American German Speakers Clump Together!

Both my maternal grandparents are Viennese. They both immigrated to the United States as a result of Hitler's rise to power.

My grandmother left Austria in November 1938 as a result of Kristallnact, and immediately went to London, which was being bombed, so my grandmother was forced to flee to the countryside. When my grandmother left for England she was under the impression that her parents would soon follow. However, it took them two years to get out of Austria. Once the family was united, they came to America (around 1940). At this time to be admitted into the United States an affidavit needed to be signed by a United States citizen, which would ensure the government that you would not be a burden on the country. My grandmother has never known whose signature allowed her to come to this country. The person did not know my family, nor did they ever intend on supporting us, but rather he or she was just a person who saw a family in trouble and decided he would take a small step against Hitler’s oppression.

My grandfather faced a similar path to America. After Hitler came to power all the Jew’s were kicked out of my grandfather's high school. His parents thought that they would be able to wait out what would become the Holocaust, and so they sent their kids on a “holiday” to America. My grandfather and great aunt arrived in New York they were met by who my grandfather calls “Uncle Paul,” but it is my understanding that he was a half brother of somebody in the family. After two days in New York my grandfather and his sister took a train to Chicago where “Uncle Fred” met them. My grandfather stayed at the YMCA, and got a job making tools. His sister worked as a secretary. Back in Austria, my great grandparents were frantically trying to get out, and after two years of struggling and bribing they finally did and came to America.

What struck me most about the reading is how my grandparents very strongly emulate the clumping of the German speaking people described. My grandparents, who have lived in New York for the last 65+ years, are part of a very tight-knit Austrian "club." My grandparents, who went to summer camp together as young children in Austria, really only met in NY as fellow members of their "club." Although the clubs are not based in religion, although there are a large amount of German speaking Jews in the group, this group of friends has been together for more than half a century. Most of them are now in their late 80s (or early 90s), and they still see each other, vacation together, and discuss their lives in "the old country" on a regular basis. My mother was brought up constantly spending time with the children of the other members of the group, and so many of her close childhood friends are the descendants of German speaking Americans.

The picture above is my family. From Left to Right, the top row is my Dad, my Grandfather, my maternal great uncle and aunt, and me. The bottom row is my sister and my mom.