Wie gemütlich! Germans in Chicago

Oktoberfest is almost here, and it's a good time to celebrate the contributions of the German community to Chicago. Not only does this include beer and bratwurst, but cultural gifts as well. In fact, all of the composers listed on the facade of Symphony Hall at Orchestra Center are German. Since first arriving in significant numbers as political and economic refugees from the Revolutions of 1848, German immigrants and their descendants have played a vital role in the cultural, commercial and political life in Chicago. Settling mostly on the north side, especially the Lakeview and Ravenswood neighborhoods, these immigrants and their children quickly made their mark in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century. In fact, some of the first nonindigenous settlers of Lakeview and Logan Square spoke German.

Two of the traits that distinguished Germans from many other immigrant groups of the time were that they were often both literate and knew a skilled trade. The competence of German craftsmen was on display at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and in the grand houses and public buildings in demand after the Great Fire of 1871. While Germans were well-represented through all trades, they became especially well-known in hospitality and food manufacturing. In fact, some immigrants came to Chicago to apprentice and went on to other midwestern cities to open their own businesses.

German immigrants brought their faith as well. In addition to founding Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was the launchpad for Bethel New Life, the German community brought the Catholic religious order Daughters of Charity, who founded St. Joseph's Hospital, opens a new window and St. Vincent's Infant Asylum. St. Alphonsus Church, opens a new window, founded by the Redemptorist order, was the major German Catholic church on the north side, and held services in German into the 21st century. Kehilat Anshei Ma-arav, founded in the 1850s by German Jews, is the oldest synagogue in Illinois. Anshe Emet, on the north side, was founded in part by Jews from Germany, as well as Bohemia, Hungary and Russia.

German Americans got enthusiastically involved in politics. Most were strongly abolitionist and voted in large numbers for Abraham Lincoln. Germania Club, opens a new window, active for over 100 years, formed out of the Germania Männerchor (Men's Choir), formed to sing at Lincoln's funeral. After the Civil War, Germans and their descendents were active in other parties as well and German American politics covered the spectrum. German immigrants were largely blamed for the Haymarket Bombing, including by Chicago Chief of Police Herman Schuettler and other conservative German Americans. The primary newspapers into the 20th century were Arbeiterzeitung on the left wing of politics and Illinois Staats Zeitung, opens a new window on the right. While stigmatized by anti-German propaganda during World War I, German speakers were still considered an important voting bloc into World War II. Refugees from World War II and communist East Germany rejuvenated German identity in America and maintained their relevance as a political demographic.

Prohibition hit the German American community hard, as it was meant to do. Largely anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic, prohibitionists closed the biergartens and forced the many small breweries in Chicago to improvise. Some went into nonalcoholic beer and soft drinks, some went into packaged food products, and some went underground. Germans provided the muscle for the North Side Gang and were among the victims of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. 

While German identity keeps a lower profile than it did prior to the World Wars, there are still Maifests throughout the Chicagoland area and Oktoberfest is celebrated by Chicagoans of every ethnicity. Oktoberfest, held originally to celebrate a royal wedding in Bavaria, starts in September because of a difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. While the Germania Club is no longer in existence, DANK Haus and other social organizations keep German and German American culture vibrant in Chicago. For more primary sources on the German American experience in Chicago, check out Special Collections at Harold Washington Library Center and the Northside Neighborhood History Collection at Sulzer Regional Library.