Kapitel 1 Kultur

In reading How German Is American, I ended up losing myself in thought early on. The implications of a submerged ethnic identity are... interesting. Indeed, I feel a dilemma surfaces. On the one hand, ethnic identity is an important piece of a person's identity as a whole, and to ignore or submerge it could result in the loss of a piece of oneself. Cultural identity bestows a great deal of history on the person, and to deny this history--and suppress the rich traditions that come as a part of one's heritage--is to deny yourself the opportunity to be a more interesting person. However, on the other hand, perhaps something is not being lost, but evolved. In mixing a German heritage with the cultural implications of being an "American," something new and beautiful emerges. In "diluting" one's German background with American traditions, values, and heritage; I feel that the end result is not simply two weak cultural identities, but a whole new one, complete with it's own stories, it's own implications, it's own traditions, it's own struggles, and indeed it's own life. The assimilation of German culture into American heritage is not the end of one story, but the telling of a wholly different story, posssibly greater than the sum of it's parts.

I feel How German is American does a fine job telling this story, through it's relaying of German immigration to America. The promise of land, and the instilling of the american dream in the hearts and minds of people all across Europe--especially in Deutschland--planted a seed. A seed of American Identity. This identity sprouted as the German people came to America, and spread all across the country. The tale of the Milwauke Turners implies a strengthening of this American identity within the German immigrants, but also suggests the planting of another seed. This seed is that of German identity, planted in the American heritage. And look how it has grown. Look at the names of some of the most stereotypically "american" foods. The "Hamburger", The "Frankfurter" sausage. The two identities have become one, stronger identity as history has unfolded, and German culture is still highly pervasive in American life today.