Ministerul Educatiei, Cercetarii si Tineretului

Colegiul National “Ferdinand I”, Bacau

LUCRARE DE ATESTAT LA LIMBA ENGLEZA

GERMAN INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN CULTURE

Coordonator:Prof. Gabriela Laslau

Elev:Mihai Oana-Maria

Sesiunea Mai, 2008CONTENTS:

Foreword1. Introduction

Causes of German emigration to the New World

German Americans German American Day

2. German Names3. German Influence on American Food4. German Influence on American Drinks 5. German Influence on America’s Automobile Industry6. Oktoberfest in America7. America’s German VIPs8. German Christmas Traditions in America9. German-American Barbie doll10. America’s most German-American town11. Conclusions

FOREWORD

There are multiple reasons why I’ve decided to approach this theme. It was definitely a topic that offered me freedom of choice and numerous directions of investigation, a topic that at the same time allowed me to make a good documented presentation, because of the plenty of information I was able to find, but above all the theme was of highly interest to me. I love German culture, civilization and language and this was a great opportunity to learn about things I didn’t know too much about. Therefore I was very interested to find out about the great impact Germans had on a country like America, where it is quite hard for a civilization to stand out, considering the cultural diversity that exists there.

1. INTRODUCTION

EMIGRATION

Cause of German emigration

We may well ask, why people abandoned such a glorious land and emigrated to far distant countries of which they knew nothing and where their future was uncertain?

In history we find the answer.

The reformation, initiated by Luther, resulted, unfortunately, in conflict among religious creeds and was followed by the most overwhelming calamity that ever befell any country.  Beginning in 1618 and lasting till 1648, the so-called Thirty Years' War swept over Germany like a hurricane, ruining it beyond recognition.  Hundreds of cities and villages were burned by Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch and Swedish soldiers, who made Germany their battleground.  Of the 17 million inhabitants of Germany 13 millions were killed or swept away through starvation and the pest. It was during those dreadful years that Alsace and Lorraine, two of the richest countries of Germany, were stolen by France.

The terrors of all these calamities were not forgotten, when, at the end of the 17th and at the beginning of the 18th centuries, the "most Christian king" Louis XIV. Of France ordered his generals to raid the countries along the Rhine and to make them one vast desert.

In obeying this cruel command the French armies destroyed everything that had survived the ravages of the Thirty Years' War.  Dozens of cities were laid in ashes. 

Besides such calamities, many German countries suffered from oppression by their own princes, who tried to ape the splendor of the court of Louis XIV., and indulged in brilliant festivals, the cost of which had to be borne by the people. 

In 1756 the long suffering inhabitants of Germany were overrun again by the furies of war, when France, Russia, Poland, Sweden, Saxony and Austria sought to divide the kingdom of Frederick the Great.

The desperate struggle, then ensuing, is known as the Seven Years' War.  Only 42 years later it was followed by the onslaught of that monstrous adventurer Napoleon I., by whom Germany was humiliated as never before.  The whole country was subjected to systematic plundering.  The imperial crown of Germany was trodden into the dust.  The German states were torn apart and given by Napoleon as presents to his favorites, who made the German cities resound with gay life, at the burghers' expense.

Under the burden of all these sufferings many inhabitants of Germany despaired of a future in their native country and resolved to emigrate to America, hoping that there they would enjoy not only better material existence, but also freedom of worship. 

The report, that William Penn had thrown open his grant of land, Pennsylvania, as a place of refuge to all who suffered persecution on account of their religious faith, served as a special inducement for many Germans, to emigrate to that part of the New World.

GERMAN EMIGRATION

1820-29 1830-39 1840-49 1850-590

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1820-29 1830-39 1840-49 1850-59

By far the most Germans who immigrated to the United States left Germany in search of an improved standard of living.  Religious freedom prompted many groups to immigrate, as did fear of compulsory service in the Prussian military

American Dream: Many Germans were encouraged to immigrate through idealized depictions of life in the new world, like this illustration of happy farming life in Missouri.

Political reasons were naturally tied to economic and reasons.  The greatest wave of political asylum seekers left Germany in 1848 after the failed German Revolution.  Bismarck’s Anti-Socialist Law (1878-90) also motivated many activists to continue their class struggle in American metropoles. 

But even more Germans left to pursue the “American Dream” of land ownership.  Spurred on by an inheritance law which left many sons without income in southern Germany, many young Germans set out to the Midwest, where soil was fertile and space in abundance.  By the end of the 19th century, most emigrants were unmarried industrial workers who came to the United States seeking seasonal work but never returned to Germany.

GERMAN AMERCANS

The term "German-American" refers to immigrants from German-speaking areas and their descendants, even if they did not come from territories within the boundaries of a current map. Many areas of Europe, that were formerly German-speaking, now lie behind political boundaries outside of Germany--for example, Alsace-Lorraine is now a part of France; the northern reaches of Schleswig-Holstein are in Denmark; parts of East Prussia are in Lithuania and Russia; West Prussia, Posen, Silesia, and Pomerania are in Poland. Germany's current eastern boundary corresponds roughly to the one of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century.

The term German-American actually was not used universally among the earliest immigrants from the German-speaking territories. When asked where they came from, immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries were likely to describe themselves as Palatines, Swabians, Badeners, etc. It is unclear just when the term German-American came into widespread use. It was commonly heard, however, by the time emigration from German-speaking areas picked up steam in the middle of the 19th century.

NUMBER OF GERMAN AMERICANS

1850 18600

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000

1600000

1850 1860

Germans, like other immigrant groups, settled with other speakers of their language from the area of their birth, where they felt at home away from home.  They settled in areas where farm land was reasonably priced, and where churches and schools already existed.  While there were attempts to form a new German state in the colonies, such as in Texas in the 1840s, none came into fruition.  The majority of Germans in the 19th century settled in the states of Ohio Missouri, Michigan to North Dakota through Nebraska.  Craftsmen went to the cities of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, St. Louis and Chicago, as well as the already well-established cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. 

Skilled craftspeople formed the largest group of German immigrants in any given period.  Germans became high profile businessmen and shopkeepers, skilled laborers in rural and urban settings.  Fields such as breweries, watchmakers, distillers, and land surveyors were almost exclusively filled by Germans.  They also became bakers and butchers, cabinet makers, shoe makers, tailors blacksmiths, typesetters, and printers.  Young women from Germany often worked as domestic servants in English-speaking households, which also led to greater assimilation.

A nation of German English-speakers?

Information: Throughout America’s history, German-language newspapers have kept immigrants informed.

The myth that German almost became the official language of the United States persists even today.  Although the notion was widely spread by German travel authors of the 1840s, the vote never came to the congressional floor.  Colonial leaders had no tolerance for the German language.  During the war of 1812, only 9% of the U.S. population was German.  Officials ignored German-language farmers in Virginia who petitioned the House of Representatives in 1794 for a German translation of a law booklet.  More often than not, the idea reigned that the “faster they became Americans, the better,” and that meant speaking English. 

Most Germans sought economic prosperity, which required the ability to communicate with other Americans.  While bi-lingual schools existed through the early 20th century, the German language still was heard less and less.  By World War I, many communities had banned the teaching of German.

Today, nearly 1.4 million Americans speak German at home, according to a 2004 report by the Modern Language Association.

German-American legacy

Perhaps the most famous German-Americans were those who integrated fully into American public life, leaving their mark on business, culture, society, and politics as Americans, not Germans.  German enclaves in large American cities all but vanished in the 1920s, German-speakers dropped out of the public realm as German schools closed. 

But American society of today is unlike that of the early 20th century in that cultural differences have become a source of pride.  That pride in one’s heritage has encouraged thousands to delve into their families’ personal histories and to seek out links between themselves and the immigrants of their past. 

German-American Day

Since 1987, every U.S. president has proclaimed German-American Day on October 6 to recognize the substantial contributions that German immigrants have made to the United States.  The day stands as both a celebration of German heritage and as a reminder of the pioneering people from Germany who sought a better life for themselves and their children in America, and in doing so, helped shape that life dramatically.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first German-American Day on October 6, 1983, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first group of German-speaking settlers who arrived in the American colonies from Krefeld, Germany.  While individual Germans had been active in America’s nascent years, the first thirteen German families in America arrived from the Rhine valley in Philadelphia aboard the schooner Concord, considered the “Mayflower of German immigration.” They established a community on the city's northern outskirts, later known as Germantown. However, individual Germans had been in America since the start of European immigration. Germans were part of the Jamestown settlement in 1608. And Peter Minuit, a Rhinelander, was the famous director of the Dutch colony who bought Manhattan from Native Americans in 1626.

