Volume 19 No 3 • Fall 2010
Father Ambros Oschwald and the Utopian Community of St. Nazianz in Wisconsin: Part I Karyl Rommelfanger Used with the permission of the Society of the Divine Savior – USA Province – Salvatorian Archives. – Salvatorian the Society of withthe Divine the permission – USA Province Savior of Used
Undated photo of workers at St. Nazianz. The men are identified as: John Gramlich, for many years the “Hausvater” of the Old Brothers at the Seminary; Joe Gramlich; and Joe Hein, Farm Boss.
The following is the first of a two- the Catholic utopian colony of St. part series about the utopian commu- Nazianz. The community functioned INSIDE nity of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, and its successfully until the charismatic founder, Ambros Oschwald. The 2011 leader’s unexpected death in 1873, • News Briefs Annual Meeting of the Max Kade after which divisions arose and the • New MKI Publication, Paths Institute (May 7, 2011) will include a once effective enterprise began to fail. Crossing visit to St. Nazianz, where visitors will Ambros Oschwald was born in • Book Review: Alabama in tour the community and the religious 1801, at a time when the power of Africa property of this once very lively and the Catholic Church in his homeland • Book Review: Westward successful colony. of Baden was fading rapidly. The • Report: Emigration from the previously intertwined relationship Austro-Hungarian Empire n 1854 Catholic priest Father of church and state had been dis- • MKI Conference: Germans Ambros Oschwald led his fol- solved, and—though two-thirds of and the U.S. Civil War lowers across the Atlantic Ocean the population of Baden was Roman • Fall Events at the MKI Ito New York, and then westward Catholic—a Protestant government • German Fest 2010 to Wisconsin, where he founded Continued on page 4 DIRECTOR’S CORNER
Greetings, Friends Tax-deductible donations can be sent Civil War, focusing particularly on to the Friends or to the UW Founda- the war’s meaning here and abroad, and Readers! tion, always designated clearly “For especially for speakers of German. ith a smile, we announce the MKI Library Project.” Please see p. 11 for details. that the Max Kade At the same time, we would like to On another note, we announce that Foundation in New York express once again our appreciation the MKI Friends Newsletter, which Whas given a big boost to our project for your gifts in the form of books has in recent years appeared as a to renovate the fourth floor of the and other materials, which have al- quarterly, will now be published only University Club—with a grant of ways been the backbone of the MKI’s three times per year. The fall issue $500,000. We are grateful to the Max library holdings. Thanks especially to should appear at the end of October/ Kade Foundation for its generous do- Jim Dow, who has donated valuable beginning of November, the winter nation. It is one of the cornerstones research papers, recordings, and oth- issue at the end of January/beginning of our Library Project, which was er materials to our library and sound of February, and the spring issue at first announced in theMKI Friends archives. (See pp. 12 and 14.) the end of April/beginning of May. Newsletter a year ago. This means our We also acknowledge with grati- We realize that the current issue is plans can move ahead to remodel, tude a grant from the Goethe Insti- arriving late, but we will do our best refurbish, and modernize our new tute of Chicago, which allows us to to keep on schedule in the future. space, making it a first-class facility reprint the popular “How German Because this is the last issue of the for our library, our offices, and our Is American?” brochure. Now in its current calendar year, we would like visitors. We look forward to a ribbon third press run, this was created to to take this opportunity to wish you cutting ceremony in the coming year! go with our poster by the same title, all the best for the coming holiday In addition to renovating our new which is still available. Please let us season. May good health, hard work, headquarters, it is our goal to endow know if you need a copy. and a measure of success in what you a secure librarian position and make We are planning a symposium enti- attempt be yours in the coming year possible new acquisitions for our tled “German and German-American 2011. Stay in touch! collections. We have submitted ad- Dimensions of the U.S. Civil War,” to —Cora Lee ditional grant proposals, which will take place in Madison on March 3–5, be successful only if we can show 2011. Several leading scholars from substantial commitment from our Europe and the U.S. will speak, and home base, including the UW, our we have issued a call for additional Friends, and other private individu- twenty-minute papers that deal with als. We would like to express our the time before, during, and after the heartfelt gratitude to you for your support over the last year. Your gifts have come from near and far and The Newsletter of the Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies is show us that the work of the MKI published quarterly at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Submissions are invited and and its resources are valued not only should be sent to: in Madison and in Wisconsin, but across the nation and worldwide. Kevin Kurdylo Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies Our Library Campaign has made tre- 901 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705 mendous strides, but we must con- Phone: (608) 262-7546 tinue to work hard to reach our goals. Fax: (608) 265-4640 Your contributions will continue to [email protected] be of utmost importance to our ef- mki.wisc.edu forts and are very much appreciated. maxkade.blogspot.com
2 NEWS BRIEFS
