History of the Germans in Baltimore

Last updated

The history of the Germans in Baltimore began in the 17th century. During the 19th century, the Port of Baltimore was the second-leading port of entry for immigrants, after Ellis Island in New York City. Many Germans immigrated to Baltimore during this time. [1]

Contents

Demographics

In 1880, Germans made up the majority of the foreign-born population of Baltimore at 58% of all foreign born residents. 16.9% (56,354) of Baltimore were foreign born, 32,685 of them Germans (including Prussians, Swabians, and Bavarians). [2]

In 1920, 19,813 foreign-born White people in Baltimore spoke the German language. [3]

In 1940, 9,744 immigrants from Germany lived in Baltimore. These immigrants comprised 16% of the city's foreign-born white population. [4] In total, 23,889 people of German birth or descent lived in the city, comprising 17.1% of the foreign-stock white population. [5]

As of 2000, 18.7%, or 478,646, of the Baltimore metropolitan area's population were of German descent, making it the largest European ancestral group. [6] In the same year Baltimore city's German population was 48,423, 7.4% of the city's population. [7]

In 2013, an estimated 45,217 German-Americans resided in Baltimore city, 7.3% of the population. [8]

As of September 2014, immigrants from Germany were the seventeenth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore and the German language was the sixteenth most commonly spoken language other than English. [9]

History

18th century

Zion Lutheran Church in December 2009. ZionLexingtonsnow.JPG
Zion Lutheran Church in December 2009.

German immigrants began to settle along the Chesapeake Bay by 1723, living in the area that became Baltimore when the city was established in 1729. [10] German Lutheran immigrants established Zion Lutheran Church in 1755, which also attracted Pennsylvania Dutch settlers to the region. Early German settlers also established the German Society of Maryland in 1783 in order to foster the German language and German culture in Baltimore. [11]

19th century

Eutaw Place Temple in December 2011. Eutaw Place Temple MD1.jpg
Eutaw Place Temple in December 2011.
The Raine Building, publishing location of Der Deutsche Correspondent, southwest corner of Baltimore Street and Post Office Avenue (now known as Customs House Avenue), Baltimore Maryland, circa 1869, prior to the great 1904 fire Deutsche Correspondent building engraving.jpg
The Raine Building, publishing location of Der Deutsche Correspondent, southwest corner of Baltimore Street and Post Office Avenue (now known as Customs House Avenue), Baltimore Maryland, circa 1869, prior to the great 1904 fire

Following the War of 1812 in North America, a wave of German immigrants came from the Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria, and Bohemia. Many fled from Germany between 1812 and 1814, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, (1812-1814), the last of the series of French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, in order to avoid military conscription into the Royal Prussian Army. The port of Baltimore was developed as a gateway for immigrants during the 1820s, and soon became the second largest gateway to America after New York City, (and Ellis Island), especially at the terminals of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on Locust Point, Baltimore, which had made an agreement with the Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd Line). By 1850, 20,000 German-born people lived in the city. Between 1820 and 1860, Germans were the largest group of immigrants to Baltimore. [13] This wave of immigrants created numerous German institutions, including banks, insurance companies, and newspapers. [14] German immigrants also created a thriving German-language press, including publications such as the "Baltimore Wecker" ("Alarm").

Immigration from Germany increased again after the various Revolutions of 1848 flaring up throughout Europe, bringing thousands of "Forty-Eighters" to Baltimore. By the time of the American Civil War, there were 32,613 German-born residents of Baltimore, not counting their American-born descendants of first generation along with the earlier wave of colonial and pre-revolutionary era settlers. Many German immigrants were political and social liberals and freethinkers who would become politically active in opposing slavery, which at times attracted violent opposition from old nativists and Confederate sympathizers, rising eventually into the "Know Nothings" (American Party) which was unusually strong in the Old Line State in the 1850s. [15] During the Baltimore riot of 1861, the office of the Baltimore Wecker was destroyed by mobs; the publisher, William Schnauffer, and the editor, Wilhelm Rapp, left the city due to the violence. The population continued to surge after the Civil War, due in large part to the agreement signed on January 21, 1867 between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a German steamship line which brought tobacco along with further German immigrants to the port of Baltimore from Bremen, Germany. German immigrants disembarked from the steamships at B&O's pier, which was located in Locust Point. [16] By 1868, one-fourth of Baltimore's 160,000 white inhabitants were German-born and half of the remainder were of full or partial German descent. [17]