The German American National Alliance, which sponsored German Day, fought Prohibition, supported German language instruction, and worked to represent German American interests. It also supported the construction of the Founders Monument at Germantown, Pennsylvania, and the Steuben Monument in Washington, D.C.

Von Steuben Day

Von Steuben Day is held traditionally on a weekend in mid-September (von Steuben was born September 17th), celebrating Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who arrived in the United States as a volunteer offering his services to General George Washington, and is generally considered the German-American event of the year. The annual Von Steuben Parade is the German American Event of the year.  It is held in September, when hundreds of participants march, dance, play music or ride the many beautiful floats on Lincoln Avenue and join the festivities later at the German-American Fest.

The Steuben Memorial honors the "Drillmaster of the American Revolution," Baron von Steuben, whose valuable wartime services have been described as being second in importance only to those of George Washington. In 1777, Steuben volunteered his services to Benjamin Franklin to advise the ill-trained American army. At Valley Forge, he converted the ragged, starving army into an effective fighting force. His program greatly increased the morale and strengthened the army. He authored the "Blue Book," which still remains a basic reference for military training and organization.

After the war, Congress granted von Steuben a life annuity and New York State deeded him a large parcel of land in appreciation for his wartime contributions. He summered on his land in a two-room log house until his death in November 1794. Although in his will he requested an unmarked grave, in 1804, his remains were transferred to what is now known as the "Sacred Grove." Today a plain, but large monument marks Baron von Steuben's final resting place.

2. GERMAN NAMES

With so many German-speaking people having immigrated to America there must be many persons with German names in the U.S.A. Names were often Americanized by immigration clerks, the county clerk, census takers and on tax records by people who thought it was proper to do so or who were just incapable of catching non-English sounds and spelling. They wrote Kohlmann "Coleman" the way they heard it, and they would write Mood instead of Muth.

In an English-speaking environment it is very difficult hang on to a German name, because people always tend to anglicize it. Compare: Huber/Hoover, Pfoerschin/Pershing, Schultz/Shults, Kunz, Koons, Klein/Cline, Tischler/Tishler, Heilemann/Heileman and Freeouf from Frühauf.

To identify things in German we must be able to read the many clues which dot the American landscape. These "clues" are called "Ethnic Markers," the cultural elements that allow identification of a specific ethnic group. Examples of identifying the German element: Santa's reindeer have names such as Rudolph, Donner and Blitzen. The Indianapolis Zoo's two reindeer are named Thor and Oden and the groundhogs have names such as Phil and Henrietta. The Kroger butchers appearing in the TV ads are called Alex and Max. The German-American on the Barney Miller show is named Dietrich. Amish names are always German. The Amish refer to anyone outside their faith and community as an "English," even though that person may be visiting from Germany.

Germanic First Names (and their short forms)

Masculine: Albert, Albrecht, Armin, Arno, Benno, Bernd, Bernhard, Berthold, Bruno, Burkhard, Daniel, Detlev, Dieter, Dietmar, Dirk, Eberhard, Edmund, Erik, Ernst, Erwin, Ewald, Ferdinand, Frank, Freddi(y), Friedrich, Friedl, Fritz, Gerhard, Gu(ü)nt(h)er, Hagen, Harald, Hartmut, Heiko, Heinrich, Heinz, Helge, Helmut, Hendrik, Henning, Herbert, Hermann, Holger, Horst, Hubert, Hugo, Ingo, Karl, Karl-Heinz, Konrad, Kurt, Lothar, Ludwig, Lutz, Manfred, Meinhard, Olaf, Oskar, Otto, Rainer, Ralf, Reinhard, Richard, Robert, Roland, Rolf, Rudolf, Rudi, Rüdiger, Siegfried, Sven, Thorsten, Udo, Ulrich, Uwe, Volker, Volkmar, Walter, Wernher, Wilhelm, Willi, Wolf, Wolfgang, Wulf

Feminine: Adele, Astrid, Berta, Birgit, Brigitte, Brunhilde, Carla, Carola, Carolin, Dagmar, Dora, Doris, Edith, Elfrieda, Elisabeth, Elke, Elsa, Erika, Eva, Eva-Maria, Friedrike, Friedl, Gertrud(e), Gisela, Gudrun, Hedwig, Heidi, heike, Helga, Helge, Hilde, Hulda, Inge, Ingrid, Isolde, Liebgard, Mathilde, Mechthild, Sieglinde, Sigrid, Ute, Walburga

You may encounter words that are identical in both languages or only slightly changed (e.g., finger, hand, arm, wind, winter, Schulter-shoulder, Knie-knee, Mutter-mother, Onkel-uncle, Garten-garden, grün-green, blau-blue, fein-fine, rot-red). These words are identical or similar because they evolved from a single earlier language. Their similarity derives from their shared ancestry: the West-Germanic language family. Words in this group are called cognates (=born together).

3. GERMAN INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN FOOD

The influence of German cuisine is seen in the cuisine of the United States throughout the country, especially regarding pastries, meats and sausages, and above all, beer. Frankfurters (Wieners, originating from Frankfurt and Vienna), hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, sauerkraut, strudel are common dishes. German bakers introduced the pretzel. The revival of microbreweries is partly due to instruction from German beer masters. Bavarian equals German? Not only in America but in other countries as well, things "German" are often equated with Oktoberfest, sauerkraut and bratwurst, beer and steins, yodeler and Lederhosen--the gamut of stereotypical Bavarianisms, virtually to the exclusion of most other assets the German-speaking lands have to offer. In the U.S., this equation has been bolstered by GIs and their "war brides" in attempts to recreate their fun time in Munich and the Alpine region.

Stereotypical German foods offered at festivals or even in "German" restaurants are usually Sauerkraut, Bratwurst,Knackwurst (or Knockwurst), Sauerbraten, Hasenpfeffer, Schnitzel, Knödel or Klösse (dumplings), German Chocolate Cake and Black Forest Torte (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte). Yet this is only a fraction of the range the German kitchen provides, not to mention the total absence of "real" bread, as German-Americans refer to the oldfashioned "non-squeezable" variety. German potato salad (Kartoffelsalat), e.g., exists in just about as many variations as there are names for the word potato.

Contrary to expectations, the heavily German-settled Midwest does not abound in German eating places, because German cooking has become so much a part of the Midwest's mainstream cuisine. Wiener Schnitzel is served as breaded veal/pork cutlet and Rouladen have become "roll 'em ups." That so much of it is southern German can be attributed, in part, to the great popularity of the cookbook classic, The Joy of Cooking by Rombauer/Becker (the ladies' background is Austrian). And, of late, there is the growing

popularity of Amish cooking, much of which reveals Alemannic origins. In an Amish-Mennonite restaurant one might also find a reminder of the old German reverence for food wed to the virtue of frugality--in the land of plenty: "Take all you want, but eat all you take."

Related to this traditional attitude is the common practice of saving leftovers for a later meal. Sauerkraut, in fact, tastes even better when served the next day (as glorified by widow Bolte in Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz).

SAUERKRAUT: The word comes directly from the German, Sauerkraut which literally translates to sour cabbage.[1] Sauerkraut is a typical dish of traditional Dutch (Zuurkool), and Central European cuisine. It also is a prominent feature of cuisines from most of the cold regions of Europe, and it is eaten in many parts of Northeast China, the USA, Chile, and Canada as well.

A BRATWURST is a sausage composed of pork, beef, and sometimes veal. The name is German, derived from Old High German brätwurst, from brät- which is fine chopped meat and -wurst, sausage. Though the brat in bratwurst describes the way the sausages are made, it is often misconstrued to be derived from the German verb "braten", which means to pan fry or roast. Etymology aside, frying and roasting are far from the most common methods of preparation. Bratwurst is usually grilled and sometimes cooked in broth or beer.

In the United States, bratwurst (colloquially known as "brats") are usually eaten on a hot dog bun, brat bun or a hardroll, topped with mustard and/or many of the other condiments often eaten with hot dogs. These may include ketchup, onions (grilled or raw), sauerkraut, pickle relish, shredded cheese, mayonnaise, and others. The bratwurst is occasionally served as a pair of links nestled in a buttered hardroll with these same toppings; this is called a 'double brat'.

Within the US, bratwurst, while not strictly a regional cuisine, is strongly identified with areas of the US where German and other Northern European immigrants settled in large numbers, like Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which is informally known as the "Bratwurst Capital of America". The city celebrates "Sheboygan Bratwurst Days", a community festival held on the first Thursday through Saturday of August each year. Bratwurst is especially popular in a region stretching from Chicago, Illinois up through Wisconsin into Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin is also a center of bratwurst appreciation. Johnsonville Foods, the nation's largest bratwurst maker, is based in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Other traditional Wisconsin brat manufacturers include Klement's Sausage Company and Usinger's, both of which are based in Milwaukee.