MKI Represented at German Mark Louden explore the long tradi- how collaboration between scholars Studies Association tions in German-American studies at in German-American studies can be Conference in Oakland, CA the University of Wisconsin–Madi- promoted in the digital age. son, reaching back decades before Taken together, the contributions MKI Director Cora Lee Kluge and the founding of the MKI—a chapter included in Paths Crossing display the Assistant Director Antje Petty at- that is in itself an important histori- scope of the field of German-Amer- tended the annual German Studies cal document for our field; (2) Jost ican studies, correcting the once- Association conference in Oakland, Hermand reflects on the impact in prevalent notion that the field is re- California, in early October. This five separate fields made by refugees stricted to the historical investigation four-day event brought together from Hitler’s Reich who came to the of ethnic Germans in America in scholars in various disciplines from UW–Madison; (3) Walter Kamphoef- the period before World War I. They all over the world, whose research ner discusses the question of how to question previous understandings of interests converge in German studies. approach German-American ethnic- German-American identity, ethnic- The Oakland conference included ity; (4) Hartmut Keil addresses Fran- ity, language, and literature, and sug- 320 sessions and over a thousand cis Lieber and his encounter with gest new directions for the field. They presentations, among which were slavery; (5) Hugh Ridley discusses help redefine German-American Cora Lee Kluge’s paper entitled “For the development of an American studies as the broad, interdisciplin- Readers Abroad: German-American national literature, taking as his point ary study of German-speaking im- Eyewitness Reports on Civil War Is- of departure Sealsfield’sKajütenbuch; migrants and their descendants in a sues” and Antje Petty’s entitled “Ger- (6) Lorie Vanchena reports on recent global, multicultural, and interdisci- man Artists—American Cyclorama: work in the field of German-Ameri- plinary context. a Nineteenth-Century Case of Trans- can literature; (7) Daniel Nützel ad- We expect that Paths Crossing will national Cultural Transfer.” Both dresses the issue of language death in be available within a short time, and were well received and garnered new two German-American communi- we recommend it to all friends of interest in the work of the MKI. ties; (8) Steven Hoelscher investigates German-American studies. Order the growth of ethnic identity in the it from Peter Lang
3 was using its power to diminish the influence of the Catholic church. Church property was seized, monas- teries and convents were closed, and seminary education was regulated by state authorities. Nevertheless, for many families in Baden, Catholicism remained very much alive, and the Oschwald family was no exception. Ambros’s father Mathias, a devout Catholic, ran a mill in southern Baden; and in his late adolescent years the young Oschwald felt a calling to serve his church. In 1833, after two years of seminary training, Ambros Oschwald was ordained a Catholic priest. Used with the permission of the Society of the Divine Savior – USA Province – Salvatorian Archives. – Salvatorian the Society of withthe Divine the permission – USA Province Savior of Used Oschwald had few needs, and he led a spartan life: he was more apt to spend his salary on the needs of his parish than on himself. The central theme of the Gospel message, he told his parishioners, was to love one’s neighbor, and his compassion for the unfortunate as well as his charis- matic personality continually drew people to him. But Oschwald also found himself repeatedly in conflict with the church hierarchy, and he Portrait of Ambros Oschwald from the 1929 St. Nazianz Diamond Jubilee book. The inscription reads: “Everyone should use his talents to advance the welfare of others.” was transferred from one parish to (Jeder befördere nach Kräften seines Nächsten Wohlfart.) another, often to remote areas of the diocese. The controversies had to In 1843 Oschwald openly declared that he had a special relationship do with three aspects of the young that he had healed 3,160 persons, with God and could interpret dreams priest’s ministry. attributing his power to God. In one and visions and see into the future. First, Father Oschwald believed community, local doctors called him In 1849 he published a book en- that he possessed special powers to a quack and demanded both a civil titled Mystische Schriften (Mystical heal the sick. Indeed, it seems proba- and church investigation, but after a Writings), in which he predicted the ble that he had become familiar with careful inquiry, Oschwald was found second coming of Christ at the turn homeopathic cures because his fami- innocent of any wrongdoing. This as- of the century and the establishment ly had practiced them. He had shown pect of his ministry remained part of of a New Jerusalem in southwestern an early interest in studying plants his work in Wisconsin, and there are Germany. This would be followed by and herbs that could heal illnesses. those today who still believe he was a thousand years of peace through- However, he had also read Biblical able to perform miraculous cures. out the world. Religious authori- accounts of people being restored to The second controversy that ties called the book heretical and health through fervent prayer, the involved Oschwald concerned his a hodge-podge of nonsense. Some laying on of hands, and exorcism. belief in mysticism, his conviction also questioned Oschwald’s mental