Many of the German immigrants who arrived during the latter half of the 19th century were affluent German Jews [18] who created a number of cultural institutions, including Yiddish theatres such as the Concordia Hall and the Convention Hall Theater. Beginning in the 1870s, many wealthy German Jews built lavish homes in the northwest area of the growing city along North Eutaw Street and Eutaw Place towards the new Druid Hill Park of 1860. They also built several synagogues, such as the Eutaw Place Temple. By 1880, there were around 10,000 German Jews living in Baltimore, most of whom were of Bavarian and Hessian descent. [19]

The German-born immigrant population in Baltimore peaked in 1890, when German-born Baltimoreans numbered 41,930 out of the total population of 365,863. [20]

Holy Cross Church on West Street off Light Street in old South Baltimore near Federal Hill was founded in 1860 to serve the growing numbers of Germans moving onto the peninsula south of "The Basin" of the Patapsco River's Northwest Branch and the Baltimore Harbor, which had been annexed into the city in 1816. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic was later founded in 1895 in Highlandtown in east Baltimore to serve the German immigrant community in that part of the city. [21]

20th century

In the year 1900, the city's German population was 34,000, according to the United States Census. In 1900 there were over 30 congregations in Baltimore that were holding Sunday services in German. [22] By 1914, the number had risen to 94,000, 20% of city's population. During the 19th Century, many of the city's public schools were known as "German-English". By the 1920s, one third of Baltimore's public schools still offered German-language curricula and a quarter of Baltimoreans could still speak German fluently. [10] Up until World War I the notes from the Baltimore City Council were published in both German and English.

Before and during World War II, many Jewish refugees fled from Germany to Baltimore. By the end of the War they numbered 3,000. [23]

Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in the Federal Hill neighborhood, was listed as a German parish until 1959. The church had historically played an important institutional role for South Baltimore's large German community. [24]

The last German-language publication in Baltimore, the "Baltimore Correspondent" (formerly "Der Deutsche Correspondent"), finally ceased publication in 1976. [25]

21st century

Aspects of Baltimore's German heritage remain, such as the Zion Lutheran Church. The church has held services in both English and German for over 250 years. There is also an annual Maryland German Festival held in the Baltimore area, which is sponsored by the German-American Citizens Association of Maryland.

Culture

Berger Cookies. BergerCookies.jpg
Berger Cookies.
Eichenkranz Restaurant, December 2014. Eichenkranz Restaurant 13.JPG
Eichenkranz Restaurant, December 2014.

German-American cuisine

The German immigrants influenced the cuisine of Baltimore, introducing food items such as Berger Cookies. The Schmidt Baking Company was established by Elizabeth and Peter Schmidt, immigrants from Germany who used German recipes for their products.

Baltimore used to have a number of German restaurants, though by 2014 Eichenkranz was the sole remaining restaurant that served German cuisine. [26] That restaurant in turn, closed down in 2015. [27]

Notable German-Americans in Baltimore

H. L. Mencken, an American journalist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the twentieth century. H l mencken.jpg
H. L. Mencken, an American journalist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the twentieth century.
Babe Ruth, an American baseball player who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth2.jpg
Babe Ruth, an American baseball player who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland</span> U.S. state

Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. With a total land area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the 8th-smallest state by land area. Its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the 5th-most densely populated. Baltimore is the largest city in the state, and the capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, who was known then in England as Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chizuk Amuno Congregation</span>

Chizuk Amuno Congregation is a large Jewish house of worship affiliated with Conservative Judaism. It is located in Pikesville, Maryland. The congregation's name comes from the Hebrew "Chizzuq 'Emunah", meaning "strengthening the faith". The word "Amuno" is a variant of the Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation of "'Emunah".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eutaw Street</span>

Eutaw Street is a major street in Baltimore, Maryland, mostly within the downtown area. Outside of downtown, it is mostly known as Eutaw Place.

Der Baltimore Wecker was a daily paper published in the German language in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the object of violence in the civil unrest at Baltimore in April 1861 that produced the first bloodshed of the American Civil War.

The history of Greeks in Baltimore dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Baltimore is home to one of the largest Greek American communities in the United States. The community is centered in the Greektown and Highlandtown neighborhoods of East Baltimore.

The history of Czechs in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Thousands of Czechs immigrated to East Baltimore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming an important component of Baltimore's ethnic and cultural heritage. The Czech community has founded a number of cultural institutions to preserve the city's Czech heritage, including a Roman Catholic church, a heritage association, a gymnastics association, an annual festival, a language school, and a cemetery. During the height of the Czech community in the late 19th century and early 20th century, Baltimore was home to 12,000 to 15,000 people of Czech birth or heritage. The population began to decline during the mid-to-late 20th century, as the community assimilated and aged, while many Czech Americans moved to the suburbs of Baltimore. By the 1980s and early 1990s, the former Czech community in East Baltimore had been almost entirely dispersed, though a few remnants of the city's Czech cultural legacy still remain.

