Title: War Hysteria & the Persecution of German-Americans
Headings: The WWI Home Front: War Hysteria & the Persecution of German-Americans
The WWI Home Front: War Hysteria & the Persecution of German-Americans
Content: A second large wave of German immigration started around 1830 and climaxed around 1854. By 1875, Germany had become a wheat importing country. German farmers became superfluous and immigrated to the U.S. , and German craftsmen, artisans, and shopkeepers whose livelihood depended on them followed. From 1881-1892, approximately 1,700,000 Germans arrived in America. Some had fled to avoid compulsory military service in Germany, now forged into a new nation by Otto von Bismarck. By the outbreak of WWI, a majority of these German immigrants prospered in America. They farmed in the Midwest, but also became urban workers. Despite American stereotypes of German-Americans, they were actually very diverse. Some Germans assimilated quickly. Others, like German Catholics and Lutherans, believed that the preservation of their faith depended on maintaining German language and culture.