Reflection Essay: How German is American?

One of the main reasons I originally took this class was because I was interested in German culture. Aside from some traditional German foods, I really didn’t know a whole lot about the German culture. I never really had a chance to experience any distinctly “German” events or celebrations, and I never really had even heard of any big ones, save for Oktoberfest. Because of this, I was quite eager to delve into the “How German is American” text. It was surprising that German traditions would also be American Traditions.

One of the biggest surprises came rather early in the text when I read about the German fascination with Native American culture. German settlers were not the first in the Midwest, but they still managed to make and maintain contact with the Native American populations. The pamphlet provided only glosses over David Zeisberger’s writings, but what really struck me as interesting were the amount of fictionalized depictions of Native Americans during the late nineteenth century, most notably Karl May and his works.

Just this statement alone made me think of some parallels that the American people went through, specifically the romanticized Western dramas and films of the mid-20^th century. The Native peoples must have seemed almost surreal to the Germans over in Germany. Interestingly enough, Karl May’s “Cowboys and Indians” books were actually from the Native American viewpoint. I wonder if the way Americans had historically treated Native Americans and the way the people in Germany had no say in the culture of the Native Americans had anything to do with their depictions of them.

Another big surprise I had was the impact of the Turners association on the American School system. To find out that the first Physical Education teacher and superintendent of Physical Education was a member of this association was a really exciting thing. In fact, seeing that a lot of German immigrants had a hand in shaping much more progressive thoughts such as women’s suffrage and anti-slavery was really cool. To think that the German mindset helped influence and shape the American mindset not only in the mid-1800s, but also today, fills me with a lot of pride as someone with German heritage.

That being said, I would say the most interesting and surprising thing I’ve heard about how German heritage was being held by the Old Order Amish, which is almost the exact opposite of the mentality shown by the Turners and the Freethinkers. I’m not sure why exactly I was so surprised that the Amish were of German descent; to be fair, the only thing I knew about the Amish before this reading were that they didn’t use technology. To think that this specific group of people came from the same part of Europe as the Turners and Freethinkers is almost mind-boggling, and I think that Germany’s diversity in terms of its American immigrants matches perfectly with the “melting pot” that America as a whole strives to be.

Overall, I found this reading to be very informative and it sparked a lot of questions and desires to learn more as I read it. I managed to find more reason to be proud of my German heritage as well, aside from just wanting to eat a little more sauerkraut. To think my ancestors played such a prominent role in the shaping of the country I live in today is really exciting, and I’m eager to find out about more ways they have shaped this nation.