tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post2309020487777609317..comments2024-01-08T18:08:40.779-06:00Comments on Family Archaeologist: War and Bigotry!Linda Gartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00740477693031139484noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-50292236156160133582012-01-16T12:57:46.906-06:002012-01-16T12:57:46.906-06:00Cheri,
I'm certainly finding out exactly what...Cheri, <br />I'm certainly finding out exactly what you say about journals. They are historical documents, telling the history of the time through the eyes of anyone willing to write (and assuming they keep and protect the journals). I am very lucky to have had a family that believed their lives were not only worth recording, but organized their documents in a reasonably logical way considering they weren't archivists. Well, I guess they were!Linda Gartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00740477693031139484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-10560997801767816962012-01-14T10:22:00.607-06:002012-01-14T10:22:00.607-06:00Fascinating! A wonderful account. Journals are our...Fascinating! A wonderful account. Journals are our physical attachment to our ancestors. I will be following the progress!Cherihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028792789306927465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-62911333273054219142012-01-13T09:55:02.753-06:002012-01-13T09:55:02.753-06:00Dear Kathy, Cheryl, Judith, Heather,
Thank you fo...Dear Kathy, Cheryl, Judith, Heather, <br />Thank you for your empathy with Fred's situation and your own stories of discrimination. We all know that this kind of prejudice is a human phenomenon -- visible from tribal warfare in Africa to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia -- and in our own dear country, triggered by everything from war (think of how Japanese, Germans, and Italians were portrayed in the media during WWII-- hideous beasts, engaged in unspeakable atrocities)--which then was associated with just good decent citizens of those ethnic backgrounds. Good judgment and common sense will be victims of a war mentality, so we have to guard against our lesser natures. The injustices that result often leave a trail of bitterness. And Judith -- I don't know if cities had more prejudice -- possibly -- only because people often lived in ethnic enclaves and were easier to marginalize while perhaps in rural areas, people knew and depended on neighbors more, but I certainly don't know.Linda Gartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00740477693031139484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-32290971495835688142012-01-13T08:15:18.759-06:002012-01-13T08:15:18.759-06:00It's like what Agent K says in Men In Black: &...It's like what Agent K says in Men In Black: "a person is smart. People are dumb..." Once groupthink comes into play stupid things start to happen. This discrimination also happened during World War I and I've always found it disturbing...why didn't people recognize that our country was built by immigrants? I look forward to seeing how Fred responds!Heather Kuhn Roelkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07247311735034470203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-50404613515697659452012-01-12T22:03:05.782-06:002012-01-12T22:03:05.782-06:00I have been researching my husband's family fo...I have been researching my husband's family for about 25 years and his family came out of Austria sometime in the 1700s. I have not tried to trace them to their homeland because their SC lines are so vague, but they ended up the hills of East Tennessee and most of them seemed to stay there.<br /><br />I wonder if the prejudice and the fear and bigotry shown toward the German immigrants during WWI and WWII was more prevalent in the big cities? Does anyone know if it was rampant in the rural areas?<br /><br />It is such a vile and hateful thing. Thank you, Linda, for writing about it. I look forward to the next chapter.Judith Richards Shuberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499186334451409604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-47254080929968418862012-01-12T20:02:47.415-06:002012-01-12T20:02:47.415-06:00Wow. Reading that made me really angry for him. ...Wow. Reading that made me really angry for him. I had just heard recently (on The Daily Show) about the discrimination and camps for the Italians and Germans (I knew about the Japanese camps). My anger was for the way he was treated. Just unacceptable. I'm glad your dad stood up for himself!Cherie Cayemberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00748187506552981093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-51329747495306774512012-01-12T19:35:33.198-06:002012-01-12T19:35:33.198-06:00As you know, I live in Cincinnati -- a city where ...As you know, I live in Cincinnati -- a city where a large percentage of the population traces its roots to Germany. Even here, the hysteria was so extreme that they changed the names of several streets because they had German names. German had always been taught as a second language in the public schools until WWI. I even heard a story where a high school senior was removed from class because of the perception that he sympathized with Germany. What's interesting is that at the time, the U.S. was officially neutral. Tough times.Kathy Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09417754385375586302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-79097603217877073172012-01-11T10:53:29.649-06:002012-01-11T10:53:29.649-06:00Claudia, your family's position had to be even...Claudia, your family's position had to be even harder--immigrating from Germany just 15 years before war broke out. Many married for convenience--especially if children were involved. A good spouse made life easier, if it wasn't love at first, they often came to love and respect each other, if kindly good folk. Margaret, even the best intentions can't save us from bigotry. What an irony. No, Candace, the KKK wasn't involved in this case. Just regular folks under the influence of out-sized fear. Marian, my dad and brother experienced the same in WWI - beaten up on the way to and from school. Jacquii-Many, not just Germans, changed their names to avoid the knee-jerk prejudice of former immigrants' descendants against the newer ones. So weird -- like hazing-- just continued on. And thanks, Elisabeth. It gets weirder and weirder.LInda Gartzhttp://www.familyarchaeologist.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-42980423514740420302012-01-10T14:30:40.387-06:002012-01-10T14:30:40.387-06:00I'm looking forward to the next post!!I'm looking forward to the next post!!Elizabeth Handlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05529452862369140506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-69115497322286025642012-01-10T13:38:39.016-06:002012-01-10T13:38:39.016-06:00Linda, in researching my mother-in-law's famil...Linda, in researching my mother-in-law's family, I ran across a scenario where some of that German-Amrican family changed the spelling of their obviously Germanic surname, supposedly in solidarity with their American homeland and as a protest over what their ancestral homeland was doing during the war. However, with what you are reporting, it may be closer to the truth that their move was more out of self-defence than broad editorial comment about the war.<br /><br />Your post on this topic is not only interesting, but a vital point in our history. Looking forward to the rest of this story!Jacqi Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03471698670217119444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-86417881030353542922012-01-10T09:29:28.863-06:002012-01-10T09:29:28.863-06:00My dad told me about his experience in WWI when be...My dad told me about his experience in WWI when because of his German name (his folks had been here since the mid 1800s), he was chased home repeatedly and tauted with anti German slurs. I fear some things don't change.Marian Kurznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-4788149733821809522012-01-10T09:24:54.248-06:002012-01-10T09:24:54.248-06:00Linda, you are cruel! Talk about leaving us hangin...Linda, you are cruel! Talk about leaving us hanging... I'm wondering if the KKK was involved? They were very strong in Indiana.Candacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13985879247117518101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-58141072170440990142012-01-10T07:58:39.385-06:002012-01-10T07:58:39.385-06:00Hi Linda:
I am enjoying your blog, a I told you a...Hi Linda:<br /><br />I am enjoying your blog, a I told you at book group. You might want to read "Those who Save Us" Can't remember the author's name. It is a story of Germans who were Righteous Gentiles and the anti-German treatment they experienced when they came to the U.S. after the war.<br /><br />MargaretMargarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06177094405167388749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853410677893201016.post-37087582554093884902012-01-10T07:24:12.823-06:002012-01-10T07:24:12.823-06:00My mother was four when the family emigrated from ...My mother was four when the family emigrated from Germany in 1926. She graduated from High School in 1940 and could not find a job except as a clerk working in a bakery. <br /><br />Her father had died accidentally in 1936 and her mother had remarried in 1939, the only job she could find was a housekeeping job in an elementary school. <br /><br />I often wondered if my grandmother remarried for convenience. That marriage lasted about thirty years, when she died.Claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02714440790407126206noreply@blogger.com