When Mary Jane West, later the stage and film star Mae West (1893-1980), was growing up in Brooklyn and Queens she was known as "the German girl." Her mother, Mathilde/Matilda West (née Delker), had been born on 8 December 1870, probably in the Kingdom of Württemberg,...
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German-Americans
The Father of Sliced Bread Was a German Iowan
We take pre-sliced bread for granted. It has even become part of the language: "It's the best/greatest thing since sliced bread." But Iowa-born Otto Frederick Rohwedder did not begin selling his pioneering bread-slicing machine until 1928. It could automatically slice...
Indiana’s German Place Names and Connections
Indiana: The Hoosier State The US state whose name means "land of the Indians" also has a lot of German connections. In fact the largest ancestry reported in Indiana is "German" – with 22.7 percent of the population claiming that ancestry in the 2020 census. In the...
Reverse Culture Shock – An American in Berlin Back in the USA
I have spent the last 5 weeks back "home" in the USA after over a decade living in Berlin. This is far from my first visit back. Typically I close down my German household and go back to my home state of Washington every year and a half, with parents visiting in...
The Art and Tragedy of Albert Bierstadt
The German American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) The painting depicted below is not what most people consider a typical Albert Bierstadt landscape. It was created during the "tragedy" period of Bierstadt's life and career. Many art critics, art...
Starting School in Germany
Starting school is a big deal no matter where you are. I’ve been seeing my friends in the States post pics of their kids in front of the front door, backpack on and smile on their face. I posted my own proud picture of my first grader at the beginning of August when...
Claus Spreckels: The German-American “Sugar King”
The Germans Who Built America's Sugar Industry Not all the early American sugar barons were German. But most of them were. If you don't know the story of sugar, you're missing a fascinating tale. We don't have room to tell you that whole sweet story here, but we do...
Goethe and Schiller in San Francisco
German Culture at the "Goldenen Thor" During a recent visit to San Francisco I got a surprising reminder of how truly widespread and important German culture once was in the United States – before two world wars drastically changed the role it played in America. My...
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