Kapitel 1 Kultur-Texte

I found this article very interesting, because throughout high school and even middle school we were taught about immigration and even things such as Ellis island, but never did we go into detail about the founding and start to certain cultures. The first part of the article caught my attention because I was interested to find out why the Germans did adapt to places such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. My dad always told me that if I went to college in Minnesota I would fit in because I'm German and have blonde hair blue eyes, but I could never quite figure out the joke. It was cool to actually learn that the reason why they settled there was because there was so much more open land, and they wanted to bring their work rate and culture to our country, that had more freedom and rights then Germany at the time. The Germans taught us that farming and working hard is more then just making a "quick buck," but you can turn it into a lifetime business and home.

The "Turners" were very interesting to ready about because I did not know that a German came to America and started Gymnastics and freethinking. My favorite quote while reading about the Turners was, '"Sound Mind in a Sound Body,” expresses their vision for realizing

human potential through the integration of intellectual and physical development." This thought helped enable freethinkers and the ideas of abolishing slavery and giving women the right to vote. People coming from this country helped change our country as well.

Although most German-American community groups, religious and secular groups, were founded at least in part to preserve the German language, these groups and people helped change America as well. I also loved reading about the tradition that Germans have and the culture they enjoy sharing. Oktoberfest is, "less a celebration of German heritage—real or imagined—than it is the expression of a dynamic and culturally diverse local identity."

I enjoyed reading this article because not only did it teach me about the immigration of Germans coming to America, but it also taught me about the growth of the Germany once they were in America, and also how Germany has grown in general. It's amazing how we have learned so many things from their culture.