Editing Kitchener, Ontario (section)

===German culture===
{{see also|Berlin-to-Kitchener name change}}

Of the cities that are now part of Waterloo Region, Berlin, now Kitchener, has the strongest German heritage because of the high levels of settlement in this area by German-speaking immigrants.

While those from Pennsylvania were the most numerous until about 1840, a few Germans from Europe began arriving in 1819, including Fredrick Gaukel, a hotel keeper, being one of the first. He built what later became the Walper House in Berlin. Two streets in present-day Kitchener, Frederick and Gaukel Streets, are named after him. Other German-speaking immigrants from Europe arrived during the 1830s to 1850s, bringing with them their language, religion, and cultural traditions. The German community became industrial and political leaders, and created a German-Canadian society unlike any other found in Canada at the time. They established German public schools and German-language churches.

Both the immigrants from Germany and the Mennonites from Pennsylvania spoke German, though with different dialects such as Low German or the incorrectly called [[Pennsylvania Dutch]], actually Pennsilfaanisch ''Deitsch'' (German, not modern Dutch).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/10-things-know-about-mennonites-canada|title=10 things to know about Mennonites in Canada|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314064249/http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/10-things-know-about-mennonites-canada|archive-date=14 March 2017|df=dmy-all|access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> (This dialect is different from [[Standard German]] with a simplified grammatical structure, some differences in vocabulary and pronunciation and a greater influence of English.) The combination of various types of German-speaking groups was a notable factor in the history of Waterloo County. The two groups spoke similar dialects and were able to understand each other quite easily<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Ontmennohistory15-2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Ontmennohistory15-2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Building Community on the Frontier – the Mennonite contribution to shaping the Waterloo settlement to 1861 |publisher=Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario|access-date=2018-11-11 }}</ref> and there was no apparent conflict between the Germans from Europe and those who came from Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/category/pre-1914/ |title=Religion in Waterloo North (Pre 1911) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region |access-date=21 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321084940/http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/category/pre-1914/ |archive-date=21 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Some sources estimate that roughly 50,000 Germans directly from Europe settled in and around Waterloo County, between the 1830s and 1850s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/german-canadians/ |title=German Canadians |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=13 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202051340/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/german-canadians/ |archive-date=2 February 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Unlike the predominantly Mennonite settlers from Pennsylvania, the majority of Germans from Europe were of other denominations: most in the first groups were Catholic and those who arrived later were primarily Lutheran.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

In 1862, German-speaking groups held the ''Sängerfest'', or "Singer Festival" concert event in Berlin that attracted an estimated 10,000 people and continued for several years.<ref name="waterlooregion1">{{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/tag/1911/ |title=Waterloo Region 1911 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321085010/http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/tag/1911/ |archive-date=21 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Eleven years later,
the more than 2000 Germans in Berlin, Ontario, started a new event, ''Friedensfest'', commemorating Prussian victory in the [[Franco-Prussian war]]. This annual celebration continued until the start of World War I.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/1871/01/friedensfest-1871/ |title=Friedensfest (1871) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Waterloo Region WWI |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=20 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321084420/http://waterlooregionww1.uwaterloo.ca/1871/01/friedensfest-1871/ |archive-date=21 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 1897, they raised funds to erect a large monument, with a bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I, in Victoria Park. The monument was destroyed by townspeople just after the start of World War I.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |title=Waterloo County, Plaque 24 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Historical Plaques of Waterloo County |publisher=Wayne Cook |access-date=23 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312051921/http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A statue of Queen Victoria was erected in the park in 1911.
[[File:Queen Victoria Monument in Victoria Park (4416768477).jpg|thumb|Queen Victoria Monument]]
By 1871, Berlin, Ontario, was a bilingual town with German being the dominant language spoken. More than one visitor commented on the necessity of speaking German in Berlin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lorenzkowski |first1=Barbara |title=Sounds of Ethnicity: Listening to German North America, 1850–1914 |date=1 May 2010 |publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press |isbn=978-0-88755-301-1 |page=72 |language=en |quote=the ability to speak German was looked upon as one of the necessary qualifications of salesmen in Berlin stores}}</ref>
[[File:Victoria Park, Berlin, Ontario (HS85-10-17459).jpg|thumb|Victoria Park, Berlin, Ontario, 1906]]
Immigration from continental Germany slowed by 1880. First and second-generation descendants now comprised most of the local German population, and while they were proud of their German roots, most considered themselves loyal British subjects. The 1911 Census indicates that of the 15,196 residents in Berlin, Ontario, about 70% were identified as ethnic German but only 8.3% had been born in Germany. By the beginning of the First World War in 1914, Berlin and Waterloo County were still considered to be predominantly German by people across Canada. This would prove to have a profound impact on local citizens during the war years. During the first few months of the war, services and activities at Lutheran churches in Waterloo County continued. As anti-German sentiment increased throughout Waterloo County, many of the churches decided to stop holding services in German.<ref name="auto2">"City on Edge: Berlin Becomes Kitchener in 1916" Exhibit at Waterloo Region Museum, on display 2016.</ref>

