Quote:
Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007
To some extent the German-ness of the Midwest, at least, was/is a rural phenomenon. I think in the cities they tended to blend in with other ethnic groups.
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It didn't start out that way. Lots of cities in the midwest had very large, significant, and distinct urban German American communities (cincy, st. Louis, milwaukee, and chicago come immediately to mind), but the two world wars had a devastating effect on German American communities remaining distinct and insular. My own great grandfather told me stories how life in his old German neighborhood on the northside of chicago radically changed during and after WWI. He said that there was a concerted and conscious effort among his family, friends, and neighbors to downplay and diminish their "germanness" in an effort to blend into mainstream American society and to not appear to be sympathizers with the enemy.