Culture & Heritage

German-Americans Maintain Culture & Language

Americans of German descent have a great desire to pass the customs, traditions and language on to their children. The singing and dancing, the wearing of costumes (Trachten) and celebrations of Germanic events and family festivities, the cooking and beverage traditions, the visiting of family and friends, Gemütlichkeit and Spaß, Steuben Parades with Princess, German American Day, Oktoberfests, Karneval and Christkindl Markets. DANK Clubs and Schools will introduce you to these customs and traditions and to people who share the same values.

America's German American Heritage

"Since the earliest days of the settlement of North America, immigrants from Germany have enriched our Nation with their industry, culture and participation in public life. Over a quarter of all Americans can trace their ancestry back to German roots, but more important than numbers are the motives that led so many Germans to make a new beginning across the Atlantic. America's unparalleled freedoms and opportunities drew the first German immigrants to our shores and have long inspired the tremendous contributions that German Americans have made to our heritage.

In the course of over 300 years of German emigration to this great land, German Americans have attained prominence in all areas of our national life. Like Baron von Steuben in Revolutionary times, many Americans of German descent have served in our military with honor and distinction. In the sciences, Albert Michelson and Hans Bethe immeasurably increased our understanding of the universe. The painters Albert Bierstadt and modernist Josef Albers have enhanced our artistic traditions, and composers such as Oscar Hammerstein have added their important influences to American music.

Yet even there many distinguished names cannot begin to summarize all the gifts that German Americans have brought to our nation's history. While parts of the Midwest, Pennsylvania and Texas still proudly bear the stamp of the large German populations of the last century, it is their widespread assimilation and far-reaching activities that have earned German Americans a distinguished reputation in all regions of the United States and in all walks of life," states President William J. Clinton in his 1995 German American Day Proclamation.

German-Americans Become Proud Americans

Organized German immigration to the United States commenced when the Quaker William Penn invited German Pietists and Mennonites, suffering from religious persecution in Germany, to settle in his Quaker colony. In 1678 some Krefeld Mennonites joined the Quakers, and 13 Mennonite Krefeld families started the long journey to the "New World" in 1683. they established the first permanent German settlement on American soil in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

They were the first to oppose and object to slavery. General von Steuben and his German American soldiers fought for and helped to make American Independence possible. For more than three centuries, German immigrants in the United States have built a long tradition of loyalty in both peace and war. German American Day, October 6, serves to honor them, and all the German immigrants who participated in the creation of this nation.

~ 43 Million Americans Claim German Heritage

German Americans constitute the largest ethnic group and the historically staunchest supporters of the democratic values. The result of the 2000 US Census indicates that the total US population was 281,421,906 at that time with the five major heritage groups in their percentages of the total:

Germans	42,885,162	15.2%
Irish	30,528,492	10.8%
English	24,515,138	8.7%
American	20,625,093	7.3%
Italian	15,723,555	5.6%
Data from U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Table QT-P13

German-Americans Are Bridge Builders

American and German youths enjoy exchange visits and learn about one another. The USA/Federal Republic of Germany Youth Exchange Program, created by President Reagan and Chancellor Kohl allows students from both countries to visit each other. Life-long friendships start at an early age.