To start, during the pre-war timeline the US created a group
called the CPI. They were a Committee on Public Information which placed
pro-war advertisements in magazines showing America’s role in the war. Filmmakers,
were also encouraged to start producing movies that featured German atrocities
and how the US was greater than Germany; basically beating them down. Another
group the APL (American Protective League) was very active during all of this.
They were a group of 200,000 amateur detectives who were basically a bureau of
investigation. They were mainly created to spy on the Germans, including their
phone calls, going into their private homes and doing anything to get into
their personal life to see what was going on. One last group that maybe had the
most impact in this situation was the National Security League. They’re main
purpose was to tell all of America that you had to support the country’s war
goals or you were considered un-loyal. Your loyalty was also based of off your
patriotism, so if you were not a very patriotic person then you were
questioned. German-Americans were the ones who were pushed most by the League
as they were forced to buy war bonds and sing the national anthem. Also, if
they were not very enthusiastic while doing either of these activities, then
they were not left alone because they were not seen as supporting the country
enough.
The effects in the US during the War were probably the most
atrocious of anything else that went on. In public places such as schools,
libraries and churches, Germans had minor effects. Local newspapers that were
written in German or had any relations to German descent were eliminated. In
fact if anyone was caught reading a German newspaper then they had a high
chance of being abused. Schools were no
longer able to teach the German language or any text books that were written in
German. School libraries and public libraries had to remove all German written
books, German language books, or books that were connected to almost anything
German. Cities that had a large German-American population and had church
services in German were no longer allowed either. The music industry was also affected
for a time period as they removed the playing of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. The
food industry was slightly affected but the name of sauerkraut was changed to “liberty
cabbage” and the hamburger was changed to “liberty steak”.
The most atrocious and probably the most memorable impact of
Anti-German sentiment was simply on the abuse and treatment of Germans in the
US. The US became so focused on being patriotic and representing the US as much
as possible that almost any German they found, was immediately investigated.
Germans could not speak in the German language in public if there were more
than three of them. Also, hysteria started that any born Austrian or German in
the US was automatically a spy and should be looked into. This caused problems
in the workplace as well because than all Americans started to believe that
their coworkers were spies and should be arrested. Over this period of time
hundreds of reports were made about possible “spy’s” but there was never one
German ever arrested, tried, or convicted for being a “spy”. Americans actually
started to complain to Woodrow Wilson that this worry of German-Americans was
actually causing tension and should calm down. Americans started to become subconscious
of any Germans they saw and also started to write letters of worry to Wilson. Being
a citizen in the US with a German name was enough for investigation by the APL
to look into you, or your family and possibly throw you in jail. Germans who
joked about America or even mentioned America in a non-positive way were
arrested or punished. Even Americans who joked about the US or the war were
punished and had a chance of possible arrest. German violence reached an all
time high and climax in spring 1918; a clear example is a German who lived in
San Jose CA, who was tarred, feathered, and then chained to a cannon in the
local park. Atrocities such as these and lynching was very common during this
time. They continued until the end of the war and even into WWII.
I personally believe that everything that went on in the US
during WWI about Anti-German abuse is just straight up wrong and disturbing.
The US wouldn’t be who they are today if it wasn’t for diversity. Having
Germans in the US creates that diversity that no other country has. If it wasn’t
for the different races, ethnics, and types of people then we wouldn’t be so
diverse. While the US was currently at war with Germany, some things were taken
too far such as abuse, lynching and the removal of German history in the US.
.jpg) |
| Robert Prager- A man who was lynched |
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| 1910 German Population Density |
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Sources:
German Americans & World War I (this source was one of my first sources that provided me with basic and general information on the topic that I was then able to expand on)
Authentic History (this was my main source of information, it provided me with in depth information, actual events that happened, and really let me know what German-Americans went through during this time)
First World War (this mainly provided me with a speech from US Ambassador James Gerard regarding German Americans during this time period and basically focused on questioning whether or not German Americans that had come to the US were now fully committed to being Americans)
Wisconsin History (Wisconsin was a highly populated German American location during this time period so it provided me with information on about what was going on there during all of this)
German Culture on the Skids (this source mainly provided me with very good information on the fear that Germans felt and atrocities that they went through; it includes one very in depth story on Robert Prager)
The War & German Americans (this source really just provided me with what happened to the Germans in the public arena such as businesses ect.)
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