Event 2: The History of German Iowans

We went to the Old Capitol Museum to a Keyes Gallery for Arts, Humanities, and Sciences. This gallery was focused on German Iowa. It was widely ranged on topics such as what German Iowans went through when the U.S. declared war on Germany, but other things as well such as German involvement in Iowa City breweries and their life/impact.

This exhibit focused on Germans in Iowa and the many aspects of that. They focused one part on the crisis for Germans in Iowa during the war. There was propaganda everywhere meant to be anti-German and an eye was always kept out for “German-American spies.” These German-Americans suffered a ton because of this. Neighbors listened to their calls, checked their mail, and basically watched their every move. And if there was anything suspicious going or they would be reported. Iowans who failed to show their support for the war were called “slackers” and would usually get their houses and businesses painted yellow. Some were even assaulted in public. German Iowans were denounced for singing songs in German, public and private conversations, and worshiping in German. Schools in Davenport and Spirit Lake even burned German books.

German Americans were very suffering during World War I because most of the people think that they would act like spy to provide information to the European countries and help the opponent. People were very angry about them and they stopped every connection with German Americans. Germans have no right to speak German, to talk, to write, and their business were forced to close by violence.

            German Americans experience more respect and comfort during World War II. The suspicion of Germans in the United States mainly focused on people with German citizenship instead of American citizenship. The German Americans contributed a lot to the U.S. army as well. First of all, they know the language very well. They can help to translate valuable information and help the U.S. military know what their opponents wants and their moves. This information was very important for the U.S. Secondly, they know their home country very much as well, they are kind of like the live map for the army

Switching gears, this exhibit also focused an area on Iowa City Breweries. They were made not only to be profitable, but also to help quench the residents’ thirst. Being an agricultural state, breweries were able to thrive here. By 1878, over 130 breweries thrived statewide. This industry created jobs and that led the legislature to modify the state’s first prohibition law to permit the manufacture of beer, wine, and cider made from Iowan-grown fruit and grain in 1856. For German Iowans beer was a big part of family outings and other activities.

 

Germans are also famous for their breweries. And there were lots of German breweries in Iowa City at that time. There are couple building still exist until today but most of them are just remembered in history. More and more started to enjoy the German breweries and it became one of the most popular thing to drink in this city.

Germans in Iowa is a very special group of people. They were among the first generation immigrations from Europe. And Iowa is always a home for these immigrants. Their settlements in Iowa made great contributions to this state in many criteria. They broke the stereotype that the Americans had on the Germans and they became a necessary part of state and marked in history.

First generation immigrants never fully mastered English. These Germans relied on the local newspaper a lot. They liked to rely on their national readership and there are couple long running German publications in Iowa. There were newspapers like the German Press, Iowa Banner, or the Slovan Americky.

 

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Germans are also very diverse in Iowa as well. They believed in different religions and their belief lead them to build different churches or temples according to their own wishes. They also have different living style or customs, so they settled down in different cities as well. But in all these cities, they all formed their own communities and they had a very happy life. They have their own club, they have their own association, they have their own community, and they have their own choir even. Their men’s choir were very famous and their German association provide a lot of help for the later immigrants and other refugees from other countries.