The city of Madison, Wisconsin, holds an annual festival billed as the "World's Largest Brat Fest". The four-day charity event sees tens of thousands of brats sold by "celebrity" cashiers, usually local television, radio, and government personalities. Brat Fest's self-proclaimed world record is 189,432 brats consumed during the 2004 event. Throughout Wisconsin, the "brat fry" is a popular fundraising technique; brats are grilled outdoors and sold for the benefit of a charity organization.

Another town with German-American roots is Bucyrus, Ohio, which is known for its unique recipe incorporating caraway seed. It holds a bratwurst festival annually in mid-August. A Bucyrus-style bratwurst is served split on a rye bun with sauerkraut, mustard, and chopped white onions.

The type of bratwurst most commonly found in the United States are the larger variety (as opposed to the smaller "Nuremburg-style" bratwurst), approximately 1 inch in diameter, reddish-brown in color, and made of some combination of beef and pork. Bratwurst made exclusively with chicken or turkey are increasingly found in American grocery stores.

4. GERMAN INFLUENCE

ON AMERICAN DRINKS

Beer in America

When the New World was discovered, beer came along with the European settlers. Its potability during the ocean voyage made it the shipboard beverage of choice. Once here, the Europeans discovered that Native Americans were brewing beer with corn. Although Europeans preferred the taste of their own barley-based beverage, they soon learned that incorporating corn as part of the brew mash was convenient, cost-effective, and necessary when barley crops were not as abundant as expected. People in the southern colonies soon discovered rice was also an ideal brewing adjunct. Homebrewing still flourished, particularly in rural areas, but large cities quickly acquired commercial brewing ventures.

Most beer brewed in the thirteen American British Colonies was ale (a beer made with yeast that rises to the top during fermentation). Ale dominated the American brewing scene until the mid-nineteenth century, when the arrival of large numbers of German immigrants, coupled with advances in microbiology (yeast management and pasteurization) and technology (railroads, refrigeration, and steam-powered breweries) transformed America into a nation of lager beer drinkers. Lager brewing had its start in Bavaria, but was further refined in Bohemia, where the Pilsener style of beer became an overnight sensation in all of Central Europe.

Lagers (beers made with yeast that sinks to the bottom during fermentation) were revolutionary. Because the yeast sank, the beer was clear, not cloudy like ale. Lager beer produced fewer esters, so it tasted more like beer and less like wine, cider, or fruit. It did not sour as quickly. Pilsener beers were light in color, too, and presented great visual and esthetic appeal. For the first time, beer could be served in a clear glass, not an opaque tankard.

Lager beers required ice and cold conditions for maturation, so at first they were available only in Northern and Midwestern cities with a reliable ice supply. Eventually, with the coming of the railroad and reliable refrigeration, lager could be shipped by rail to thirsty populations as far away as the frontier and Deep South. Eberhard Anheuser and his son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, of St. Louis made a fortune using technology to quench the thirst of a growing nation. They were hardly alone. Throughout the United States, many a German immigrant became a wealthy beer baron. Sizable cities were often home to dozens of prospering lager breweries. Only in the Northeast United States did ale continue to be produced, though less and less over time.

In California, where the railroad and refrigeration did not appear until considerably later in the nineteenth century, German settlers made do with frontier conditions and brewed any way they could. Using locally-grown hops, barley, and whatever water they had, they brewed with lager yeasts, but fermented the brew at ambient air temperatures with brewing techniques suited for ale making. In so doing, the California-German brewers created the only indigenous American beer style, steam (or California common) beer.

Not since Prohibition have Americans had so many beer styles from which to choose.

If you ask for a lager beer today, you will most likely be served a Pilsener (Pils). Golden yellow in color, dry, bitter, highly carbonated and clear, this is what everyone thinks of when beer is mentioned. But other lager beer styles are Dortmunder (less dry, but stronger than a Pils), Bock (strong, pale or dark, sweet; includes Maibock, a traditional spring beer in Germany), Doppelbock (stronger still, pale or dark, sweet), Eisbock (incredibly strong and sweet), Münchner helles Bier (light in color, malty), Münchener dunkles Bier (dark in color, malty), and Märzen-Bier (malty, amber brew common at Oktoberfest). The low-alcohol, slightly bitter Schwarzbier (black beer) is particularly tasty.

And what will you get if you ask for an ale? Order a white beer/Witbier, and you'll get a Belgian-style wheat ale, flavored with orange peel or even coriander. You can get a Berliner Weisse, low-alcohol German ale flavored with sugar syrup. Try a Weizen or Dunkelweizen (the dark version), a Bavarian wheat beer that tastes like vanilla, banana, and cloves because of the special ale yeast strain used in its production. Don't like wheat beer? Then stick with the British favorites of mild (lightly hopped), pale (what is says, although color can get into the amber range), bitter (well hopped), old (medium-strong dark ale), porter (dark and robust), or stout (robust, bitter, and nearly black, Guinness makes a classic), or even imperial stout (a sweet stout with a formidable alcohol content). Try an Altbier (German ales that come in all colors and strengths). Many of these beers contain so much alcohol; they must be fermented with champagne yeasts.

5. GERMAN INFLUENCE ON AMERICA’S AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY On January 5, 1889, the Scientific American had reprinted an earlier report of the Leipziger illustrierte Zeitschrift about the successful use of the high-speed Daimler engine, together with a woodcut illustration of the Benz car. When the first news about the success of the Daimler and Benz vehicles reached America, inventive minds soon responded. There is a report of a car built by a German immigrant, Henry Nadig, in Allentown, PA in the early 1890s. At the same time another automobile designer of German origin, Gottfied Schloener, built a car which ran 12 miles per hour in Milwaukee in 1889.

Other vehicles became known, for example those built by Charles H. Black in Indianapolis in 1891-93. On July 4, 1894, Elwood Haynes drove his Haynes automobile on the Pumpkinvine Pike near Kokomo, Indiana. While this was not the first automobile built and operated in Indiana, this well-documented event served as a focal point for an Indiana celebration of the history of the automobiles.

In the last 100 years, more than eighty Indiana cities have produced more than five hundred makes of motor vehicles.* German-American involvement in these companies was substantial, with many successful companies being started by German-Americans or Americans of German descent. Some examples of lesser known companies with a German name are Zimmerman Manufacturing Co., Roman Eichstaedt, Herrmann Automobile Co, Huffmann Brothers Manu- facturing Co, W. H. Kiblinger Co, and Merz Cyclecar Co. More famous names include Duesenberg, Studebaker and Stutz. While some companies can be easily recognized through their German names, others cannot. For instance, the famous Auburn Auto Company was founded by the Eckhart Brothers, but named after their hometown. H.C.S., the Ideal Motor Company and American Underslung were all Harry C. Stutz ventures.

German names can also be found in the engineering departments of famous companies, such as Gordon Buehrig who designed for Auburn Cord and Duesenberg. Charles Greuter was the head engineer at Stutz after 1925. Studebaker employed Otto Klassmeyer and Ray Dietrich was head designer in South Bend.

The Duesenberg name is synonymous with excellence. Duesenberg cars were built in Indianapolis and their creators were the brothers Frederick and August Duesenberg, who immigrated as boys from Lippe, Germany in 1885.

The Studebaker ancestors, Clement and Peter, landed in Philadelphia in 1736. By 1851 the family had moved to South Bend. During the Civil War, Studebaker wagons were in high demand. In the 1890's, Studebaker was generally regarded as the world's largest wagon builder. The first Studebaker automobile was built in 1902, an electric powered, open carriage with tiller steering. 1904 saw the first gas-powered Studebaker in production. Harry C. Stutz first came to Indianapolis in 1903 at the age of twenty-seven. In 1910 he started his own company and in 1912 the most famous Stutz automobile, the Bearcat, won 25 of 30 racing events. It also became popular as a sports car.

6. OKTOBERFEST IN AMERICA

SHORT HISORY OF OKTOBERFEST

Of all the holidays and festivals, Oktoberfest in Germany must be the single most famous. Each year, Bavaria plays host to one of the most vibrant celebrations of life you can find

anywhere. The stereotype of the typically stolid German is shattered amidst laughter, singing, dancing, and the clatter of those renowned giant beer steins against tables.

The history of Oktoberfest dates back to the early 19th century. Prince Ludwig I was to marry Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on the 12th of October, 1810. All the residents of Munich were invited to the fields outside of the city to celebrate the wedding.

