The native country abroad

Inhalt

1. Being a German in the First World War and its Aftermath
1.1 Federal Policy on German Immigration
1.2 War against Germaneness
1.3 Canadian Citizenship
1.4 German Clubs and Associations
1.5 The Canadian National Railway
1.6 The Verein für Deutsch-Kanadische Katholiken
1.7 Festivals and Traditions
1.8 German Press
1.9 Deportation during the Roaring Twenties

2. German Immigration during the Second World War
2.1 Conspiracy Theories
2.2 German Parties
2.3 The German War Effort
2.4 Die Heimat im Ausland
2.5 Anti-Semitism and Nazism

3. Postwar Integration
3.1 German Societies
3.2 German Media
3.3 Cold War Rhetoric
3.4 Left vs. Right
3.5 Unity in face of the Greater Evil: Communism
3.6 Becoming German: German Legacies and Customs
3.7 German Values and Practices
3.8 German Contributions to Canada

Works Cited

Brigitte Rabe was a German woman who survived the Second World War and who, by immigrating to Canada, had tried to leave behind memories of war and loss. Like many other Germans, Brigitte wanted to get out of a disintegrating home, “that’s really the reason why [she] left” (Grams, “German Emigration to Canada” 194). Most German ethnic immigrants had been affected by Nazi resettlement schemes, were part of the flight to the West in the wake of German defeats, and shared the disorientation of postwar homelessness in a smaller West Germany (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 209).

During the First and Second World War, German immigrants were sent to internment camps; German newspapers were banned and the use of German in public space was prohibited. Yet, German immigration was encouraged as the Mackenzie government needed industrious workers and farmers to plow the field and build railways in the Prairies. The tendency to associate German immigrants as potential members of the Nazi regime thus declined. Moreover, German immigrants were welcomed as hard and industrious citizens as part of an initiative to unite Western Europe against communism.

This essay argues that German Canadians have integrated themselves by learning to change and adapt their cultural and ethnic identity. To do so, the following essay will analyze the historical process of German immigration to Canada before and after the First World War, during the Second World War and in the postwar period, and finally examine how sociological and cultural factors have contributed to shape the German Canadian identity.

1. Being a German in the First World War and its Aftermath

The history of German immigration in Canada during the First World War was characterized by the stigmatization and alienation of German Canadians. During the First World War to protect themselves from public scrutiny and stigmatization, Germans began to avoid speaking German (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 47). Yet, in October 1914, non-naturalized German Canadians and those naturalized only in 1902 were denied their civic rights, and had to monthly report to the police. About 8,600 German Canadians were interned in 24 internment camps, where hundred died (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 47).

After the war, some wanted to ban the public use of German (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 102). Calls were made for German to be forbidden “in the schools, pulpits and press throughout Canada” (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 102). The reports of the German Foreign Office in April 1921 revealed that English-Canadians and the Canadian government were critical of everything Germans did, although the educated and liberal circles of Canadian society were more open-minded (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 103). The Canadian press was decidedly anti-German by misrepresenting certain facts such as Germany’s ability to pay war reparations and the strength of the German industry was overestimated.

1.1 Federal Policy on German Immigration

German immigrants were often forced to go through an intensive examination during the First World War (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 103). Those allowed entry were encouraged to settle in Western Canada, where newcomers and immigrants worked as tillers of the soil. From 1923 to the end of the decade, even Germans, if they could farm, were encouraged to settle in the dominion. Ottawa’s preference for farmers after the Winnipeg General Strike accorded well with the government’s efforts at controlling labour agitation and political radicalism (Wagner 217). Canada experienced a period of great expansion and needed many men to plow the field and boost the Canadian economy (Moellmann 133). When the war broke out in August 1914, Canada closed its doors to immigration, and prohibited the entry of enemy aliens such as Germans hailing from the Central Powers (Wagner 231). In 1919 Ottawa amended the country’s immigration laws to expand the prohibited classes to include former enemy aliens. The Great War (1914-1918) marked an end to the age of innocence for German Canadians. From being a much favoured people within the nation, overnight they were vilified as the enemy aliens (McLaughlin 12).

