Germans in Omaha, Nebraska

The first known German in the Omaha area arrived more than 20 years before the city was founded. Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied toured the Upper Missouri River in 1832, and recorded a stay at Cabanne's Trading Post in present-day North Omaha. After arriving in Omaha en masse beginning in the 1860s, Germans in Omaha built their own churches. At church and in their businesses, including grocery stores and farm supply shops, they conducted daily life in German for years. Many young German immigrants from Omaha served in the Nebraska battalion during the Civil War, as well as later serving throughout the country. One early German settler in Omaha was Vincent Burkley. (He anglicized his name). After working as a grocer and farm laborer for three years starting in 1854, he opened his own printing company. He was almost immediately successful. Burkley was elected as a member of the Omaha City Council for several years, as well as the Omaha Board of Education. Communities In the earliest days of Omaha, the "heart of the German settlement was in the large concentration between South 10th and 13th Streets. Here one could purchase food from several German merchants, including Volkmier's Meat Market, Schmid's Grocery, and the Schube Haus (bakery) ... The Emmel House (hotel) and Hottenroth and Bauer Boarding House were also located in this core". The area south of the railroad corridor and west of South 16th Street contained an area of German Catholics. This settlement was centered on South 16th Street and Center Street and includes St. Joseph's Church, which was established in 1887 to serve German-speaking Catholics. Protestant Germans settled in a concentration centered on South 11th Street and Center Street, and built a German Methodist Episcopal Church in 1886. By 1900 Germans lived in more dispersed neighborhoods, including the Near North Side neighborhood, Florence, and South Omaha. Within 25 years they lived throughout the city, with large enclaves in the Dundee and Field Club neighborhoods. Another "concentration was ... near South 19th and Vinton Streets ... The Bongardt Meat Market, Schmidt Saloon and Muller's Hall were located in the 1700 block of Vinton. Wilg Dry Goods was at 1810 Vinton, Strausburgh Druggist at 1822 Vinton, and the Schouboe Bakery at 3130 S. 18th St." Culture Germans built several Deutschekirchen - German churches - throughout Omaha. The German community in Omaha was literate and large enough to support several German-language newspapers, which also had national distribution. They included the Omaha Tribune, the Volkszeitung Tribune, and the Sonntagspost, which was later called the AmericaHerold. Edward Rosewater, the Czech editor at The Omaha Bee, used the slogan "Germania our Mother, Columbia our Bride" to describe the kind of "dual-sentimentality" many Germans in America felt toward their country of origin. In the early 20th century, German immigrants came to Omaha for work and to escape state oppression led by Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany. The German community in Omaha was noted for settling quickly throughout the city. Period sociological research also identified a range of reluctance among some German immigrants, as well as second- and third-generation Germans towards assimilation. During the early 20th century, Germans in Omaha were successful in ensuring that German culture, German history and German language lessons were included in the local public school system, because they comprised a large part of the electorate. Employment Germans in Omaha were employed in many of the city's manufacturing industries, particularly its brewing sector, which was created by German immigrants. Leading German employers in the city included the Metz Brewery, Krug Brewery and the Storz Brewery. Gottlieb Storz, Frederick Krug and Frederick Metz built the success of their breweries by hiring German brewmeisters and laborers for their skills. Many Germans in the Omaha area also worked at the Union Stockyards, and in farming in Douglas County. Numerous Germans worked at German-owned beer gardens, dry goods stores, farms, and milling operations throughout the city and Douglas County. A statewide election seeking a prohibition of alcohol in 1890 won in almost every county across the state, except Omaha's Douglas County. The German vote there was credited for keeping the state "wet" during that period. When William Jennings Bryan returned to Nebraska after his third unsuccessful Presidential campaign in 1908 to advocate for Prohibition, he became "the arch enemy of das Deutschtum." ==National German-American Alliance==