The celebration lasted five days and ended on the 17th with a horse race.

Oktoberfest was held again the following year, but this time they added an agricultural show in hopes of boosting Bavarian agriculture. In the beginning, there was little variety

in the events held. In the early history of Oktoberfest, the horse races were by far the most popular, but unfortunately they are not still held today. However, the agriculture show

persists, being hosted every three years during German Oktoberfest.

The first carousel in the history of Oktoberfest was erected in 1818 and small beer stands began to pop up over the years. The number of carousels increased significantly by the

1870s and the beer stands were replaced with beer tents and beer halls by 1896.

German Oktoberfest has evolved over the years into the largest festival in the world with over six million visitors visiting each year. People from all over the world come to

partake in the celebration and while the primary events take place in Munich, celebrations can be found in other towns and cities.

It's a bit of a paradox, but German Oktoberfest isn't really held in October anymore. Instead, the festival begins in the middle of September and only slightly overlaps with October. The impetus behind this change was to ensure that the celebration takes place

during the warmer days of Germany's early fall.

Those looking to attend Oktoberfest in Germany would be well-advised to book seats with the individual tents as most of them will fill up very quickly each day. If you arrive

without a reservation by the middle of the afternoon then you probably won't have a problem, but show up at night and it might be hard to get a spot. Those traveling by cars should not drive to Oktoberfest in Germany. Parking is extremely difficult and it could take a very long time of searching before you find a place. If you're staying in Munich, you'd be better off using public transportation. While these might be crowded, you'll be sure to get there, and if you get lost just look for a mob of people--chances are they're

going to the exact same place you are.

Oktoberfest in America

Next to the Christmas tree, Oktoberfest is the most popular German custom that Germany has ever exported to the rest of the world. The German (actually Bavarian) celebration of beer and good times has gradually caught on in many parts of the world. Today there are Oktoberfests (Oktoberfeste) from Japan to America.

It's not surprising that in the USA and Canada, with their high percentages of people of German heritage, there are hundreds of local Oktoberfest celebrations. There are far too many to list here, but we will talk a little about the North American Oktoberfests—plus when and where you can find them, literally from Maine to California.

First of all, few of the American Oktoberfests follow the schedule of the original. You can attend a US Oktoberfest at various times and in various places from June to November! Dover, New Jersey holds its Oktoberfest twice a year (in June and September). Most other US Oktoberfests take place in September and October, often sponsored by a local German society or restaurant. The bigger US Oktoberfests run for days or weeks, like the original. Cincinnati, Ohio even has two! The Donauschwaben Oktoberfest is a three-day affair in October, while the other, Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati attracts 500,000 visitors in September. The new Las Vegas Hofbräuhaus sponsors a two-week Oktoberfest during October.

TOP OKTOBERFESTS:

Big Bear Lake, CA Oktoberfest: Weekends between September 17th & October 29th

For six unforgettable weekends in California, Big Bear Lake plays host to a mega-Oktoberfest event. With the town transformed into a quaint German hamlet, tourists from all over Southern California flock here to check out a variety of events, including a Coors beer-drinking contest, stein-carrying challenges, several concerts, and game booths.

The heart and soul of the event is, of course, the beer and food, along with the raucous atmosphere. Inside the Convention Center at Big Bear Lake, stations serve premium, hard-to-find German beers for your drinking pleasure, and there's bratwurst, knockwurst and Bavarian dumplings to dine on. Clearly, Big Bear Lake takes Oktoberfest very seriously.

Must-do: You must sample the great German import beers here, especially the Franziskaner Weissbier and Dinkelacker Dark.

Number 3

Cincinnati, OH  Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati: September 17th-18th

Hailed as the nation's largest Oktoberfest gathering, the annual event in Cincinnati lures 500,000 people into the city's downtown and historic Fountain Square district. Two packed days in September feature loads of traditional and not-so-traditional activities; the Cincinnati Oktoberfest is known for hosting the world's largest chicken dance (in 1994, Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati established a world record with 48,000 participants) and world's largest kazoo band. The rest of the weekend plays host to folk dancers, concerts and contests, in the handful of tents and beer gardens set up in the festival area.

To match the large scope of activities, Cincy's Oktoberfest has a huge menu that offers everything from sausages and potato pancakes, to traditional pastries and German chocolate. Mix in a stein full of suds and you won't know what hit you.

Must-do: Try to help set a new record for the chicken dance event.

Number 2

Tulsa, OK Oktoberfest: October 20th-23rd

It's a surprising spot for Oktoberfest, but there are few cities that host a better German festival than Tulsa. In fact, Bon Appetit magazine calls it one of the top German food festivals in the U.S. and USA Today included the city in its list of Top 10 places in the world to celebrate Oktoberfest.

To support these accolades, Tulsa brings in several bands from Bavaria, sets up a slew of cool European shops and kiosks, and offers 20 food stands for your dining pleasure. As visitors munch on Landjaeger (German-style beef jerky) and Kassler Rippchen (grilled, smoked pork chop), they can take in beer barrel-racing, the ceremonial keg-tapping and an extensive parade. Put it all together, and it's clear that Tulsa goes all out for an annual Oktoberfest to remember.

Must-do: Check out the straight-from-Bavaria bands that solely visit Tulsa and experience what their unique sound is all about.

Number 1

Columbus, OH German Village Oktoberfest: September 30th-October 2nd

With Columbus and Cincinnati holding renowned Oktoberfest celebrations, it seems Ohio can be considered the center of German America. This state capital doesn't just close off streets, it creates a 233-acre German village. This becomes party central for one serious weekend, and it's as famous for its music and unique architectural displays as it is for the food and beer.

Thirty-two bands on three stages provide the main entertainment for Columbus' Oktoberfest, while a marketplace allows artisans and boutiques to hawk their wares. The prerequisite German food and beer top off what is an all-around great way to spend a

weekend.

Must-do: Take a walking tour of the expansive German Village; it's an eye-catching and unique development.

the best of oktoberfest

With a wide range of big-city and small-town Oktoberfests open for exploration in the U.S., there is no reason to mope around if you can't catch a plane to Munich in time for the famous festival of German heritage (and beer drinking). Try out one or more of these Top 10 American Oktoberfests -- you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Das Hofbräuhaus: Cincinnati and Las Vegas

Launched in December 2003, the Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas, Nevada is an authentic replica of the original HB in Munich, under license from the Bavarian Staatliches Hofbräuhaus. Even before the Las Vegas HB building was completed, the owners sponsored an Oktoberfest in a nearby parking lot from October 10 to 26, 2003. In 2004 the Oktoberfest at the HB Las Vegas ran from September 18 to October 31, but the slogan for HB Las Vegas is "Every Day's Oktoberfest!"

Excerpts from the Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas Web site: “In 2000 Stefan Gastager, upon a visit to Las Vegas, had a vision. To introduce high quality Bavarian Food, Premium Beer brewed in Bavaria and Bavarian coziness 'Gemütlichkeit' to the United States at a location that would both appeal to tourists and locals alike...

Las Vegas, the leading entertainment capital of the world, was chosen as the ideal location for the Hofbräuhaus because of both the highest number of tourists in the world and a local multicultural population of over 1.4 million residents.

7. GERMAN VIPs IN AMERICAGerman Americans and those Germans who settled in the United States have been influential in most every field, from science, to architecture, to entertainment to commercial industry. Some, like Brooklyn Bridge engineers John Augustus Roebling or architect Walter Gropius left behind visible landmarks. Some people of German birth like Albert Einstein and Wernher von Braun, set intellectual landmarks. Others are prominent celebrities like Clark Gable, Edward Arnold (actor), Jane Froman, Gus Kahn, Fritz Kuhn (Nazi), Eddie Albert, Paris Hilton, Doris Day, Nick Nolte, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Jodie Foster, Jon Voight and Kirsten Dunst.

Making Their Dreams Come True in Hollywood

Star: Kirsten Dunst, shown here at the Los Angeles premiere of Spider Man 2, has a German father and a Swedish mother. Her latest film is the romantic comedy, Wimbledon, a Universal Pictures release. DPA photo

People have been coming to Hollywood to realize their dreams in the entertainment industry since the California town first became a motion-picture hub in the early 1900s. Seekers of fame and success from other countries made their way to this former suburb of Los Angeles, as did Americans with a hunger for stardom. Germans were among the new immigrants who helped put this oasis on the world map. A number of contemporary top box-office stars have a German-American background, including Kirsten Dunst, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sandra Bullock, to name a few.  The legendary Marlene Dietrich remains perhaps the most famous actress from Germany to conquer Hollywood. Today, Germans like Franka Potente (“Bourne Identity”) and Diane Kruger (“Troy”) are leaving their impressions on American cinemagoers. Behind the camera as well, Germans living in America are making quite an impact. Few movie fans may realize that two filmmakers known for their elaborate productions are German – Roland Emmerich, director of the recent “The Day After Tomorrow,” and the 1996 blockbuster “Independence Day,” and Wolfgang Petersen, who is behind the big-budget “Troy,” as well as the seemingly all-American story of a heroic president, “Air Force One.”

