German Americans and Discrimination

German Americans and Discrimination

September 6, 2009

When asked about my ethnic group, I identify myself as being German. But in reality, I am able to identify with a few different ethnic groups. My mother is Irish and Native American and my father is German and Italian. I identify myself as being German about anything else because of my last name, Franz, and my physical appearance. I have dark hair, brown eyes, and a naturally tanned skin tone, common characteristics of being German or Italian. I also have always been highly interested in German heritage and culture and took this as a prime time to research the heritage further.

First Germans Arrive in Jamestown

In 1608, the first Germans arrived in Jamestown, VA, just a year after the first English settlers arrived in Jamestown (Grassl, 2000). Therefore, Germans were present at the creation of the nation (Grassl, 2000). The German Americans are the largest nationality to have immigrated to the U.S. during the colonization and the founding of the U.S. These early German Americans were skilled tradesmen and put forth a large contribution to the founding of our nation. For this reason, I found no reports or indication of prejudice, segregation, or racism being done to the Germans prior to WWII.

World War II and German Americans

When people think about German people and their culture or heritage three things often come to mind; Beer or Stout, Bratwurst and Sauerkraut, and Hitler and the Nazis. This is because these are things that are most commonly discussed and portrayed about Germans and their culture. But during WWII the U.S. government and many Americans viewed German Americans as “enemy ancestry” and labeled them as being potentially dangerous (Jacobs, 2009). And this is solely because of the horrible acts being committed by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi brigade. Between 1931 and 1940, 114,000 Germans immigrated to the U.S., many of whom were Jewish Germans or anti-Nazis feeling government oppression...