The governor general of Canada, the [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke of Connaught]], while visiting Berlin, Ontario, in May 1914, discussed the importance of [[Canadians of German ethnicity]] (regardless of their origin) in a speech: "It is of great interest to me that many of the citizens of Berlin are of German descent. I well know the admirable qualities – the thoroughness, the tenacity, and the loyalty of the great Teutonic Race, to which I am so closely related. I am sure that these inherited qualities will go far in the making of good Canadians and loyal citizens of the British Empire".<ref name="auto2"/>

[[File:First World War parade in downtown Berlin, Ontario.jpg|thumb|Military parade down King Street in Berlin.]]

In 1897, a large bronze bust of [[Kaiser Wilhelm I]], made by [[Reinhold Begas]] and shipped from Germany, was installed at [[Victoria Park, Kitchener]] to honour the region's prominent [[Canadians of German ethnicity|German-Canadian]] population.<ref name="MercerMissing" /> It was removed and thrown into the lake by vandals in August 1914 at the beginning of the [[First World War]].<ref>{{cite news |title=WWI Newsclippings - Kaiser Wilhelm bust thrown into Victoria Park lake, August 27, 1914 |url=http://images.ourontario.ca/waterloo/2821723/data?n=12 |access-date=23 October 2019 |work=images.ourontario.ca |date=27 August 1914 |language=en}}</ref> The bust was recovered from the lake and moved to the nearby Concordia club, but it was stolen again February 15, 1916, marched through the streets by a mob, made up largely of soldiers from the [[118th (North Waterloo) Battalion, CEF|118th Battalion]], and has never been seen again.<ref name="MercerMissing">{{cite news |last1=Mercer |first1=Greg |title=Missing kaiser statue 'a mystery that will never be solved' |url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/4775742-missing-kaiser-statue-a-mystery-that-will-never-be-solved-/ |access-date=23 October 2019 |work=TheRecord.com |date=23 August 2014 |language=en-CA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911122624/http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4775742-missing-kaiser-statue-a-mystery-that-will-never-be-solved-/ |archive-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 118th Battalion is rumoured to have melted down the bust to make napkin rings given to its members.<ref>[http://images.ourontario.ca/waterloo/46562/data Bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I, Victorial Park, Kitchener, Ontario], Waterloo Public Library</ref> A monument with a plaque outlining the story of the original bust was erected in 1996 in the location of the original bust and its stand.<ref name="Allemang">{{cite news |last1=Allemang |first1=John |title=One hundred years after disappearing, Berlin (Ontario) shows signs of revival |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/enduring-spirit-the-rejuvenation-of-berlin-ontario/article31576065/ |access-date=23 October 2019 |work=Globe & Mail |date=26 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/ca/en/kul/sup/dsk/dstu/fvp.html |title=PEDESTAL OF THE SOCALLED "PEACE MEMORIAL" |date=11 July 1998 |publisher=Goethe |access-date=26 November 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803011231/https://www.goethe.de/ins/ca/en/kul/sup/dsk/dstu/fvp.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As the incidents with the bust suggest, there was certainly some [[anti-German sentiment]] in Canada. Some immigrants from Germany who considered themselves Canadians but were not yet citizens, were detained in internment camps.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/Pages/thematic-guides-internment-camps.aspx#b4 |title=Internment Camps in Canada during the First and Second World Wars|date=1 March 2012 |publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=19 March 2019 |quote=Some German citizens living in Canada were arrested and detained in internment camps. Because Canada also served as a place of detention for German prisoners of war on behalf of the British, they formed a large proportion of the internees.}}</ref> There were some cultural sanctions on German communities in Canada, and that included Berlin. However, by 1919 most of the population of what would become Kitchener, Waterloo and Elmira were "Canadian"; over 95 percent had been born in Ontario.<ref name="waterlooregion1"/> Those of the Mennonite religion were pacifists so they could not enlist, and the few who had immigrated from Germany (not born in Canada) could not morally fight against a country that was a significant part of their heritage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wartimecanada.ca/document/world-war-i/conscription/mennonites-and-conscription|title=Mennonites and conscription – Wartime Canada|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315085646/http://wartimecanada.ca/document/world-war-i/conscription/mennonites-and-conscription|archive-date=15 March 2017|df=dmy-all|access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=D'Amato |first=Louisa |date=28 June 2014 |title=First World War ripped away Canada's 'age of innocence' |url=https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/4605027-first-world-war-ripped-away-canada-s-age-of-innocence-/ |work=Kitchener Post, Waterloo Region Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=14 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315023707/https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/4605027-first-world-war-ripped-away-canada-s-age-of-innocence-/ |archive-date=15 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The anti-German sentiment was the primary reason for the [[Berlin to Kitchener name change]] in 1916. News reports indicate that "A Lutheran minister was pulled out of his house ... he was dragged through the streets. German clubs were ransacked through the course of the war. It was just a really nasty time period."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-ontario-berlin-name-change-100-years-tom-reitz-berry-vrbanovic-1.3744212|title=Kitchener mayor notes 100th year of name change|website=Cbc.ca|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109113151/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-ontario-berlin-name-change-100-years-tom-reitz-berry-vrbanovic-1.3744212|archive-date=9 January 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Someone stole the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm from Victoria Park; soldiers vandalized German stores and ransacked Berlin's ethnic clubs. History professor Mark Humphries summarized the situation:{{blockquote|Before the war, most people in Ontario probably didn't give the German community a second thought. But it is important to remember that Canada was a society in transition – the country had absorbed massive numbers of immigrants between 1896 and the First World War, proportionately more than at any other time in our history. So there were these latent fears about foreigners ... It becomes very easy to stoke these racist, nativist fires and convince people there really is a threat. War propaganda is top-down driven, but it is effective because it re-enforces tendencies that already exist.<ref>{{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/
|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>}}

