Editing Kitchener, Ontario (section)

====Berlin-to-Kitchener name change====
{{main|Berlin-to-Kitchener name change}}
[[File:118th Battalion soldiers in Victoria Park, Berlin, Ontario.webp|thumb|alt=A crowd of soldiers are gathered around a pedestal, the top of which is visible under a vertical banner. The banner bears the phrase "Berlin will be Berlin No Longer". Two soldiers standing below and to the left of the bottom of the banner hold medallions showing the likenesses of Bismark and Von Moltke.|A day after raiding a local German social club, soldiers of the local [[118th (North Waterloo) Battalion, CEF|118th Battalion]] gather around the 1897 Peace Memorial in Victoria Park with a banner bearing the phrase "Berlin will be Berlin No Longer", 16 February 1916.]]

Berlin's character had been predominantly German since Waterloo Township's settlement by [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] pioneers in the early 19th century, and its urban growth and industrialization was bolstered in large part by Germans and other peoples from [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]], who brought with them skills, tools, and machinery, as well as diverse religious and social customs. The outbreak of the [[First World War]] pitted the [[British Empire]] (and by extension, Canada) against the [[German Empire|German]], [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Austro-Hungarian]], and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] empires, and led to a wave of suspicion, exclusion, and discriminatory measures against people whose ethnic origins were associated with these states. Thousands of [[Ukrainian people|Ukrainians]], Germans, [[Turkish people|Turks]], and [[Bulgarian people|Bulgarians]] were forcibly placed into internment camps by the Dominion government under the ''[[War Measures Act]]'', which was passed in August 1914. Internees had their property confiscated and many of them were subjected to [[forced labour]]. Tens of thousands of others were subjected to government surveillance.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Internment in Canada |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |last=Roy |first=Patricia E. |date=11 June 2020 |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/internment}}</ref>

In Berlin, [[anti-German sentiment]] slowly escalated throughout the war, beginning with the vandalizing of the statue of [[Kaiser Wilhelm I]] in Victoria Park in 1914. Despite pronouncements of loyalty and commitment to the war effort, the city's German community was subjected to physical violence and attacks on property by soldiers of the [[118th (North Waterloo) Battalion, CEF|118th Battalion]] of the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]].<ref name=allemang>{{cite news|title=One hundred years after disappearing, Berlin (Ontario) shows signs of revival|date=26 August 2016|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/enduring-spirit-the-rejuvenation-of-berlin-ontario/article31576065/ |first=John |last=Allemang |work=Globe and Mail |access-date=19 March 2019|quote=The declaration of war marked the beginning of vicious, violent antagonism on an international scale, and Berliners became collateral damage through a simple seismic shift of global alliances.}}</ref> In [[Berlin to Kitchener name change|a set of referendums in 1916]], Berlin was renamed to Kitchener, after [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener]], a British [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]]. The first referendum vote in May, to change the name from Berlin, was characterized by the historian Adam Crerar as being influenced by [[Electoral fraud#Intimidation|voter intimidation]], with soldiers of the 118th Battalion keeping potential name change opponents away from the polls;<ref name=crerar>{{cite book |last1=Crerar |first1=Adam |editor1-last=MacKenzie |editor1-first=David |title=Canada and the First World War: Essays in Honour of Robert Craig Brown |date=2005 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |location=Toronto |isbn=0-8020-8445-1 |pages=230–271 |chapter=Ontario and the Great War |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/canadafirstworld0000unse/page/230/ |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|256}} the referendum passed by a narrow margin. A second referendum in June, to choose the new name, saw the name "Kitchener" chosen with only 346 votes.<ref>{{cite news|title=June 28, 1916: Exactly 346 people voted for Berlin to be renamed Kitchener |date=27 June 2016|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/6743079-june-28-1916-exactly-346-people-voted-for-berlin-to-be-renamed-kitchener/ |first=Jeff |last=Outhit |work=Waterloo Region Record |access-date=19 March 2019}}</ref> In September, the city of 19,000<ref name=allemang /> people was renamed.