What has attracted Germans and German-Americans to Hollywood over the years? A person with some insight into this question is Hyde Flippo, an author and retired high-school German teacher who runs the website “The German-Hollywood Connection,” , which features biographies of Hollywood movers and shakers - both in front of the camera and behind the scenes - with a German connection. For filmmakers and actors alike, Hollywood represents incredible opportunity. “They are interested in the fact that they have a lot more opportunity, more money, bigger budgets, and they can do more things,” Flippo said in an interview with Germany.info. Flippo first started to look into Germans in Hollywood when he was teaching high-school students and needed a “hook” to get them more interested in the subject. Celebrities and movies were a natural draw for his young students. He turned his gathered research and new work into the website. “The general idea of my site is that most Americans don’t appreciate how much Germans have contributed to Hollywood,” Flippo said. “That history is what I am trying to make known.”

Universal Founder Carl Laemmle

Movies: The familiar globe logo can be found at Universal Studios in Universal City. DPA photo

One German immigrant who was instrumental in building one of the landmark Hollywood studios, Universal, is Carl (formerly Karl) Laemmle.  In 1912, Laemmle became one of the founders of Universal Film Manufacturing Company. It later became Universal Pictures and grew into one of Hollywood’s first large studios before Depression-era difficulties forced Laemmle to sell his stake for $5 million in 1935.

Laemmle had immigrated to America at age 17 in 1884, and after working as a bookkeeper and in numerous other positions in the Midwest, he intended to start his own business in Chicago. But instead of opening a dry-goods store, Laemmle’s encounter with moving pictures led him to buy a nickelodeon or nickel-theater in 1906. He soon established a film-distribution business, Laemmle Film Service, and later Independent Motion Picture Co., and became one of the most influential early film producers in America. He moved to California and in 1912 helped found Universal.

All Quiet on the Western Front. DVD cover

Laemmle’s producing credits total nearly 100 films, and Universal Pictures and Laemmle’s son Carl Jr. produced a number of films that today are among the milestones of cinematic history. In 1929, Universal purchased the film rights to the international bestseller, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” author Erich Maria Remarque’s story of a group of German schoolmates who enter service in World War I and are soon stripped of their innocent fervor and eventually all become casualties. Carl Jr. produced the elaborate film for over $1 million and in 1930 it went on to unprecedented box-office and critical success in America, Great Britain and France. That year it won the Academy Awards for best film and best director.

In Germany, “All Quiet on the Western Front” initially received quite a different reception. The political right fueled sentiment that the film was anti-German and insulting

in its portrayal. After a brief opening engagement in Berlin and demonstrations against the film in December 1930, the film censorship board banned the film. But Universal eventually edited the film and a shortened version was allowed to be re-released in Germany in September 1931.

Carl Jr. went on to produce films that brought audiences some of the most memorable monsters in cinematic history, including “Frankenstein” (1931), “The Mummy” (1932), and “The Invisible Man” (1933).

Carl Laemmle Sr. remained vitally connected to Germany and his hometown of Laupheim in Baden-Würtemberg through film subsidiaries and, most lastingly, through philanthropy. After World War I, Laemmle raised donations of money and goods for the stricken people of Germany, calling for contributions in a regular column he wrote in the “Saturday Evening Post.” And in 1932, Laemmle raised donations in America to help sponsor the German Olympic team for the games held in Los Angeles that year.

But perhaps his most significant works were his efforts to help fellow German Jews emigrate from Germany, especially during the National Socialist era. By one researcher’s account, Laemmle provided at least 300 affidavits, documents that guaranteed that an applicant for a US visa would be employed and not become a public charge. It was for this humanitarian intervention, not only for his film-industry success, that Laemmle, who died in 1939, was recognized by his hometown, which named his former school after him.

Blockbuster Directors from Germany

Blockbuster: Emmerich in 1996 with his sister and co-producer Ute Emmerich and actor Will Smith, star of the film, Independence Day. DPA photo

Both Directors Roland Emmerich and Wolfgang Petersen got their professional starts in Germany. In fact, Emmerich’s final project in Munich film school was the sci-fi “Das Arche Noah Prinzip” (Noah’s Arc Principle), which went on to open the 1984 Berlin Film Festival and was screened internationally. With a penchant for science-fiction and special effect, Emmerich was tagged early on in Germany with the not-entirely-positive nickname of “Spielbergle aus Sindelfingen” or “Little Spielberg from Sindelfingen,” but has since more than proven himself worthy to be in the major league of directors. Emmerich got his start in Hollywood with “Universal Soldier” (1992), which enjoyed relative success world-wide, earning $100 million, and Emmerich the chance to

make bigger and bigger movies. He followed it with the sci-fi “Stargate,” which earned $200 million world-wide, and then in 1996 came the mega-hit “Independence Day,” which earned over $800 million world-wide, and remains his biggest box-office success. Neither later releases “Godzilla” nor “The Patriot,” starring Mel Gibson, while successful, could come close to the success of “Independence Day.” Similarly, “The Day After Tomorrow,” while much debated for its message of catastrophic destruction caused by global warming, has not yet led to the box-office profits to match the publicity that preceded it.

8. GERMAN CHRISTMAS TRADITONSThe mosaic of ethnic backgrounds present in Amish Country has resulted in a rich tapestry of Old and New World Christmas customs. Many of the most interesting traditions are unique to our Pennsylvania German heritage.

Candles

Candles, of course, have always been a part of Christmas celebrations. In Old World Germany, Martin Luther is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, "to represent the glory and beauty of the stars above Bethlehem." In Ireland, the old custom was to "leave a candle burning in the window to light the way for the Christ Child on Christmas Eve." It is interesting to note the old tradition in Europe of "illumination," whereby the birthday of a prince was celebrated by putting candles in the windows.

In the Windows

Visitors to Amish Country notice that we often have candles in our windows all year, not just during the holiday season. The year-round practice apparently started several years ago when a local tourist home left its Christmas candles in the windows as a sign of welcome. The idea seemed to catch on, as people found it attractive, especially in older homes. So now this nostalgic, warm look can be enjoyed by Lancastrians and visitors at any time of the year.

The Star

The Moravian religious community that settled in Lititz has preserved for us two particularly unique Christmas customs, the Moravian Star and the Christmas Putz.

The beautiful 26-point Moravian Star has long been identified with Advent and Christmas. The star originated in the Moravian school handcraft sessions in Niesky, Germany, in the mid-1800’s. The simple 26-point version is quite common, seen hanging and lighted at night on porches in Lititz. Many people are surprised to learn that the first Moravian Star was red and white, not the lovely soft white color usually seen today.

The Moravian Church in Lititz may be the only place in America where you can see a spectacular 110-point star. While the 110-point star is rarely seen here, the design was obtained from Germany, reproduced in Lititz, and first hung in the church in 1980.

The "Putz"

Nativity scenes are popular at Christmas, and the "putz" is the Pennsylvania Dutch interpretation of the crèche. Related to the old medieval mystery plays, the putz may have originated to help children better appreciate the Christmas story. The word "putz" is from the German "putzen" for "to decorate, especially to adorn a church."

Originally, the putz consisted of wooden, clay, or tin figures arranged to depict the Nativity. There were other groupings displayed besides the Nativity scene, such as the Holy Family, the Annunciation, the shepherds in the hills, the three kings, and the flight to Egypt.

Today the making of the putz can be a family project. Decisions must be made on the background, which may involve live plants and paper painted to simulate rocks. There may be stars in the sky and angels suspended with black thread. The middle and foreground include the manger scene, often a cave, figures, animals, moss, and occasionally running water. "The aim is to depict a rolling countryside, a hillside town, and a lonely stable."

The putz can become an elaborate display, centering on the birth of Christ, but bringing in many other themes. These added figures are usually religious, such as Sir Galahad searching for the Holy Grail, or a scene of the conversion of the Indians. Some include the use of electricity, music, and narration. But the "Putz" is not to be garish; the traditional end result should "evoke a hush of silent contemplation."

