April 15, 1918 - More on German-Americans

Another fairly quiet day today for Mary.

Amongst today's headlines and articles is the following:

 

During World War I, the status of German and German-Americans changed radically.  The teaching of the German language was removed from most schools.  Some German-Americans anglicized their surnames.  And the loyalty of German-Americans was the subject of suspicion. 

An excellent and comprehensive discussion of the issue of German-Americans can be found at immigrantentrepreneurship.org, the following being one paragraph from that web site:

"The aversion to German names was not limited to persons and companies, however. In April 1918, a delegation of greengrocers asked the Federal Food Board to rename 'sauerkraut,' since sales of pickled cabbage had dropped 75 percent since the beginning of the war. They suggested 'liberty cabbage' or 'pickled vegetable' as more suitable names. 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. 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. Even the “German measles” needed a more patriotic name, and the malady was thus renamed 'liberty measles.' ''

A briefer account of how German culture in the U.S. was affected can be read or listened to at NPR.