Editing New Ulm, Minnesota (section)

===World War I and II===
Between the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914 and U.S. entry into the conflict, the citizens of New Ulm closely followed events in Europe. Local newspapers sometimes printing news from relatives and friends in Germany. In an unofficial referendum in early April 1917, local voters opposed war by a margin of 466 to 19. Even as President [[Woodrow Wilson]] prepared his Declaration of War, a Brown County delegation arrived in [[Washington, D.C.]] to voice its opposition to that action.

On the national level, the Wilson administration organized an active campaign to suppress antiwar fervor, joined on the state level by Minnesota Governor [[James Burnquist]]. The Minnesota Commission of Public Safety was granted broad powers to protect the state and assist in the war effort. Specific actions taken by the commission included surveillance of alleged subversive activities, mobilization of opposition to labor unions and strikes (which were considered even more suspect in wartime), pursuit of draft evaders, and registration and monitoring of [[alien (law)|alien]]s (foreign nationals).

Given the strong German heritage of New Ulm residents, federal and state agents began to visit the city soon after the United States' entry into the Great War. They filed reports to offices in Washington and St. Paul because immigrants and first-generation ethnics were suspected of having divided loyalties at best, and perhaps favoring Prussia and the Central Powers. Locally, several business and civic leaders joined in efforts to root out antiwar fervor.

On July 25, 1917, a massive rally, attended by 10,000 people, was held on the grounds of Turner Hall. The people had gathered to “enter a protest against sending American soldiers to a foreign country.” Speakers included Louis Fritsche, mayor of New Ulm; Albert Pfaender, city attorney and former minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives; Adolph Ackermann, director of Dr. Martin Luther College; and F. H. Retzlaff, a prominent businessman. Federal and state agents mingled through the crowd, gathering information.

A month later, Governor Burnquist removed Fritsche and Pfaender from their positions. The Commission of Public Safety pressured the college to fire Ackermann. These blows sharply divided the community — on one side, many residents took the removals as an attack on the city's heritage and traditions. Albert Pfaender was the son, and Fritsche, the son-in-law, of the city's principal founder, Wilhelm Pfaender. On the other side, prominent local businessmen, including flour mill managers, feared economic repercussions and promoted pro-war parades and bond drives.<ref>''New Ulm Review'', May 23, 1917. For an overview of these events, see Carl H. Chrislock, ''Watchdog of Loyalty: The Minnesota Commission of Public Safety During World War I'' (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1991).</ref>

During [[World War II]], German POWs were housed in a camp to the immediate southeast of New Ulm, in what is now [[Flandrau State Park]]. In 1944, a New Ulm family was fined $300 for removing a prisoner from the camp, housing him, and taking him to church.<ref>Dean B. Simmons, ''Swords into Plowshares,'' Cathedral Hill Books, 2000</ref>