section that really struck me was the Grundsow lodges. My ancestry is Swedish, I'm third generation, and yet no generation except the first has ever spoken a lick of Swedish. It is a part of my history that I wish I was more aware of. That is why I really like the Grundsow Lodges, established so that Pennsylvania Dutch would have a place to be passed on. In the same vein I also like Oktoberfests which have become just as much about the modern community as they are about German culture.

After this reading I can now safely say that the German affect on American culture goes farther then "Brats and Beer". German culture has seeped into many different facets of American life and almost always for the better. And we can all be danke for that!

-Ethan Auburn