4 stability. The Church, which could The long journey had taken its toll, log houses built under Oschwald’s hardly tolerate a recalcitrant priest and the number of those remain- directions. In time two convents with crazy ideas, asked Oschwald ing with Oschwald had dwindled. were constructed for the unmar- to pledge that he would publish no In New York some had refused to ried, who became known as Brothers further books. Nevertheless, despite journey any further, and in Milwau- and Sisters. Additional houses were his promise, another book appeared kee others were too ill to continue. added as membership increased, within the year. Only the strongest traveled on to the and eventually also a hospital, an The third and final blow occurred north to begin creating a new home orphanage, several schools, and a in 1850 when the unmanageable out of the tangled, forested wilder- short-lived seminary, as well as mills priest founded a society called “Der ness that made up eastern Wisconsin. and businesses. Among the colony’s geistlich-magnetische Verein” (Spiri- By Christmas of 1854, only 70 of the craftsmen were a shoemaker, a tailor, tual Magnetic Society). This attempt original 113 were still members of a baker, a weaver, a blacksmith, a to organize his followers worried the the Oschwald community. mason, and carpenters. The Sisters Archbishop who, fearing the group Life was difficult in the initial years made straw hats, felt shoes, and an would turn into a cult, composed of settlement. The new immigrants artisan cheese that were sold outside a letter to each of the diocesan experienced hardships in the form the community, and they became churches, warning parishioners of of hunger, fires, unexplained deaths, some of the area’s first educators, as Oschwald’s ideas. He then relieved and severe winters, all of which led Catholic schools emerged through- Oschwald of his parish and limited to dissension. Worst of all was their out the county. his priestly duties. inability to make mortgage payments Community members were not In 1852 Oschwald retreated to on the land: if it were not for the gen- paid for their work, but if they per- Munich where he began studying erosity of Ulrich Kunzweiler, a Ger- formed jobs for non-affiliated indi- medicine, a move he had contem- man outside the community, the new viduals, they were allowed to accept plated for some time. Upon his settlers would have lost their prop- pay and keep their earnings. This return to Baden two years later, he erty. By 1860, however, St. Nazianz money they often put back into their informed the Archdiocese that he had begun to grow, and Oschwald businesses to purchase needed sup- was giving up the priesthood in favor had formulated his ideas about how plies. Non-members could also reside of medicine. He then requested and the village should operate. in the village, usually individuals who received permission from both civil Any German-speaking Catholic, possessed specific skills or sold goods and religious authorities to emigrate. single or married, or anyone wish- the community needed, for which His civil emigration papers recorded ing to become Catholic, was eligible they were duly compensated. his profession as “a former priest.” to join the community, as long as Individuals joining the colony were At the end of May 1854, Oschwald the person adhered to its principal expected to donate whatever money and 113 of his followers boarded two rules. Members agreed to share work, they could to the common treasury. ships at LeHavre, France, and began a money, and food, live a life of humil- In theory a member could leave the five-week journey across the Atlantic ity, observe the sacraments, educate society at any time, taking along an Ocean. After arriving in New York, the young, and, above all, serve amount of money or property deter- they journeyed on to Milwaukee, others—especially the infirm, the mined in accordance with the work where Oschwald used their pooled poor, widows, and orphans. Swear- or money he or she had contrib- resources to purchase 3,840 acres ing, quarreling, fighting, unlawful uted. Some members who left were of land in Manitowoc County. They conduct, impurity, boorishness, and compensated as promised, but others christened their yet unseen village St. rudeness could lead to expulsion, but apparently were not. Nazianz, after St. Gregory of Nazianz, a person was given three chances to Members of the Oschwald settle- who centuries earlier had retreated reform before being ousted. ment enjoyed their meals together, into a contemplative life, just as they Initially, all members, married and intended to do. unmarried, lived in the numerous Continued on page 15
5 BOOK REVIEW
The American New South, Colonial Africa, and Prussia from a Transnational Perspective Cora Lee Kluge
Alabama in Africa: Booker T. Wash- the transfer of modern sociological ington, the German Empire, and the theories concerning labor, race, class, Globalization of the New South. By and culture—from Karl Marx’s and Andrew Zimmerman. Princeton and Gustav Schmoller’s reports concern- Oxford: Princeton University Press, ing the American Civil War, to social 2010. and economic policies developed in connection with the situation of ndrew Zimmerman’s study Polish migrant workers on the large takes as its starting point the agricultural estates in eastern Prussia, 1901 arrival in Togo of four to ideas developed in colonial Togo AAfrican Americans from Alabama’s and the New American South by Tuskegee Institute, who were brought Max Weber, Booker T. Washington, there by German colonial authorities W.E.B. Du Bois, and Robert E. Park. to introduce methods of producing According to Zimmerman, Park, cotton that had been successful in the who studied in Germany, worked American South. Parts of the story in Africa, and collaborated with are widely known through the work Washington at the Tuskegee Institute of previous scholars such as Louis before taking a position at the Uni- R. Harlan, Pulitzer Prize-winning versity of Chicago, “brought together one-third of the book, which is nev- historian famous for his biography of the German and the southern tradi- ertheless clearly written and easily Booker T. Washington. But Zimmer- tions of sociological thought, thereby approachable. It is a full-fledged, man takes the tale a number of steps influencing American sociology and complex study of the intertwining of further, showing that this Alabaman American racial thought to perhaps a German, American, and African his- expedition to Africa was much more