German Institutions in Wisconsin

Rise and Fall of German-American Culture

1840–1920

Churches & Schools

Clubs

Press

Business

1840s

The Beginnings

First German church congregations in Milwaukee

First German schools founded

Pabst Brewery founded (1844)

1850s

Expansion

First Turner clubs founded

Milwaukee Germania – first major German newspaper

Miller Brewery founded (1855)

Schlitz Brewery founded (1858)

1860s

Consolidation

Singing societies in all major cities

German craft guilds

Turners provide many soldiers in Civil War

1870–90

Golden Age – “German Athens”

Over 50 German-language newspapers in Wisconsin

Dense network of parochial schools in the German Belt

Shooting clubs and singing festivals

Milwaukee = “Beer Capital of the World”

1890–1910

Slow Decline

Second generation takes over – more English

German newspaper circulation declining

1917

The Turning Point – World War I

German schools banned

German newspapers shut down

Clubs renamed or dissolved

Sauerkraut → “Liberty Cabbage”

1920s+

Assimilation

Only symbolic institutions remain

Breweries survive – German heritage lives on

A Smile on the Side

The confessional differences of the old homeland survived the Atlantic crossing remarkably well. In some areas, there were even separate German taverns – one for Catholics, one for Protestants. When it came to beer, apparently, there was no joking around.