In 1910, roughly nine million Americans spoke German as their first language. It was the second most common language in the United States, woven into the fabric of daily life across the country. Then World War I happened, and within a few years, centuries of German-American culture were systematically dismantled.

The scale of German-language culture before the war was staggering. By 1910, there were 613 German-language newspapers being published across America—far more than any other non-English press. Entire communities conducted business, education, and worship in German. Several states had public schools where German was the primary language of instruction, with English taught as a second language.

The Backlash Began Almost Overnight

When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, anti-German sentiment exploded. What had been America's largest and most established immigrant community suddenly became enemy aliens in the public eye. President Woodrow Wilson himself stoked the flames, warning that anyone who "carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic."

The suppression came from every direction. States passed laws banning German language instruction—Nebraska's 1919 Siman Act made it illegal to teach any subject in any language other than English, in any school, public or private. German classes vanished from public school curriculums and in many places were outlawed entirely.

Culture Under Attack

German-language newspapers hemorrhaged advertisers and readers. Most were forced to close. The few that survived did so by switching to English or going underground. Concert halls stopped programming Beethoven and Wagner. Libraries pulled German books from shelves—some were burned in public displays of patriotism.

Even speaking German in public became dangerous. German-Americans faced boycotts, violence, and worse. Some were tarred and feathered. At least one German immigrant was lynched. The terror was real enough that families stopped speaking German at home, changed their surnames to sound more English, and abandoned German-American organizations en masse.

A Language Community Destroyed

The speed and completeness of the erasure is remarkable. Within a single generation, German went from America's robust second language to a marginal curiosity. The institutions never recovered—not the newspapers, not the schools, not the social clubs. What took centuries to build was dismantled in less than a decade.

Today, German ranks fifth among languages spoken at home in the United States, behind Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The German-American cultural landscape that once flourished in cities like Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Cincinnati exists now mainly in historical markers and museum exhibits.

It stands as a stark reminder of how quickly fear and nationalism can erase a language community, even one millions strong and deeply rooted in American life.

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