German-American Newspapers

IN THE MIDWEST

ABOUT THE WEBSITE

German-American Newspapers is an educational website that looks at the history of German-language newspapers throughout the Midwest. It focuses on two moments of discrimination towards minority groups, specifically looking at anti-German Sentiment from 1915 to 1919 and the Red Summer of 1919.

The goal of the website is to bring forth the perspectives of German-Americans living in the Midwest during the Red Summer and anti-German Sentiment and to see how they wrote about these events in their newspapers.

NEWSPAPERS

Here, you will have two categories to choose from. The Red Summer category offers articles on the racial tension and violence of 1919, while the Anti-German Hysteria category features stories concerning the fear of German immigrants during World War I. Each category provides links to articles with short descriptions, allowing you to easily explore the topics.

Articles

LEARNING MATERIALS

If you're interested in incorporating these articles into your class, view the following link. Here you will find a way to break up your class into groups, so that each group will explore a different theme, gaining a deep understanding of the articles.

Potential Lesson Plan

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH

If you're interested in reading more about these topics, please visit our Zotero bibliography. Here, you will find a list of all the books and articles used when researching these topics.

Zotero Bibliography

About the creator

My name is Karmen Browitt, and I am a Master's student at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. My focus is on German Language and Literature, and I am also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities. This website was created as a portion of my Master's thesis on German-language newspapers throughout the Midwest.

References

“An American newspaper which...” Tägliche Omaha Tribüne, 28 Apr. 1918, p.1

“Die Rassenfrage ‘gelöst.’” Der Staats=Anzeiger, no. 1919/08/08, 8 Aug. 1919, p. 1.

“Lynchmorde die Schande Amerikas.” Der Sonntagsbote und der Seebote, no. 1919/08/10, 10 Aug. 1919, p. 4.

“Our Country, Right or Wrong.” Nordstern, no. 1917/04/06, 6 Apr. 1917, p. 4.

“Rassenkampf Fordert Tote in Washington.” New Ulm Post, no. 1919/07/25, 25 July 1919, p. 1.

“Ursache und Lehre.” Tägliche Omaha Tribüne, 30 Sept. 1919