A document in the Archives of Canada makes the following comment: "Although ludicrous to modern eyes, the whole issue of a name for Berlin highlights the effects that fear, hatred and nationalism can have upon a society in the face of war."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/firstworldwar/025005-3300-e.html |title=ARCHIVED – Did You Know That… – ARCHIVED – Canada and the First World War – Library and Archives Canada |date=30 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630163552/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/firstworldwar/025005-3300-e.html |archive-date=30 June 2016 }}</ref>

The [[Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower]] built in 1926 commemorates the settlement by the Pennsylvania 'Dutch' (actually Pennsilfaanisch ''Deitsch'', or German) of the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] area of Waterloo County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3297|title=HistoricPlaces.ca – HistoricPlaces.ca|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315002531/http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3297|archive-date=15 March 2017|df=dmy-all|access-date=14 March 2017}}</ref>
The [[Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest]] is a remembrance of the region's German heritage. The event includes beer halls and German entertainment.  The second largest Oktoberfest in the world, the event is based on the original [[Germany|German]] [[Oktoberfest]] and is billed as "Canada's Greatest [[Bavaria]]n Festival". It attracts an average of 700,000 people to the county. During the 2016 Oktoberfest parade, an estimated 150,000 people lined the streets along the route.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/oktoberfest-2016-comes-to-a-close-1.3117493 |title=Oktoberfest 2016 comes to a close |first=Jennifer K. |last=Baker |date=16 October 2016 |work=CTV News Kitchener|access-date=2017-03-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315105618/http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/oktoberfest-2016-comes-to-a-close-1.3117493 |archive-date=15 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}]</ref> Granted, some do not consider Oktoberfest to be indicative of German culture in general. "The fact is, Oktoberfest in Germany is a very localized festival. It really is a Munich festival. ... [Oktoberfest in Kitchener] celebrates only a 'tiny aspect' of German culture [Bavarian]", according to German studies professor James Skidmore of the [[University of Waterloo]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Oktoberfest not true celebration of German culture, says prof|date=14 October 2013 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/oktoberfest-not-true-celebration-of-german-culture-says-prof-1.2053913 |work=Globe and Mail |access-date=19 March 2019|quote=Oktoberfest celebrates Bavarian, not German, culture}}</ref>