greater extent than any other sociolo- tory that provides broad perspectives than a relatively insignificant agricul- gist”; and he shows the intellectual on economic and political develop- tural assistance program. It received and physical routes by which these ment, social relations, and sociology widespread international recognition ideas came together. Gems are avail- in the period between the U.S. Civil as a milestone in the worldwide pro- able throughout the pages: informa- War and World War I. Praised as a duction of cotton, was imitated else- tion about who met whom at the groundbreaking work in the field where in African colonies, and led to International Congress of Arts and of global history, Zimmerman’s un- the introduction and development Science (in St. Louis, 1904), whose dertaking succeeds in pushing back of labor practices that have domi- purpose was to promote exchange the boundaries of what can be ac- nated the global South ever since. between German and American complished in an interdisciplinary, Zimmerman succeeds in connecting scholars, or about the development of transnational investigation of the this expedition to three great social/ the Chicago school of sociology. cross-fertilization of people, economic transformations: those of Zimmerman’s Alabama in Africa is methods, and ideas. the southern United States, eastern an erudite study that is heavily an- Germany, and colonial Africa. notated and includes an extensive Furthermore, the Togo expedition bibliography. The notes, bibliography, becomes the starting point for Zim- and brief (perhaps too brief) index merman’s careful investigation of together comprise approximately
6 REPORT
Research Team Collaborates on Austro-Hungarian Emigration: Symposium Report Kevin Kurdylo
udience members in fertile ground for such an examina- ish speakers from Russia or from the Madison on November 16, tion, since it was at the time one of German Reich). German-speaking 2010 attended a sympo- the most economically, culturally, so- immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Asium entitled “Ethnicity, Identity, cially, and ethnically diverse regions of course, often married German- and Emigration from the Regions of in Europe, with nearly three million speakers already residing in or even the Austro-Hungarian Empire.” The of its citizens emigrating to the U.S. born in the U.S. After the Quota Act three presentation were made by a between 1876 and 1910. of 1924 went into effect, however, group of researchers investigating the Examining eight different eth- when fewer potential marriage part- social and cultural consequences of nicities (Ukrainians were excluded ners arrived from Austria-Hungary, migration both within Central Eu- from the study as their immigra- more intermarrying took place. In- rope and between the Austro-Hun- tion numbers were too low), Steidl deed by 1950, over 90 percent of the garian Empire and North America in concluded that there was a high second-generation migrant men were the late nineteenth and early twen- correlation between migration choosing U.S.-born spouses. tieth centuries. Leading the project, and marriage, with 82 percent of James Oberly’s presentation on which is based at the University of all women recorded as married in “Census-Counting in the Kingdom Minnesota, are Annemarie Steidl and of Hungary, 1870–1910, and in the Wladimir Fischer from the Univer- At the time, the Habsburg United States, 1870–1950” provided sity of Vienna and James Oberly from Monarchy was one of the insights into the politics behind the University of Wisconsin–Eau census questions and how the data most economically, socially, Claire. The research group is plan- was used. Thus Hungarians (or Mag- ning a monograph to be published in culturally, and ethnically yars) made up only 45 percent of 2012, which will draw upon data and diverse regions in Europe. the population in their own country, archival materials, including censuses and government officials actively from the United States, the Austrian sought ways to foster the dominance Empire, and the Hungarian King- 1900 having wed within ten years of of the Hungarian language and cul- dom; ship passenger lists from Bre- their coming to the United States. ture through their censuses. While men and Hamburg; parish records She pointed to an overwhelming Hungarian census forms in 1869 from both sides of the Atlantic; and tendency for first-generation im- asked only for personal information newspapers, periodicals, manu- migrants to marry within their own (including religion, a question never scripts, autobiographies, and minutes ethnic group (a trend that holds as asked in U.S. censuses), and literacy, of migrant societies. true today as it did in the past) and it wasn’t until 1880 that respondents Annemarie Steidl spoke about stated that women were more likely were asked to specify their mother “Understanding the Transatlantic to marry outside their ethnic group tongue. Results over the following Migration Experience: The Inter- than men (although men were more decades reveal only a small growth marriage of U.S.-Migrants from likely to marry U.S.-born spouses); in the use of Magyar until 1910, Austria-Hungary as an Indicator of and that when marrying outside of when the census asked not only Acculturation, 1910–1950,” using their national affiliation (i.e., the about a person’s mother tongue, but U.S. census data to analyze marriage Austro-Hungarian Empire), spouses also whether he or she knew Mag- patterns among various migrant usually spoke the same language (for yar. By folding in these additional groups. The Habsburg Monarchy of example, Polish speakers from the Continued on page 10 the early twentieth century provides Hungarian Kingdom married Pol-
7 BOOK REVIEW
Portraits of Swiss-American Immigrant Women Antje Petty
Westward: Encounters with Swiss- American Women. By Susann Boss- hard-Kälin, with a postscript by Leo Schelbert. Washington, DC : Swiss- American Historical Society, 2010.
