Title: When German Immigrants Were America’s Undesirables - HISTORY
Headings: When German Immigrants Were America’s Undesirables
When German Immigrants Were America’s Undesirables
Woodrow Wilson thought German Americans couldn't assimilate.
FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.
SIGN UP FOR MORE HISTORY!
RELATED CONTENT

Content: According to this stereotype, German Americans were “a race of barbaric raiders” who spoke a language other Americans couldn’t understand. pinterest-pin-it
A US Government poster showing a refugee with a baby fleeing from a shadowy and threatening figure of a German soldie, 1918. ( Credit: MPI/Getty Images)
All of this anti-German sentiment did two things. First, it motivated Anglo-Americans to push back against anything German. States banned German-language schools and removed German books from libraries. Some German Americans were interned, and one German American man, who was also targeted for being socialist, was killed by a mob. Secondly, in response to this, German Americans began intentionally “assimilating” to avoid becoming targets. They changed their names to English-sounding ones, renamed German streets, and began to speak German only in private. In public, they spoke English.