From Wilhelm to Hans: Ethnicity, Citizenship, and the German Community of Berlin/Kitchener, Ontario, 1871-1970s

Abstract

“From Wilhelm to Hans: Ethnicity, Citizenship, and the German Community of Berlin/Kitchener, Ontario, 1871-1970s,” examines how the ethnic elite, a group of politicians, businessmen, professionals, and leaders of cultural organizations defined German ethnicity. It argues that claiming a place for Germans as loyal Canadian citizens was central to how the ethnic elite defined German ethnicity. The ethnic elite, however, did not define German ethnicity in isolation. Rather, German ethnic identity was arrived at through the interaction between the ethnic group and the host society. In forums such as public celebrations, newspaper debates, politics, and business, immigrants and established Canadians negotiated their respective identities and their relationship to one another. This relationship was shaped by factors such as the two World Wars, Canada’s relationship with Britain, and Canadians’ changing attitudes towards race and racism. German ethnicity, therefore, was not a static inheritance from the Old World. It was dynamic, continually being contested, negotiated, and redefined. Recently historians have looked to ethnic group identities to locate the origins of Canada’s multicultural identity. By studying German ethnicity through the lens of citizenship, however, this dissertation demonstrates that multicultural citizenship was not the inevitable result of immigration and ethnic diversity. To seek a place for Germans as Canadian citizens, the ethnic elite’s definition of German ethnicity was premised on the exclusion of others who did not fit the class, gender, or religious distinctions of Canadian citizenship. Furthermore, throughout the period under study, Anglo-Canadian critics challenged the place of Germans as Canadian citizens. At times, these critics were only a small minority, but there were others, such as the First World War, when the rights of Germans as Canadian citizens were challenged more broadly. Thus, the acceptance of Germans as Canadian citizens was always contingent and never fully settled.