The history of Poles in Baltimore dates back to the late 19th century. The Polish community is largely centered in the neighborhoods of Canton, Fell's Point, Locust Point, and Highlandtown. Poles are the largest Slavic ethnic group in the city and one of the largest European ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Baltimore</span>

There have been a variety of ethnic groups in Baltimore, Maryland and its surrounding area for 12,000 years. Prior to European colonization, various Native American nations have lived in the Baltimore area for nearly 3 millennia, with the earliest known Native inhabitants dating to the 10th millennium BCE. Following Baltimore's foundation as a subdivision of the Province of Maryland by British colonial authorities in 1661, the city became home to numerous European settlers and immigrants and their African slaves. Since the first English settlers arrived, substantial immigration from all over Europe, the presence of a deeply rooted community of free black people that was the largest in the pre-Civil War United States, out-migration of African-Americans from the Deep South, out-migration of White Southerners from Appalachia, out-migration of Native Americans from the Southeast such as the Lumbee and the Cherokee, and new waves of more recent immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa have added layers of complexity to the workforce and culture of Baltimore, as well as the religious and ethnic fabric of the city. Baltimore's culture has been described as "the blending of Southern culture and [African-American] migration, Northern industry, and the influx of European immigrants—first mixing at the port and its neighborhoods...Baltimore’s character, it’s uniqueness, the dialect, all of it, is a kind of amalgamation of these very different things coming together—with a little Appalachia thrown in...It’s all threaded through these neighborhoods", according to the American studies academic Mary Rizzo.

The Ethnic press in Baltimore, Maryland is press directed to a particular ethnic minority group or community in mind, including the non-English-language press. While English-language newspapers have always served the general population, many of Baltimore's ethnic immigrant communities have had newspapers published in their native languages.

The history of the French in Baltimore dates back to the 18th century. The earliest wave of French immigration began in the mid-18th century, bringing many Acadian refugees from Canada's Maritime Provinces. The Acadians were exiled from Canada by the British during the French and Indian War. Later waves of French settlement in Baltimore from the 1790s to the early 19th century brought Roman Catholic refugees of the French Revolution and refugees of the Haitian Revolution from the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

The history of Russians in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. The Russian community is a growing population and constitutes a major source of new immigrants to the city. Historically the Russian community was centered in East Baltimore, but most Russians now live in Northwest Baltimore's Arlington neighborhood and in Baltimore's suburb of Pikesville.

The history of Ukrainians in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. have the largest Ukrainian-American communities in the Mid-Atlantic.

The history of Lithuanians in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Thousands of Lithuanians immigrated to Baltimore between the 1880s and 1920s. The Lithuanian American community was mainly centered in what is now the Hollins–Roundhouse Historic District. Baltimore's Lithuanian community has founded several institutions to preserve the Lithuanian heritage of the city, including a Roman Catholic parish, a cultural festival, a dance hall, and a yeshiva.

The History of the Jews in Colombia begins in the Spanish colonial period with the arrival of the first Jews during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

The history of Koreans in Baltimore dates back to the mid-20th century. The Korean-American community in Baltimore began to grow in the 1960s and reached its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. The Korean population is anchored in central Baltimore, particularly the neighborhoods of Station North and Charles Village, a portion of which has an historic Koreatown. Since the 1990s, the Korean-American population has decreased due to suburbanization, with many Korean-Americans settling in nearby Howard County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Hispanics and Latinos in Baltimore</span>

The history of Hispanics and Latinos in Baltimore dates back to the mid-20th century. The Hispanic and Latino community of Baltimore is the fastest growing ethnic group in the city. There is a significant Hispanic/Latino presence in many Southeast Baltimore neighborhoods, particularly Highlandtown, Upper Fell's Point, and Greektown. Overall Baltimore has a small but growing Hispanic population, primarily in the Southeast portion of the area from Fells Point to Dundalk.