n 2006, Swiss journalist Susann Bosshard-Kälin set out on a three-year quest to interview ISwiss women who had emigrated to the United States. Her project was encouraged by Leo Schelbert, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Illinois in Chicago. In his research on eighteenth and nine- teenth century Swiss immigrants, Professor Schelbert noted that even though half of the ca. 400,000 Swiss who came to America in that time period were women, women’s voices born in New Jersey the child of Swiss two appear to have been bilingual were rarely heard in the immigration immigrants, all women came to the French/German and Italian/German. narrative. Over the years Professor United States as adults, individually, Some grew up on farms in remote Schelbert collected their letters and and not part of a larger group. Seven Alpine valleys, and others in cities other documents and conducted were born in the 1920s, six in the like Zurich or Geneva. There are family interviews to get their history. 1930s, and two in the 1940s. None of those who had a middle class up- Four of Schelbert’s stories—two from them arrived before the end of World bringing in a caring home, while oth- the eighteenth and two from the War II, only three came in the late ers experienced poverty, family loss, nineteenth century—can be found at 1940s, and the others in the 1950s and displacement. For all of them, the end of the publication. and 1960s. Except for Linda Geiser, the war years had loomed large over What Professor Schelbert did who lived and worked as an actress their childhood or youth. by reconstructing family records, in both New York and Switzerland, The reasons that motivated these Susann Bosshard-Kälin now ac- none of the women had ever been to women to move to America vary complishes through interviews with America before they decided to settle as much as their personal back- immigrants themselves. The result is here. Most were single (7) or newly grounds. For some, like Marianne “Westward: Encounters with Swiss- married (4). Only one emigrated Burkhard, America offered a chance American Women,” a collection of with her husband and children and to shape their own lives outside of essays that tells the stories of fifteen another as a single mother: a stark the confines of Swiss society (espe- Swiss women who came to America contrast to immigration patterns in cially restrictive for women, as they in the twentieth century. Each story earlier times. perceived it) and to take advantage is unique and fascinating, but there The majority came from Swiss- of educational and professional op- are some common strands. Except German families, two were French- portunities that they would not have for Margot Amman Durrer, who was speaking, one spoke only Italian, and had in Switzerland. Others left Swit-
8 zerland to join an American man, the women, their Swiss background someone they had met in Switzer- remain important. When asked about land, and in most cases a new or fu- their own identity, most say that they ture husband. Three women married consider themselves American, but second-generation Swiss Americans Swiss at heart. Some have been pillars before they emigrated. For most, the of local Swiss-American communi- decision to emigrate seemed to have ties, trying to keep Swiss heritage in been rather spontaneous, as it was America alive wherever they can, like the case with Nelly Schleicher, who Martha Bernet Zumstein, a member answered an ad for a nanny in New of a Swiss choir and host of a local York, or Lillet Lee von Schallen, who Swiss radio program in Monroe, took up an offer of support from a Wisconsin,—and incidentally the California couple she had met by mother of MKI Friends Board of Di- chance on a train. rectors member Hans Bernet. Many Once in America, the lives of these women kept Swiss traditions alive immigrant women took different in their families and continued to turns, but all of them worked hard to speak their native language with their get ahead in their new country. This children. Some, on the other hand, might mean working on the family have a more ambivalent relationship farm or being an integral part of the with their home country, like Rosa Martha Bernet hosting a Swiss radio program in Monroe, WI. family business, like Elsbeth Bollier Schupbach Lechner, who had lost her Büche, who with her husband had a Swiss citizenship when she married and nineteenth century narratives popular confection store in Kansas an Iranian citizen, and had experi- highlights the similarities of all im- City, Missouri, or Margrit Meier enced “living as a foreigner in my migration experiences, and the time- Sidler, who owns an inn in Hartland, own country” before she emigrated less issues of identity, heritage, and Wisconsin, that she still operates to the U.S. acculturation. But it also shows what even after her husband’s death. Other All the women have been back to is unique about the immigration of women were the primary or even sole Switzerland for a visit, and some this generation of Swiss women, who providers for themselves and their have traveled there frequently. Only came individually and as adults to the children. Many women furthered two women, however, have returned United States in the mid-twentieth their education in America, like Ma- permanently in their old age. One century. May this volume be an inspi- rie Simone Pavlovich Ludwig, who is Marion Schlapfer Brandes, who ration to record the stories of other got a Ph.D. in French literature and as the daughter of a stateless Jew immigrants in their own voices. now teaches at Northwestern Uni- and a Swiss mother (who had lost versity, or Ellen Carney Ernst, who her citizenship because of her mar- studied psychology and later had a riage) grew up stateless and as an private practice as a family therapist outsider in Zurich, and who had to near Philadelphia. go through the rigid Swiss naturaliza- In many respects these stories of tion process before she was allowed immigrant life reflect the ups and to become a Swiss citizen in the early downs of American society in gen- 1950s. eral: happy marriages and divorce, Westward is a welcome contribu- economic success and bankruptcy, tion to the literature of first-person illnesses and loss, adventure and immigrant accounts. The juxtaposi- mobility, secure retirement and the tion of the fifteen featured twentieth need to work in old age. But for all century stories with eighteenth