"Beltznickel"

Our modern Santa Claus, of course, evolved over many centuries to what he is today. December 6th was St. Nicholas Day in Catholic countries of Europe, and the Rhineland area became the center of a St. Nicholas cult. With the Reformation these saints days disappeared, and Protestants changed the focus to Christmas Eve and the arrival of Beltznickel (Belsnickel).

He was a figure to be feared, wearing a hat, wig, and long, heavy coat. In addition to his bag of goodies, he could also carry a switch to "punish" naughty children. In the old tradition, this figure could visit at any time during Advent, arriving with ringing sleigh bells and gifts of nuts, candies, and fruits for the children. John Joseph Stoudt describes the old tradition as follows...

He throws the gifts on the floor, demanding a "piece" performed by the children. They have prepared for this for months, and they say a poem or sing a song. He remains stern, with grim, forbidding countenance. When Beltznickel’s whip rattled the windows. the children were frightened and he was a creature to be feared. Sunday School Festivals in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside continue this tradition of saying a "piece" for him, even though he may not show up.

In 1822, Clement C. Moore’s verses for "A Visit from St. Nicholas," better known today as "The Night Before Christmas," presented the fat, jolly man arriving from the skies. In 1862, famed illustrator Thomas Nast gave him further touches, and by 1886 Santa Claus had basically become the character we know today. "Santa Claus" seems to have come from the New York Dutch settlers’ "Sinter Klaus," or St. Nicholas.

Indeed, even "Kriss Kringles" really comes form the German for Christ Child (Christ- Kindel). In the 1800’s, children were told it was the Christ Child who brought gifts for them at Christmas. Children left baskets of hay for His mule at the door on Christmas Eve. Apparently many Pennsylvania Germans were displeased as the name and identity changed to become associated with Santa Claus.

The Tree

Finally, let us return to the Christmas tree and its German beginnings. While it is doubtful Luther started the custom ...

It was among Lutherans that the tree first became a Christmas tradition. The earliest written record of a fully decorated Christmas tree dates from 1605, when a citizen of Strasbourg wrote that "at Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors and hang upon them roses cut from many-colored paper, apples, wafers, gilt-sugar, sweets, etc."

These Old World Germans decorated their tree "with stars, angels, toys, gilded nuts, and candies wrapped in bright papers. Later they added tinsel and lighted candles."

It is claimed that the first known written mention of a Christmas tree in America is found in the 1821 diary of Matthew Zahn, a Lancastrian! Undoubtedly, the Christmas tree tradition was brought to America by the German settlers, and trees were fairly common by the 1820’s. It may very well be that Lancaster is the home of the Christmas tree in America!

9. GERMAN AMERICAN BARBIE DOLL

World's Favorite Doll Celebrates 40th Birthday

Though she doesn't have a single gray hair to show for it, a German-American icon just turned 40. Glimpsed of late sporting a metallic T-shirt and a fresh tattoo, the trend-conscious birthday girl, known by her countless fans simply as Barbie, made her first New York appearance at the beginning of March 1959. Although a U.S. native, Barbie has roots in the Federal Republic, where in 1956 the first “Bild-Lilli” doll appeared, based on a comic strip character from the magazine Bild. The U.S. toy manufacturer Mattel took over the patent rights for the doll shortly after its debut.The original Barbie wore a striped bathing suit, heavy eye make-up and sunglasses and sold for three dollars. Collectors say with her original packaging she is now worth DM 15,000 (U.S. $8,300). More than a billion Barbies have been sold over the years, says

Mattel, and about a million yards of fabric have been used to create her clothes. She has survived more than 500 make-overs, including four face lifts, the last in 1998. “It was about time,” Barbie collector Silke Knaak told the Frankfurter Rundschau. “That constant grin with the same old blond hair and blue eyes was getting boring.” Knaak owns more than 400 Barbies and runs a national “Barbie-Info-Forum” for collectors.

Barbie is a best-selling fashion doll launched in 1959. The doll is produced by Mattel, Inc., and is a major source of revenue for the company. The American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916-2002) is regarded as the creator of Barbie, and the doll's design was inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli.

Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for nearly fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle. In recent years, Barbie has faced increasing competition from the Bratz range of dolls.

Reinhard Beuthien was ordered to make a "filler" to conceal a blank space in the Bild-Zeitung of June 24th, 1952. He drew a cute baby - but his boss didn't like it. So he kept the face, added a ponytail and a curvy woman's body and called his creation "Lilli". She sat in a fortune-teller's tent asking: "Can't you tell me the name and address of this rich and handsome man?" The cartoon was an immediate success so Beuthien had to draw new ones each day.

Lilli was post-war, sassy and ambitious and had no reservations talking about sex. As she had her own job she earned her own money as a secretary but wasn't above hanging out with rich men ("I could do without balding old men but my budget couldn't!"). The cartoon always consisted of a picture of Lilli talking to girlfriends, boyfriends, her boss ("As you were angry when I was late this morning I will leave the office at five p.m. sharp!"). The quips underneath the cartoons handled topics ranging from fashion (to a policeman who told her that two-piece-swimsuits are banned: "Which piece do you want me to take off?"), politics ("Of course I'm interested in politics; no one should ignore the way some politicians dress!") and even the beauty of nature ("The sunrise is so beautiful that I always stay late at the nightclub to see it!"). The last Lilli cartoon appeared on January 5th, 1961.

The Doll

Lilli was available in the sizes 30 cm (12 inches) and 19 cm (7 and a half inches). She held three patents absolutely new in doll-making: The head wasn't connected to the neck but ended at the chin; the hair wasn't rooted but a cut-out scalp that was attached by a hidden metal screw; the legs didn't sprawl open when she was sitting. The doll was made of plastic and had molded eyelashes, pale skin and a painted face with side glancing eyes, high narrow eyebrows and red lips. Her fingernails were painted red, too. She wore her hair in a ponytail with one curl kissing the forehead. Her shoes and earrings were molded on. Her limbs were attached inside by coated rubber bands. The cartoon Lilli was blonde but a few of the dolls have other haircolours. Each Lilli doll carried a miniature Bild-Zeitung and was sold in a clear plastic tube.

In 1955 the tall dolls cost 12 Mark, the small 7.50 Mark. German office workers then had a monthly salary of approximately 200 to 300 Mark, so the doll was by no means a cheap toy. She was originally marketed to adults in bars and tobacco shops as a joke or gag gift. Many parents considered her not appropriate for children. Ariel Levy refers to her as a "sex doll" in Female Chauvinist Pigs. A German brochure from the 1950s states that Lilli was "always discreet," and that her wardrobe made her "the star of every bar." Although the doll was originally not designed as a children's toy she eventually became popular with children. Dollshouses, room settings, furniture and other toy accessories to scale with the small Lilli were produced by German toy factories to cash in with her popularity amongst children and parents. Lilli and her fashions were sold in a number of European countries as children's toys including Italy and in Scandinavia. Lilli was as high profiled and successful as a toy as much as an adult novelty, although outside of Germany she is mostly remembered in the latter guise.

The Wardrobe

Lilli came as a dressed doll, with additional fashions sold separately. Her fashions mirror the lifestyle of the Fifties: she had outfits for parties, the beach and tennis as well as cotton dresses, pajamas and poplin suits. In the last years her wardrobe consisted mainly of those Bavarian dresses called "Dirndl". Lilli´s dresses always have patent fasteners marked "PRYM".

Copycats

The doll became so popular that she was exported to other countries, including the United States, where she was just called "Lilli". Some Lillis have been seen in original packaging dating from the 1950s for an English-speaking market labelled as "Lilli Marlene", after the famous song. Several toy companies (mainly in Hong Kong) started producing fashion dolls looking very similar to Lilli. These dolls are easy to distinguish because of their poor quality.

But Lilli also inspired the production of another fashion doll of high quality who would soon outshine her: Barbie, produced by Mattel. Ruth Handler, one of the company's founders, bought some of the Lilli dolls when she was on a trip to Europe. Back home she reworked the design of the doll and re-named her Barbie, who debuted at the New York toy fair on March 9, 1959. Barbie had rooted hair and her shoes and earrings were not molded - apart from that she was a lookalike of Lilli.

Louis Marx and Company acquired the rights to the Lilli doll from O&M Hausser and released it in America as the Miss Seventeen (doll) in 1961. Marx unsucessfully attempted to sue Mattel for patent infringement.[1]

10. AMERICA’S MOST GERMAN–AMERICAN TOWN: MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee is different from most American cities. Where else do thousands of residents play a card game called schafskopf? Where else would they order a schneck (sweet roll) with their morning coffee? And what other American phone book boasts 38 pages of names beginning with "Sch," from Schaab down to Schwulst? Milwaukee actually has more Schmidts, in all the variations of that name, than it has Smiths.