The history of the Irish in Baltimore dates back to the early and mid-19th century. The city's Irish-American community is centered in the neighborhoods of Hampden, Canton, Highlandtown, Fell's Point and Locust Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of White Americans in Baltimore</span>

The history of White Americans in Baltimore dates back to the 17th century when the first white European colonists came to what is now Maryland and established the Province of Maryland on what was then Native American land. White Americans in Baltimore are Baltimoreans "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa." Majority white for most of its history, Baltimore no longer had a white majority by the 1970s. As of the 2010 Census, white Americans are a minority population of Baltimore at 29.6% of the population. White Americans have played a substantial impact on the culture, dialect, ethnic heritage, history, politics, and music of the city. Since the earliest English settlers arrived on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore's white population has been sustained by substantial immigration from all over Europe, particularly Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe, as well as a large out-migration of White Southerners from Appalachia. Numerous white immigrants from Europe and the European diaspora have immigrated to Baltimore from the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, France, Canada, and other countries, particularly during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Smaller numbers of white people have immigrated from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, North Africa, and other non-European regions. Baltimore also has a prominent population of white Jews of European descent, mostly with roots in Central and Eastern Europe. There is a smaller population of white Middle Easterners and white North Africans, most of whom are Arab, Persian, Israeli, or Turkish. The distribution of White Americans in Central and Southeast Baltimore is sometimes called "The White L", while the distribution of African Americans in East and West Baltimore is called "The Black Butterfly."

The city of Baltimore, Maryland includes a small Syrian population. The Syrian-American community is centered in East Baltimore. While Syrian-Americans have had a presence in Baltimore for over a century, most Syrians in Baltimore are recent immigrants and refugees who have fled the Syrian Civil War.

The city of Baltimore, Maryland includes a large and growing Caribbean-American population. The Caribbean-American community is centered in West Baltimore. The largest non-Hispanic Caribbean populations in Baltimore are Jamaicans, Trinidadians and Tobagonians, and Haitians. Baltimore also has significant Hispanic populations from the Spanish West Indies, particularly Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans. Northwest Baltimore is the center of the West Indian population of Baltimore, while Caribbean Hispanics in the city tend to live among other Latinos in neighborhoods such as Greektown, Upper Fell's Point, and Highlandtown. Jamaicans and Trinidadians are the first and second largest West Indian groups in the city, respectively. The neighborhoods of Park Heights and Pimlico in northwest Baltimore are home to large West Indian populations, particularly Jamaican-Americans.

References

  1. ↑ "Point of Entry: Baltimore, the Other Ellis Island". baltimoremd.com. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  2. ↑ "Baltimore East/South Clifton Park Historic District (B-5077)" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  3. ↑ Carpenter, Niles (1927). Immigrants and their children, 1920. A study based on census statistics relative to the foreign born and the native white of foreign or mixed parentage. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p.  380 . Retrieved 2014-11-25. 1920 Baltimore German.
  4. ↑ Durr, Kenneth D. (1998). "Why we are troubled": white working-class politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980. Washington, D.C.: American University. p. 23. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  5. ↑ Durr, Kenneth D. (1998). "Why we are troubled": white working-class politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980. Washington, D.C.: American University. p. 142. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  6. ↑ "Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000" (PDF). 2000 United States Census . Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  7. ↑ "Social Statistics Baltimore, Maryland". Infoplease . Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  8. ↑ "2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". American FactFinder. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  9. ↑ "The Role of Immigrants in Growing Baltimore: Recommendations to Retain and Attract New Americans" (PDF). WBAL-TV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  10. 1 2 "Preserving a part of the city's German past". The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  11. ↑ "Significant dates in Baltimore's immigration history". Baltimore Immigration Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  12. ↑ Howard, George Washington (1873). The Monumental City: Its Past History and Present Resources. Baltimore, Md.: J.D. Ehlers & Co. Engravers and Steam Book Printers. p.  60 . Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Bergquist, James M. (2008). Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820-1870. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 88–9. ISBN   978-0-313-33698-0 . Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  14. ↑ "German-American History - German Immigration to Baltimore" (PDF). Delaware Saengerbund and Library Association. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  15. ↑ "Economic History on the Waterfront" (PDF). Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond . Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  16. ↑ Hayward, Mary Ellen (2004). The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 178. ISBN   0-8018-7806-3 . Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  17. ↑ Keith, Robert C. (2005). Baltimore Harbor: A Pictorial History. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 94–5. ISBN   0-8018-7980-9 . Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, Sandler (2000). Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 37–40. ISBN   0-8018-6427-5 . Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Baltimore Jews". Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  20. ↑ "Maryland at a Glance - Historical Chronology". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  21. ↑ "St. Elizabeth of Hungary feast day Nov. 17". The Catholic Review . Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  22. ↑ "Forging Iron in Downtown Baltimore". The Atlantic Times. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  23. ↑ "A Timeline of Baltimore's Immigration". Urbanite Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-20.[ permanent dead link ]
  24. ↑ "Maryland Historical Trust". Holy Cross Church Complex, Baltimore City. Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-11-21.
  25. ↑ "German thread runs through fabric of city". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  26. ↑ "Eichenkranz serves good German food". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  27. ↑ "In Brewers Hill, Eichenkranz end its 75-year run". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.