Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies
University of Wisconsin–Madison

How German Is American? How American is German? Supplementary Resources for the German Classroom

These resources refer to MKI’s “How German Is American?” project, which can be viewed here

SETTLING IN AMERICA: MAP

Topics:

  1. American history and settlement patterns
  2. Using censuses, population statistics and maps in the German Language classroom

Resources:

American Censuses: data

    1. Table: R0501. Percent of People Who Are Foreign Born: 2005
      German: 2.2%
      Yiddish: 0.3%
      Other Western Germanic languages: 0.5%
    2. Map: M0501. Percent of People Who Are Foreign Born: 2005
    3. Map: TM-PCT030. Percent of Persons of German Ancestry: 2000
    1. Wikepedia/ Volkszählung: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksz%C3%A4hlung Censuses around the World
    1. Statistisches Bundesamt: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Startseite.html
    2. Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund: https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/Bevoelkerung/MigrationIntegration/MigrationIntegration.htmlBevölkerung in Deutschland

SETTLING IN AMERICA: LOG

Topics:

  1. Reasons for emigration
  2. How emigrants choose a destination for immigration
  3. Advertising for immigrants
  4. Advise for emigrants and immigrants

Resources:

  1. Max Kade Institute, UW-Madison

    1. Resources for Educators
  2. Tagesschau 3.November 2006: Interview with Klaus Bade “Auswandern als Trend:” http://www.chefduzen.de/index.php?topic=14006.0;wap2


SETTLING IN AMERICA: MORAVIAN MISSIONARY

Topics:

  1. Native American and German immigrant encounters
  2. Representation of Native Americans in Germany today
  3. Eighteenth century American history and settlement

Resources:

    1. Memories of Contact: A Discussion of Earliest Contact among the Ojibwe and the Cree, by Theresa Schenk
    2. Karl May Museum, Dresden: http://www.karl-may-museum.de/web/start.php
    3. Karl-May Gesellschaft: http://www.karl-may-gesellschaft.de/index.php
    4. Native American Association of Germany: http://www.naaog.de/     

BUILDING COMMUNITIES: TURNERS

Topics

  1. German attitudes towards health, exercise, nature – past and present
  2. “Vereinskultur”
  3. History and role of “Turnvereine” in Germany and the United States
  4. “Sports” and the community in the United States and Germany

Resources

  1. Milwaukee Turners: http://www.milwaukeeturners.org/
  2. 17th Missouri Volunteers – The Western Turner Rifles Story: http://www.17thmissouri.com/


BUILDING COMMUNITIES: KRIPPLEIN CHRISTI

Topics

  1. Role of religion in emigration/immigration
  2. Religion in America / in Germany – past and present
  3. Church, language and community

Resources

  1. Freie Gemeinde, Sauk City, Archives: https://mki.wisc.edu/library-archive/virtual-exhibits/sauk-city-wisconsin-freie-gemeinde/
  2. Wisconsin ‘s Oldest Lutheran Church, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freistadt: http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/777/Trinity-Evangelical-Lutheran-Church—Fr
  3. MKI Library and Archive
  4. Resources in local churches, synagogues, archives and community centers, etc.


BUILDING COMMUNITIES:
PLATTDEUTSCHER HALL and GRUNDSOW LODGE

Topics

  1. “Vereinskultur”
  2. Preservation of immigrant languages/ dialects

Resources

  1. German American and American English Dialects


BUILDING COMMUNITIES:
TOURING MILWAUKEE, OKTOBERFEST and NEW GLARUS

Topics

  1. What is culture?
  2. Local and regional culture

Resources

  1. New Glarus – “America ‘s Little Switzerland”: http://www.swisstown.com/
    1. La Crosse, WI: http://oktoberfestusa.com/
    2. Amana Colonies, IA: http://www.amanacolonies.com
  2. German Fests:
    1. Milwaukee, WI: http://germanfest.com/
    2. New Ulm, MN: https://www.newulm.com/events/oktoberfest/ 

GROWING INTO THE NATION:
PORCUPEIN, NAST CARTOON and UNSER ADOPTIV VATERLAND

Topics

  1. The media/newspapers in an immigrant society
  2. German Americans and American politics
  3. German Americans and global politics
  4. Politics and policies towards immigration in Germany and America – past and present

Resources

  1. MKI Library and Archive
  2. Wisconsin Historical Society: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org
  3. “Carl Schurz” (Watertown Historical Society): http://www.watertownhistory.org/Articles/CarlSchurz.htm
  4. “Aspects of German Influence on Wisconsin Politics,” by Frank Zeidler


GROWING INTO THE NATION: FAHNE

Topics

  1. The flag and national identity in Germany and America – past and present
  2. Education in the United States in languages other than English
  3. German influences on American education
  4. “A typical school day” in Germany and America – past and present
  5. Text books now and then in Germany and America

Resources

  1. The Transatlantic Kindergarten  by Ann Taylor Allen; google books.


SHAPING CULTURE: AMISH

Topics

  1. German Speaking “counter-cultures” in the United States
  2. Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites
  3. Sustaining immigrant languages over generations

Resources

  1. The Riddle of Amish Culture, by Donald Kraybill, Baltimore, 1989
  2. padutch.net A website dedicated to the documentation of the Pennsylvania Dutch language
  3. American Languages – Our Nation’s Many Voices Online: German Dialects in the United States, CD and booklet published by the Max Kade Institute.

SHAPING CULTURE: AUFBAU

Topics

  1. German-Jewish immigrants in America
  2. Holocaust
  3. Jews in Germany today

Resources

  1. Fritz, Angela.  “Lizzie Black Kander and Culinary Reform in Milwaukee,”Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 87, N.3, 2004:
  2. German-Jewish Identities in America, Edited by Christof Mauch and Joseph Salmons, MKI, 2003
  3. Jüdisches Museum Berlin, exhibit “Heimat und Exil”: http://www.juedisches-museum-berlin.de/exil/
  4. Frankfurt on the Hudson: The German-Jewish Community of Washington Heights, 1933-1983: Its Structure and Culture, by Steven M. Lowenstein, 1991
  5. Aufbau – das jüdische Monatsmagazin: http://www.aufbau.eu/
  6. Peck, Jeffrey. Being Jewish in the New Germany. 2006


SHAPING CULTURE: BAMBI, WIENERMOBILE, TRIO SAN ANTONIO

Topics

  1. Global mass media, American media culture, Hollywood
  2. Business in a global world
  3. What is a folktale? What is folk music? What is ethnic food?
  4. What is “typical American?” What is “typical German?”


SHAPING CULTURE: ZITS and WE KEHR FOR YOU

Topics

  1. What language(s) did German immigrants speak? Dialects? Mixed Language?
  2. One language influencing another through personal contact (immigrants), literature, mass media
  3. German spoken in the United States today
  4. Influences of German on American (regional) English
  5. Influences of English and other languages on German

Resources

  1. American Languages – Our Nation’s Many Voices Online: German Dialects in the United States, CD and booklet published by the Max Kade Institute.
  2. Wisconsin Englishes
  3. Deutsche Welle “Denglish invades Germany:” http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,2144,411555,00.html
  4. Verein Deutsche Sprache: “Denglish”: http://www.vds-ev.de/denglisch/
  5. Erfundene englische Wörter im Deutschen: http://www.humanlanguages.com/rlerfeng.htm

© Max Kade Institute for German American Studies at the University of Wisconsin/Madison

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