9 Continued from page 7 Hungarian census data after World “shop with your compatriot.” Inter- War I, when Hungary’s borders were estingly, for businesses ethnic bound- numbers, Hungary could announce being redefined. aries seemed flexible at this time, and that 61.21 percent of the population While Steidl and Oberly worked shops owned by non-Croats used spoke Hungarian, representing a with quantitative census data, this phrase, or stated that they were triumph for Magyarization, and also Wladimir Fischer in his talk entitled “friends of the Croats.” providing a measure of Hungarian “Maintaining South Slav Migrant Nearly 40 percent of Slavs who bilingualism (a topic never captured Groups: The Praxis, 1890s to 1960s” came to America before World War by U.S. censuses). Census data, and focused on primary source materials, I returned to Hungary; like immi- maps created from this data, also such as newspapers, diaries, photo- grants from countries such as Italy, identified ethnic groups that might graphs, and the minutes of migrant many had planned only a temporary work against Magyarization. Slovaks, groups’ social organizations, to reveal migration, mainly for the purpose of for example, who had emigrated to how these groups maintained their raising money for their families in America for work and then returned ethnic identities. He is also intrigued Europe. to Hungary, might have come into by the “engineers” who actively The conference concluded with a contact with groups (particularly in worked to maintain ethnic groups lively discussion, and all agreed that Pittsburgh) in favor of Slovak inde- and wants to document their stories this unusual collaboration of scholars pendence and/or a pan-Slav union. and explore their methods. Identity using different approaches to a com- Meanwhile, the U.S censuses im- politics were particularly important mon topic will produce a wealth of posed limitations on respondents for Slavs in America, as they con- results. who had emigrated from the Austro- stantly argued that they were not Hungarian Empire. In 1880 they Austrian or Hungarian, but Slovene could choose among only three lands or Croatian. of origin: Austria “proper,” Bohemia, At the turn of the twentieth cen- and Hungary, but by 1910 the Hun- tury, migrants were proud of their garian Monarchy had persuaded the ethnic identities but also took part U.S. to offer only two choices: Austria in American culture and political or Hungary. Slavic nationalities in the discourse (particularly when it af- U.S. were particularly vocal in their fected their groups). Fischer showed opposition to this, and—although images from ethnic newspapers that the census forms had already been reveal how these papers “translated” printed—a “mother tongue” question American culture for speakers of was squeezed in along with “place of the Slovene and Croatian languages birth,” resulting in some interesting (such as an ad for a 4th of July “Pik- self-identifications such as Hun-Slo- nik”), while also bringing news vak. By 1920 the Austro-Hungarian about events “back home,” including Empire had been restructured into politics, harvests, weather, and even seven “successor states,” and respon- cattle markets. Immigrant life was dents of the U.S. census could deter- bustling in America, as proven by mine themselves how they wanted to the profusion of ethnic business ad- be identified (with some noting their vertisements for banks, newspapers, origin at such specific levels as “Sal- saloons, grocery stores (“groceriji,” a zburg” or “Linz”), only to find them- word born in America), and funeral selves restricted again by 1930, when homes. Many of the ads in Croatian fewer categories were allowed. Oberly papers included the phrase “svoj also pointed out that the Allies used k svojema,” which means roughly
10 Upcoming Conference, March 3-5, 2011: German and German-American Dimensions of the Civil War
ark your calendars for March 3-5, 2011, when the Max Kade Institute will be hosting Ma symposium entitled “German and Ger- man-American Dimensions of the Civil War” at the UW–Madison Memorial Union. The goal of the symposium is to bring together leading senior research- ers, promising young scholars, and graduate students from different fields (history, American Studies, German Studies, literature, political sciences, geography, etc.) to share their research with a public and academic audience. 2011 will mark the sesquicentennial of the inauguration of President Lincoln and the first shots fired in the U.S. Civil War. We will mark the occasion by examining the time before, during, and after the Civil War from a unique angle, focusing on immigrants (especially those from German lands) and the global impact of the war (especially within German-speaking Europe). Topics will include: German immigrants, including Forty-eighters, and their influence in American society and political discourse; German Americans in the North and the South; Wisconsin’s Front cover of E. A. Duyckinck’s History of the War for the Union, trans. Friedrich Kapp (1861–1865). Donated by the family of Dr. Henry A. Peters, Jr. participation in the Civil War; the German-American home front; German feminists; German abolitionists; the Call for Papers: In addition to a portrayal of antebellum America, the number of prominent scholars from Civil War, and the war’s aftermath in the Europe and the United States, our German press and in German-language program will feature short (20-minute) literature; the depiction of the Civil presentations selected from War and the Civil War era America by submissions. Please send your 250- German artists; and the portrayal of this word abstract and a one-page curricum period in American history in current vita to
11 Fall Events at the Max Kade Institute Antje Petty