In July 1910 Germans in Omaha rallied with other immigrant organizations across the city to create the National German-American Alliance. At least 54 social, farming and cultural organizations from around Omaha were represented at the first meeting. This alliance brought together many German organizations around Omaha in July 1911 at the city's annual Sängerfest, which was a dance and rally for more than 5,000 attendees. By masking political objectives within a German cultural event, National German-American Alliance leaders were able to politicize the event without scrutiny from the mainstream press. In the years leading up the US entry into World War I, tensions in Europe were reflected in the US. During a 1915 address to the National German-American Alliance, Valentin Peter said, Such expression of pro-German feelings by German immigrants aroused anti-German sentiment in the many Americans who favored the British as allies. But, in 1916, the Vice-President of the National German-American Alliance openly chastised President Woodrow Wilson for pro-Ally actions at the beginning of the Great War. ==World War I==

By the outbreak of World War I, some Americans were concerned about divided loyalties of German immigrants and their descendants. A nativist movement affected Omaha. The Federal government enforced the Alien and Sedition Acts against Germans nationals. Germans who were not American citizens were required to register with the Federal government as "Alien Enemies". Although Valentin Peter had earlier been a supporter of Germany against Great Britain, by the outbreak of the war, the editor of the Omaha Tribüne had become an ardent supporter of the United States' involvement in World War I on the side of Great Britain. Anti-German feelings ran high in Nebraska because of the war. A historian noted, "German books were destroyed. The legislature prohibited the use of foreign languages on the public streets or on the telephone and prohibited schools from using or even teaching foreign languages below the eighth grade. Wartime patriots initiated both official and vigilante action against German immigrants." When the United States entered the war, most general businesses and churches ceased conducting affairs in German due to nativist sentiment. They did not want to appear less than loyal to the US. This sentiment seeped into the general Nebraska population. Post-War Anti-German sentiment contributed to passage of a 1919 state law that enforced teaching in English. By law, "No person, individually or as a teacher, shall, in any private, denominational, parochial or public school, teach any subject to any person in any language than the English language." Robert Meyer was found to violate this law because he taught German. He was taken to court by the State of Nebraska. Although his appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court failed, the U.S. Supreme Court in Meyer v. Nebraska determined that Meyer had the right to teach the German language as a subject, and to teach it in German. By 1919 open discrimination against Germans throughout Omaha was taking hold. Many German-language newspapers were forced to change to English, or to close. Political influence After the First World War, Germans in America sought to regain their political influence, and they succeeded. Both Valentin Peter, editor of the Omaha Tribüne, and the National German-American Alliance gained enough political clout to influence United States presidential campaigns. In 1920, immediately after the 1920 United States presidential election in November, Peter came under scrutiny by the United States Senate, and was called to testify on his involvement in the campaign. According to Peter's testimony, he flipped to supporting Calvin Coolidge in exchange for $12,500. Later, during the 1928 presidential election, the Democratic National Committee enlisted Peter to join to show the support of German-Americans for Al Smith. There were deep divides among Germans in America in politics and many cultural issues. ==World War II==

By this period there were few first generation German immigrants. German Americans had national spokesmen who often provided conflicting political messages. They reflected the wide variety of opinions held by German Americans as they had assimilated into American life. Period sociologists noted the multiplicity of opinions as demonstrating the process of American assimilation among Germans in America. Many German-Americans were completely assimilated into American society. By World War II, many of the distinctive institutions of German society in Omaha, such as stores, German-language churches, and social groups, had disappeared or become less exclusive of other groups. ==Legacies==

The experience of German immigrants in Omaha and throughout Nebraska is said to have deeply influenced Willa Cather. She addressed the assimilation, discrimination and community of Germans in several of her stories. The inventor of the Reuben sandwich was a German American who lived in Omaha. Omaha Tribune editor Val Peter's company, the Interstate Printing Company, is still operated today by the Peter family in Omaha. The Volkszeitung Tribune was a German-language newspaper that was published in Omaha from the late 19th century through the 1980s. A German Old People's Home was located in Omaha for almost 100 years. A home for elderly people of German heritage, it was operated as a charitable, non-profit corporation by twenty-seven trustees, all descendants of German immigrants. ==Current==

St. Joseph's Catholic Parish, located at 1723 South 17th Street in South Omaha, continues with parishioners of German heritage comprising a large percentage of the church's membership. The German-American Society, located at 3717 South 120th Street in West Omaha, continues to hold regular events, teach German traditions and observe special celebrations. Its location in a more suburban area represents the long-established assimilation of German Americans. ==Notable Germans and German-Americans in Omaha==