1.2 War against Germaneness

The Great War was a war not just against Germany, but a general war against Germaneness, and being German and Canadian was no longer a compatible social identity (McLaughlin 12). German-language church services were halted and the Canadian government even moved to suppress all German language newspapers. Immigration from Germany ceased abruptly and before the war’s end and some 8,500 German Canadians and Austro-Hungarians would be sent to internment camps (McLaughlin 12). Between 1911 and 1921, the number of Canadians of German origin declined by 108,892. By comparison, the number of Dutch more than doubled from 55,961 to 117,505 and the number of Austrians nearly tripled from 44,036 to 107,671 (McLaughlin 12).

German authorities maintained that anti-German feelings in Canada were too strong, coupled with economic problems, making Canada a bad choice for immigration (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 104). Canada was portrayed negatively emphasizing harsh winters, low wages and expensive land. Hard physical labour was the only work available for Germans either as farmers or laying railway lines (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 101). If a German immigrated to Canada one must be prepared to settle for a rural existence and remain as a foreigner for the rest of their life, for Canadians would never accept Germans as full Canadian citizens (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 101).

1.3 Canadian Citizenship

Canadian legislation added to the hardships encountered by the Germans: it required German citizens to have resided in Canada for ten years before applying for Canadian citizenship whereas this period was only three years prior to the war and which was raised to five years during the First World War (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 116). In Alberta and Saskatchewan, many Germans had lost contact with each other although they were content in Western Canada (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 116). During the war years, most Germans had looked out for oneself and thus avoided contact with Germans. They feared not being trusted and hurting their chances of progress. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, many ethnic Germans lived with other immigrants in the northern end of the city. Despite this, ethnic German associations made efforts to look after the preservation of their culture and language.

1.4 German Clubs and Associations

In the mid-1920s, German cultural associations pushed for the renewal of German days, which started in Manitoba in 1928 (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 48). With the help of the clergy within various churches supporting the German culture, rural Germans seemed able to remain German-speakers (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 117). A number of immigration boards helped in bringing Germans to Western Canada such as the German Catholic Immigration Society. The German Baptist Immigration and Colonization Society (GBS) was formally founded in 1927 and served the needs of German immigrants. The Immigration Society was accredited with bringing new members to Baptist congregations (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 143).

In 1919, the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian federal government formed the Canadian Colonization Association (CCA) to help immigrants buy land and settle in Canada (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 136). The CCA established contacts with diverse immigration boards such as the Mennonite and Baptist immigration boards, proclaiming that they were a “private non-profit sharing farm sales organization co-operating with the Dominion and Provincial Governments in the settlement of lands adjacent to railways” (Grams “German Emigration to Canada” 136). Their objective was to develop through increased settlement, the most fertile lands in Canada, and to afford opportunities for families of limited means to own a farm. However German Immigration Board (RA) believed the aid of the CCA was not an all-encompassing factor in German success stories and thus wanted to it to be publicly known that Germans in Canada suffered under harsh conditions which were not the case within European agriculture. It was warned that the CCA tried a variety of tactics to entice German nationals to settle in Canada and listed estimates of farm lands and profitability with land prices.

1.5 The Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway was an important immigration board, which was responsible for bringing thousands of German speaking farmers to Canada (Moellmann 137).The CNR strove to first influence immigration to Canada in order to assimilate “the maximum number of persons possible,” to contribute to the dispersal of information on Canada to foreign countries in the attempt to attract foreign capital, and promote land settlement of immigrants while helping achieve the maximum success possible (Moellmann 166). The CNR also sought to encourage an improvement in agriculture to meet the demands of Canada and assisted in the development of services for immigrants by selecting immigrants physically fit and anxious to work (Moellmann 138).

1.6 The Verein für Deutsch-Kanadische Katholiken

Canadian immigration boards and agents were of opinion that they offer Germans a better life in Canada. Members of the GBS travelled to Germany to inform and explain the actual situation in Canada to “spread the information and establish certain contacts which were vitally needed” (Moellmann 145). The German government took offence to the CNR’s portray of German success stories “representing the German immigrant in the beginning as poor farm workers and at the end a well-off naturalized Canadian farmer” (Moellmann 138). After the Great War, members of the Catholic Church became interested in organizing churches according to languages (Moellmann 169). One of the largest German-Canadian religious organizations was the Verein für Deutsch-Kanadische Katholiken (VDCK). Their work included assisting and supporting German speaking immigrants by helping with legal entry into Canada, securing job placements, buying land, securing loans and other administrative issues (Moellmann 169).

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