The community's Germanism goes far beyond phone listings and colloquialisms. In 1990, a stunning 48 percent of the metro area's residents claimed at least some German heritage. That tops 44 percent for Cincinnati and 41 percent for St. Louis--two other capitals of German settlement--and doesn't even hint at the Teutonic influence just beyond Milwaukee's borders. Citizens of German descent made up 54 percent of Wisconsin's population in 1990, a proportion no other state could match. Milwaukee is without question the most German big city in the most German state in America.

That distinction earned the community a visit from Bill Clinton and Helmut Kohl last May. Departing from standard practice, Clinton met his distinguished guest in Milwaukee, where children from a German immersion school introduced the pair, politicians welcomed them in fractured German, and 14,000 people turned out to hear them speak in a downtown park. President Clinton described Milwaukee as a place where the chancellor could get "some really great bratwurst," a town so Teutonic that "everywhere he turns around there's a sign with a German name on it."

The Germanism noted by Clinton is older than the city. The first sizable contingent of Germans, a group of Old Lutherans fleeing religious persecution in Prussia, arrived in 1839--only four years after the last Indian claims were extinguished and seven years before Milwaukee earned its city charter. The newcomers settled on the west bank of the Milwaukee River, only a block or two from the park where Clinton and Kohl spoke in May. The west side would soon become the local center of German settlement.

The trickle of the 1830s became a flood in the 1840s. By 1846, the year Milwaukee became a city, the community had begun to take on a definite Teutonic aura. When city fathers published the first mayor's inaugural address, they printed 1,000 copies--500 in English and 500 in German. The growth of the 1850s was even more dramatic. By 1860, when two-thirds of the population was foreign-born, German immigrants and their children made up a majority of Milwaukee's 45,000 residents.

Although they were lumped together as "Dutchmen" by other groups, the newcomers had less in common than might be supposed. They differed by dialect and region, first of all; a Bavarian and a Pomeranian seldom viewed the world from the same perspective. They also represented all of the religious denominations present in the homeland. Catholics were most numerous, but Lutherans, Reformed Christians, and Jews all organized congregations almost as soon as they arrived. Economic diversity was another hallmark of the community. Some immigrants arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs; others brought enough money to launch businesses of their own immediately. Frederick Miller, for instance, came to Milwaukee in 1855 with $10,000 in gold. He used his nest egg to buy a brewery that has since become the second-largest in the United States.

One subgroup stood out in particularly bold relief: the fabled Forty- Eighters. As rationalists, Republicans, and failed revolutionaries, they differed sharply from their fellow Germans, but they also acted like the leaven in a loaf of bread. With their penchant for organizing and their tireless pursuit of higher culture, the Acht-und- vierzigers helped the whole community to rise. Working with others who had similar aspirations, they established schools, newspapers, freethinkers' societies, Turnvereine, theater troupes, musical groups, and other cultural institutions. In 1851, when Milwaukee was still a ragtag frontier town, the new Musik Verein staged a full-dress performance of Haydn's Creation, featuring an orchestra of 30 and a chorus of nearly 100. These and other activities earned Milwaukee an enduring reputation as the Deutsch-Athen of America.

At least one immigrant thought he had found a latter-day Athens. In an 1850 letter to an old friend in Reutlingen, John Kerler, Jr. offered an unqualified praise for his adopted hometown:

Milwaukee is the only place in which I found that the Americans concern themselves with learning German, and where the German language and German ways are bold enough to take a foothold. You will find inns, beer cellars, and billiard and bowling alleys, as well as German beer, something you do not find much of in this country. The Dutchman (the Americans call the Germans this name by way of derision) plays a more independent role--has balls, concerts, and theaters--naturally not to be compared to those in Germany, and has even managed to get laws printed in German. His vote carries a heavy weight at election time. You will find no other place in which so much has been given the Germans, and if you value this, you may safely prefer Wisconsin, and especially Milwaukee, to other places.

Germans were not, of course, the only group who found their way to Milwaukee in the mid-1800s. Yankee settlers, most of them from New York and New England, were at the top of the local pecking order. They shared the city with Germans and a host of other Europeans, among them Irish, Bohemian, Scandinavian, Dutch, and British immigrants. As in other American cities, the various groups did not constitute one big, happy family, but they managed to coexist without serious bloodshed as Milwaukee groped its way, by fits and starts, toward urban maturity.

The German community played a unique role in the developing city, and perhaps in urban America. Its sheer size, coupled with its internal diversity, its cultural self-confidence, and its political clout, gave the community a completeness that no other group could match. Kathleen Conzen, the leading scholar of Milwaukee's 19th century Germans, argues persuasively that they formed a society separate from but parallel to the networks of the dominant Yankees. "It was an ethnic and not a class community," writes Conzen, one that offered something for every German on every level. Paradoxically, she maintains, the community's wholeness hastened its demise. By providing a safe haven for its members as they adjusted to the larger world, it made assimilation easier for the Germans than if they had been a maltreated minority.

Signs of assimilation, or perhaps of arrival, multiplied as the 19th century progressed. Emil Wallber, a native of Berlin, became Milwaukee's first German-born mayor in 1884. His constituents included a number of German brewers, tanners, and manufacturers who were becoming millionaires. As their fortunes grew, the Pabsts and Pfisters and

Harnischfegers found that they had more in common with wealthy Yankees and Britons than with the Adolfs and Ottos in their shops; residential gold coasts of the late 1800s were ethnically mixed. On the other end of the economic spectrum, working-class Germans provided the backbone for a budding socialist movement. In 1910, Milwaukeeans elected their first socialist mayor: Emil Seidel, an immigrant's son who worked as a patternmaker. Socialists, many of them with German ancestors, would play a major role in city politics for the next 50 years.

German immigration had slowed down dramatically by the time Seidel took office. The number of foreign-born Germans in the city peaked at 55,000 in 1890, when they made up 27 percent of the population, and dropped sharply thereafter. During the same years, new groups were making their homes in Milwaukee, among them the Poles. By 1906, Polish residents constituted nearly 20 percent of the city's population. As they and other "new" immigrants flocked to Milwaukee and the wellsprings of German immigration dried up, the Germans began to feel like old-timers in the community they had done so much to develop.

Their move to the mainstream was entirely natural, but the assimilation of local Germans was hastened, to put it mildly, by World War I. As long as the United States maintained a policy of official neutrality, many actively supported Kaiser Wilhelm, but when America joined the Allies in 1917, a wave of "patriotism" engulfed and soon practically drowned German culture. Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms were banned from the local concert stage. Sauerkraut became "liberty cabbage," and hamburger was rechristened "Salisbury steak." The Brumders, owners of the largest German-language publishing firm in the country, were forced to pull down a statue of Germania from atop their downtown headquarters. The well-heeled Deutscher Club became the Wisconsin Club. In 1919, the Milwaukee Journal won a Pulitzer Prize for its efforts to root out local supporters of the Kaiser. At some point during the war, patriotism crossed over the line to persecution. Older Germans found themselves ducking into doorways to exchange a few words in their native tongue. Milwaukee's long reign as the nation's Deutsch-Athen came to an abrupt and inglorious end.

World War I effectively killed self-conscious Germanism in Milwaukee, and the Depression and World War II did nothing to revive it. What survives today is largely (but not exclusively) the work of postwar immigrants, who form the backbone of more than 40 German organizations based in Milwaukee. For the vast majority of those born in this country, Germanness has become a matter of surnames, favorite foods, and childhood memories. Even the neighborhoods have changed. Teutonia Avenue now runs through the heart of Milwaukee's African- American community, and North Third Street, once a thoroughly German commercial district, is now Martin Luther King Drive.

This is not to say that the German impact on Milwaukee has been completely erased. Far from it. The community is still a showcase for Germanic architecture, beginning with the Rathaus-inspired City Hall. Several breweries, from established giants like Miller and Pabst to youngsters like Sprecher and Klisch, continue to turn out the beverage that made Milwaukee famous. Some of the most celebrated restaurants feature German cuisine, including the "Big Three"--Karl Ratzsch's, John Ernst, and Mader's. Old World Third Street, a picturesque remnant of the old German downtown, still houses businesses like

Weissgerber's Restaurant and Usinger's Famous Sausage. And the Schmidts, Schultzes, and Schneiders are still present by the thousands.