uring the months of A few examples: Mark Louden the SS-Kulturkommission.” Cymbrian September, October, and (UW–Madison) in his talk “Two (German: Zimbrisch) is a Germanic November the Max Kade Dialects, One Syntax: Wisconsin language related to Austro-Bavarian, DInstitute hosted a number of exciting German as Relexified in Pomeranian” which is spoken in areas of Northern programs that show how many dif- emphasized that people in Wisconsin Italy by descendants of people who ferent themes and topics the field of German communities, speaking came from north of the Alps in the German-American studies encom- both a dialect and a form of standard early Middle Ages, or—depending passes, and how varied the German- German several generations after on whom you ask—even earlier. American experience itself has been. immigration, showed strong Heavily influenced by Italian and influences in the grammar of their surrounding Italian dialects, like “Investigating Immigrant standard variety coming from the Veronese, the language is spoken Languages in America,” a dialect (typically Pomeranian Platt). today by only about 2,000 people conference focusing on German Janne Bondi Johannessen and Signe and will probably die out in the and Scandinavian languages. Laake (U–Oslo) reported on the coming decades. In 1941, as part On September 16 and 17, MKI result of recent interviews with of the Nazi “Ahnenerbe” project, and the University of Oslo held a Norwegian heritage speakers in which tried to document traces conference on immigrant languages Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. of German or Germanic heritage in America, particularly German They found that most of these anywhere in Europe, linguist Bruno and Scandinavian. It built on speakers spoke Norwegian dialects Schweitzer (1897–1958) set out to the long Wisconsin tradition of (mostly from the Gudbrandsdal document the Cymbrian language researching immigrant languages region) and were not familiar with and—in accordance with the that goes back to scholars like forms of standard Norwegian. They outcome desired by his sponsors— Einar Haugen, Frederic Cassidy, also observed significant influences its Lombardic origin. Schweizer’s and Lester Seifert. Sixteen scholars of English on the immigrant work was never published, but from the University of Wisconsin– language, with both English words his personal papers reside now Madison, the University of Oslo, and grammatical structures having in the archives of the German and other campuses in the U.S. and crept into the Norwegian. Bert Sprachatlas in Marburg, among Europe offered new research on Vaux (Cambrigde), looking at the them a multi-volume dictionary of language structure, bilingualism, and other side of the coin of language the Cymbrian language and a five- language contact. While the first day contact, showed how some features volume 848 page manuscript, written emphasized linguistics, especially the of Scandinavian and Germanic between 1941 and 1953, entitled often-ignored syntax of immigrant languages influence the English Gesamtgrammatik der Zimbrischen languages, the second day aimed at a language of the Midwest. Sprache. Vergleichende Darstellung broader public and focused on socio- der zimbrischen Dialekte (Complete linguistics, dialects, and language Bruno Schweizer’s Grammar of Grammar of the Cymbrian Language. loss and maintenance. Throughout Cymbrian, a German Language A Comparative Description of the conference, the comparison Spoken in Italy. the Cymbrian Dialects). In 2005, and juxtaposition of German and On October 1, James R. Dow, James Dow—with the support Scandinavian languages and dialects Professor Emeritus of German of a Guggenheim Foundation provided a fascinating insight into at Iowa State University, gave a Fellowship—set out to re-evaluate the history and evolution of these presentation on “Bruno Schweizer’s languages in America. Cymbrian Grammar as a Product of Continued on page 14
12 Wasser Fest, Milwaukee 2010 Kevin Kurdylo Photos courtesy of Sandy Casterline. of courtesy Photos
Above: It seemed amusing at first, as long as a little higher ground still remained, but before long of- ficials closed the German Fest grounds because of safety concerns. Below: The parking lot was looking like Lake Michigan as we searched for our cars.
pening day of German Fest from an industrial site. in Milwaukee this year was Nevertheless, the remaining days of a washout, literally. Mother the festival benefited from glorious ONature unleashed torrential rains summer weather, and the customary on the city, and with water levels in crowds of visitors returned. the culture village and other areas of A big thank you to all those who the grounds rising steadily, officials volunteered to put a human face closed up early. Residents of the city on MKI’s German Fest exhibit this reported flooding, sink holes, mud- year—I’ve received a number of slides, and manhole covers popping donations and queries for informa- up from water surges in the sewers. tion as a result of folks learning about My own drive home was quite an us and what we do. After a soggy be- experience, with buckets of blinding ginning, a definite success! rain, stunning flashes of lightning,
and billowing black smoke rising up
13 Continued from page 12 Madison, where she met her future UW–Madison, who spoke about husband, Arvid Harnack, a German “Literature of the Inner Emigration, the manuscript and prepare the student of economics. In 1928 the 1933–1944.” Written by authors grammar for publication. He not couple moved to Berlin, where opposed to the Nazi regime who only looked at the manuscript, but he Arvid worked in the Reich Ministry had remained in Germany, among also consulted the scholarly literature of Economics and Mildred taught them several members of the “Rote published since Schweizer’s days American Literature and translated Kapelle,” the commentary of this and, most importantly, analyzed German literature into English. After resistance literature was often of audio and film recordings that 1933, they became key members necessity extremely subtle or hidden the Schweizer team hade made in of a group of young intellectuals between the lines. 