Today, Americans of German descent, make up 13% of the U.S. population. They are the largest immigrant group in the U.S.  and account for one third of the total ethnic German population in the world. But they are the group that is least visible today. 

Germans have contributed more to American society than any other immigrant group. Their numbers have been one of the reasons why with nearly 7 million traveling to America through the last 4 centuries. Right now, 40-60 millions Germans reside in the U.S. Larger than the Italian and Irish immigrant groups. The reasons for this mass migration can be found in Europe many centuries ago.

Germans fled their country for a lot of reasons. German immigration began near the end of the 17th century. After the Thirty Years’ War, many christian minorities were being persecuted and farmers were living in poverty with their lives being threatened by poor harvests and land shortages. The situation in Germany however, only went from bad to worse. With the Industrial Revolution, Germany’s population exploded. 3 quarters of farmers were unable to make a living because they did not have enough land. Many of these farmers were also forced to endure having their land seized from them, being unemployed and being brought into more competition with British goods. For these important economic reasons, mass migrating from Germany began in 1816 with many farmers being able to make a better life for themselves in the U.S. than they ever did in Germany. The Germans also were in need of salvation as Antisemitic violence arose in Germany and Austria Hungary. In turn, many German jews fled their country to the United States to escape persecution. The final reason Germans left was a lack of political prospects. After the failed Revolution of 1848, Many Germans doubt they could gain any rights in Germany, causing the majority of left-wing liberal middle classes to immigrate to the U.S. With their lives on the line, these people fled for America in search of a brighter future.

When the Germans arrived in the U.S., they established themselves as “hyphen-Americans.” They developed countless communities, preserved and cultivated their language and culture and eventually became one of the most successful immigrant groups in the U.S., both in farming and in blue-collar professions. It was the advance of industrialization that made the Germans so successful and so well established. It also made them more mobile than any other group and the Germans spread to work from Coast to Coast. German immigration began booming in the 19th century, by 1830 the number of Germans migrating to the U.S. had increased 10 fold. 90% of German immigrants had chosen the U.S. as their new home and so by 1832, over 100,000 Germans immigrants arrived in the United States. By 1854, over 200,000 German immigrants had arrived.  

Many things that we know today would have been unrecognizable without the Germans. The Germans brought many traditions to America including, Christmas. The christmas tree and the figure of Santa Claus are from German traditions. Many German-Americans contributed to the American economy. John Roebling, a German migrant and an engineer built the Brooklyn Bridge. William Boeing founded the Aero Products Company in 1916 and renamed it Boeing Airplane Company in 1917 which is now the largest aerospace company. Levi Strauss founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans in 1853. Levi blue jeans have been and still are famous all over the world. And Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg traveled to America in 1850 and changed his name to Henry Steinway. In founded the piano manufacturer Steinway and Sons. You can find Steinway pianos in almost every concert in the world.

Everything changed for the German Americans with the dawning of the 20th century. The sudden Outbreak of World War 1 pitted Germany and Austria Hungary Against Russia, France, Great Britain and later the United States. In 1917 particularly, American soldiers fighting and dying at the hands German soldiers brewed up a storm back at the homefront. German language and culture were ostracised as Anti-German hysteria blew up in the U.S. The Germans came under huge pressure to erase their ethnic identities. But the image of German-Americans would not get better after World War 1, it would only get worse. 20 years later, World War 2 and Anti-German Hysteria broke out again. This lead to the German-Americans completely dissolving their ethnic identity. These events made the Germans the most unique of all immigrant groups in the United States. No group has lost its public visibility to the extent of the German-Americans throughout the course of the 20th century. 

German immigrants contributed more than any other ethnic group in the United States but because of 2 wars which were the result of Germans, German culture went down on the radar as it was necessary to protect their own image. Today, many immigrant groups are celebrated for their contributions but the Germans are a group which everyone has either forgotten about or refused to learn about.

Luber, Klaus. “History Part 1: America's German Roots.” Deutschland.de, 25 Oct. 2018, www.deutschland.de/en/usa/us-immigration-americas-german-roots.

Hayden, Carla. “German - A New Surge of Growth - Immigration...- Classroom Presentation: Teacher Resources - Library of Congress.” German - A New Surge of Growth - Immigration...- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress, 2012, www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/german4.html.

Maxwell, Mary Jane. “German Influence Helped Shape America.” ShareAmerica, 13 Dec. 2017, share.america.gov/german-influence-helped-shape-america/.