The survivals are impressive, but the German influence persists in ways less obvious and a good deal more profound. The Germans, first of all, made Milwaukee safe for ethnicity. The simple fact that a non- English-speaking group came so early and played such a huge role in the city, made life easier, relatively speaking, for later ethnic groups, particularly those from Europe. The Yankees were outnumbered; it was acceptable to be something else. In Milwaukee, as in other cities, cultural differences created numerous problems over the years, but ethnic diversity, broadly defined, remains a touchstone of local identity. On the East and West Coasts, "ethnic" tends to describe people of color. In Milwaukee, "ethnic" can describe practically anyone. During the summer months, the major groups--African American, Asian, German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Native American, and Polish-- take turns hosting elaborate celebrations at the lakefront festival grounds. The combined attendance at those festivals generally tops 60,000--convincing evidence of the continuing appeal of all things ethnic.

The second impact of German culture can be summed up in a single word: Gemütlichkeit. Although Milwaukee has big-city resources (and big-city problems), its people preserve the pace and many of the pleasures of a much smaller community. They display a civic modesty, a lack of pretense that can drive the professional boosters crazy, but local residents wouldn't have it any other way. Given the choice between glamour and good cooking, they'll go for the meat and potatoes every time. That preference arrived on the boat with 19th century Germans, who proudly contrasted their easy-going attitudes with the "stiff Puritanism" of local Yankees. Adopted and amplified by later arrivals, Gemütlichkeit remains perhaps the most durable legacy of Milwaukee's founding German community.

Bill Clinton and Helmut Kohl chose the right place last May. By meeting in a community that Clinton himself called "America's most German-American city," they honored their hosts, the heritage of both their nations, and a transatlantic partnership that continues to bear abundant fruit on both sides.

Born and now based in Milwaukee, writer and historian John Gurda has been studying his hometown for nearly 25 years. He is currently writing a general history of Milwaukee that is scheduled for publication in 1998.

Milwaukee boasts three of the oldest and finest German restaurants in the country. Mention John Ernst's, Mader's, or Karl Ratzsch's and the eyes of normally stoic citizens are known to fill with tears.

John Ernst is Milwaukee's oldest restaurant, bar none. Back in 1878, it debuted as Mother Heister's Place. In 1938, John Ernst, a recent immigrant, bought and renamed the establishment and lured his wife, Ida, into the kitchen. Their daughter, Marianne, married an employee, Ervin Lindenberg, and as the Ernsts got older, the next generation gradually took over the cafe. Today Marianne's sons Jim and John, now middle-aged, are at the helm. But dad, at 79, is still the "real boss," both sons and customers agree.

Cooking is left to the capable hands of Dietmar Arnholdt, son of a Leipzig baker, who learned the ropes from Ida and Marianne 23 years ago. "If we got off track, they set me straight," he says. "The bits and pieces I'd forgotten went back in the goulash."

Can't take it off the menu. The goulash is a bestseller, in a dead heat with the sauerbraten, marinated for three days with hand-blended spices, the old-fashioned way; a couple of hundred pounds a week walk out the door. The kitchen's schnitzels, roulades, smoked pork chops, and sausage platters are local icons, too. In these days of alternative eating, a vegetarian strudel, plump with broccoli, cabbage, and mushrooms drenched with a spicy zigeuner ("gypsy") sauce, sells well, too. Plates groan with mountains of sauerkraut and red cabbage and, of course, invocations of potatoes in dumpling or pancake form.

Then, when you think you've died and gone to heaven, the dirndl-clad waitresses bring on the apple strudel.

To whet your whistle, the restaurant carries eight imported lines of beer, plus local heroes Pabst and Spreckel. Lots of German labels as well as California rieslings on the wine list, too.

As the cafe expanded over the decades, so have the highlights of its Old World decor. Hand painted murals of cafe society, circa the 1950s, warm wood paneling, a timbered ceiling hung with heavy iron chandeliers amid bucks' antlers, leaded-glass windows, a baronial stone fireplace, and an ornate bar all spell Gemütlichkeit.

John Ernst Cafe, 600 E. Ogden Avenue, Tel. (414) 273-1878.

 

Mader's is indisputably the most famous German restaurant in Milwaukee, if not the nation. German media moguls ate here-- repeatedly--then President Clinton and Chancellor Kohl convened last spring in Milwaukee. The U.S. press corps, trusting to the tastebuds of their German colleagues, gave the place a workout, too. Just about everyone who meanders down the historically preserved German shopping area called Old World Third Street, which Mader's anchors in high style, stops here.

Today it looks like a kaiser's summer castle with turrets and flags and towers. Inside, it's a showroom of medieval armor and weapons of museum quality Gus Mader picked up on his return trips to Europe, and a collection of pre-World War I Metlach steins worth up to $15,000 apiece.

Things weren't so fancy back in 1902 when young immigrant Charles Mader poured his life's savings into a small establishment he named The Comfort, where he dared charge 20 cents for dinner (beer and tip included) and 3 cents for a huge stein of Cream City brew.

Sons George and Gustav stepped into the picture in the 1930s and weathered World War II by downplaying the German theme. As soon as the war ended and the bitterness subsided, fans could once again unabashedly indulge in their lust for sauerkraut balls and spätzle, krautflecken, and liver dumpling soup. Schnitzel comes in several fashions:

Count Esterhazy, Black Forest, Innsbruck à la Holstein or Ritter style, as well as on sampler plates that call for Olympic training.

These days Dennis Wegner heads the kitchen; he's been in charge for over 10 years and learned the nuances of the classic recipes from his mentor, who logged 20 years at the kitchen's stove.

A mere nothing in Mader's annals. "The girls"--the trainee waitresses, averaging 15-18 years--all speak fluent German, as does the barman.

For a short time in the 1970s, Mader's foyer became an art gallery. Outgrowing the space in what seemed like a matter of minutes, Mader's Old World Third Street Gallery was launched a few doors down the street. It houses more Hummel ware than anywhere in the Midwest. The newest piece, "Chancellor's Visit," created in honor of Mr. Kohl, has already topped $1 million in sales.

Mader's German Restaurant, 1037--41 N. Old World Third Street, Tel. (414) 271-3377.

 

John Ernst's may be the oldest and Mader's the best known, but Karl Ratzsch's is the one equated with a fine-dining experience, both in food and atmosphere. It's consistently voted Milwaukeeans' favorite restaurant.

In an elegant but cozy room, lights are low, and a piano wafts Viennese waltzes. Below the ceiling's timbered beams, warm wood- paneled walls are hung with oil paintings in ornate golden frames. A beautiful collection of steins, porcelain, and glassware decorate the back bar and plate rails around the room.

They were brought back from Europe by "Mama Ratzsch," as Karl's wife, Helen, was known throughout Milwaukee. Karl had arrived in America just prior to World War I, which left him stranded. He took a job in a cafe owned by the stepfather of Helen, a recent arrival herself, and after a 10-year courtship, they married and bought the cafe.

In 1929 the couple relocated the business to its present downtown site. Despite the grips of the Depression, Karl and Helen managed to establish a loyal following. In the 1950s, their son, Karl Jr., took over managerial duties, and he, in turn, passed the torch to Karl Ratzsch III in 1984. Last year the restaurant became the bailiwick of another Ratzsch, Karl's brother Josef.

The Ratzsch roster may change, but the staff doesn't. The chef's been in position for over 20 years. Waitresses dressed in Old World dirndls boast of 20, 30, and more years of service (Winnie, clocking 40, just retired). And guests are just as loyal.

The extensive list of specialties leads off with käse spätzle, a savory strudel stuffed with smoked pork and cheese, and konigsberger klopse. Choose German potato salad or a stylish Caesar prepared tableside, or maybe the liver dumpling soup. Then proceed to a wurst platter with three kinds of sausages, those popular schnitzels, or a combination plate.

It's virtually impossible to "save room" for desserts when your platter's heaped with trimmings like sauerkraut, red cabbage and potato dumplings. But never mind--just bite the bullet and order it anywaz, or you'll have regrets in the morning. Homemade sweets include strudels of apples or tart Wisconsin cherries, a chocolate or strawberry schaum torte, or puffy German pancake. Besides eight German beers on tap, wines from the Rhine, Mosel, Saar, and Ruhr are represented.

11. CONCLUSIONS

There is no doubt that German Americans who emigrated to the New World mostly in the 19th century had a great impact in helping America develop as a country. They have been influential in almost every field and at the same time helped create America’s identity as a nation.

Revolutionary progress was made due to their coming and even more German traditions and customs became rapidly popular among Americans. Most of them are still celebrated and highly respected. Actually, it can be admitted that a whole German conception of life can be experienced when traveling to specific region in America.

Nowadays, there are Americans of German origin who managed to become successful. Today they are known, their job is widely recognized and appreciated and they must feel proud of their German roots.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.wikipedia.org WALZ, JOHN A. German Influence in American Education and Culture

www.german-way.com/american.html