1941. Some of these recordings, and writers that was opposed to including songs and dialogues, the Nazi Regime and actively tried were played at the presentation. In to undermine it by distributing 2008, Bruno Schweizer’s Zimbrische pamphlets and posters in Germany Gesamtgrammatik, edited and and passing information to the Allies, annotated by James Dow, was especially the Soviets. Members of published for the first time (Steiner the group, named “die rote Kapelle” Verlag). It already has aided the (the red orchestra) by the Gestapo, research of many linguists, folklorists, were arrested in 1942 and most and other scholars. Professor Dow were executed, including Arvid and has generously donated his own Mildred Harnack. She is believed papers related to this research project to be the only American woman to the Max Kade Institute. executed by the Nazis for resistance “With a Chosen Few” and “Don’t to the regime in Germany. Forget Me,” two exhibits to Parallel to the “With a Chosen Few” commemorate Mildred Harnack- exhibit, the UW–Madison Memorial Fish. Library is showing an exhibit “Don’t Forget Me” that documents the life of The Max Kade Institute is a Mildred Harnack-Fish in the United cosponsor of the exhibit “…With States, especially in Madison. Many a Chosen Few: in Memoriam of of the documents in this display Mildred Harnack-Fish,” which is are from the Memorial Library being shown at the UW–Madison collection. Hillel Foundation from October Additional programming provided 13 until December 3. Created by alongside these two exhibits included the artist Franz Rudolf Knubel, a reading of the Harnack letters with Professor Emeritus at the University UW students, presented by Shareen of Essen, and originally shown in the Blair Brysac, author of Resisting German Resistance Memorial Center Hitler: Mildred Harnack and the in Berlin, the exhibit is an artistic Red Orchestra; and a behind-the- interpretation and documentation of scenes look at a Wisconsin Public the last weeks in the life of Mildred Television production about Mildred Harnack-Fish. Born in Milwaukee, Harnack by Joel Waldinger. MKI also Mildred Harnack-Fish (1902–1943) sponsored a lecture by Jost Hermand, was a student and lecturer in the Professor Emeritus of German at English Department at the UW–
14 MEMBERSHIP/RENEWAL
Join the Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies
Name ______Address ______City______State______Zip ______Email ______Phone______
☐ I am a new member ☐ I am a renewing member ☐ Check here to indicate address change
☐ Student—$15 ☐ Supporter—$100 ☐ Individual—$30 ☐ Patron—$250 ☐ K–12 Educator—$30 ☐ Lifetime, Individual—$1,000 ☐ Family (one address)—$50 ☐ Lifetime, Family—$1,500
Please make checks payable to the Friends of the Max Kade Institute, 901 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705.
• Friends of the Max Kade Institute is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that supports the research, outreach, educational, and publishing activities of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies. • Membership covers the calendar year (January–December). Payments received after November 1 of the current year will be credited for the full succeeding year.
Continued from page 5 work, meals, prayer, and the evening he treated. It is said that he visited though children ate, as one member recitation of the Rosary. anyone needing help, no matter what stated, “apart from the table.” While At its height in the early 1870s, the his or her religious affiliation. the adults worked, children were re- colony had approximately 200 mem- In February, 1873, Ambros Osch- quired to attend school; nevertheless, bers, and a century later researcher wald became ill and died within a few they were also expected to do manual Father Alfred Schneble listed a total days, leaving the St. Nazianz colony labor when they were old enough. of some 350 persons who at vari- in complete shock. Members held a The colony provided its members ous times had been members of the public visitation for their priest, and with basic clothes and shoes, but any “Settlement,” as it was known locally. large numbers of people from the extras had to be furnished by the Although mysticism had played surrounding area, some even from members themselves. a large role in his spiritual life in neighboring states, came to pay their The St. Nazianz society never Germany, Father Oschwald seems respects. Father Oschwald was laid joined a specific Catholic order, to have laid this aside upon his ar- to rest in St. Ambros’ Chapel, but although Oschwald adopted the rival in the United States, perhaps years later his body was moved to principles of the Third Order of St. because of the pressures connected the newer Loretta Chapel, where it Francis, an official order that -in to building his communal society. remains today. With his death, the cluded both married and unmarried He enjoyed good relations with the communal society of St. Nazianz members. He also introduced the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Swiss began to change. Catholic Breviary, a strict regimen of émigré John Martin Henni, who (Conclusion follows in the next issue.) prayers recited at various times dur- visited St. Nazianz several times. He Karyl Rommelfanger, President of ing the day. A typical day involved continued to use his medical skills the MKI Friends, is a retired teacher rising early and retiring late, with the to help those who were ill, collecting of German who researches German- hours in between interspersed with plants and herbs for his homeopathic cures and keeping records of illnesses American history in Manitowoc, WI.
15 Friends of the Max Kade Institute Non-Profit Organization for German-American Studies US Postage University of Wisconsin PAID Madison, WI 901 University Bay Drive Permit No. 2704 Madison, WI 53705 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
The MKI Library Project Capital Campaign
Are you . . . passionate about history? . . . interested in America as an immigrant country? . . . intrigued by the experiences of your German ancestors? . . . concerned about the preservation of American print culture?
If so, please support the MKI’s Library Project for • a state-of-the-art facility in our new quarters on UW–Madison’s central campus; • new acquisitions; • an endowment to support library staff.
This is a three-year fundraising campaign. Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the MKI Library Capital Cam- paign Fund at the UW Foundation. For more information, contact Antje Petty at (608) 262-7546 or