Lost German Chicago

Images of America: Illinois

by Joseph C. Heinen, Susan Barton Heinen

By 1900, one in four Chicagoans was either German born or had a German-born parent. No other ethnic group's thumbprint has been larger in helping establish Chicago as a major economic and cultural center nor has any group's influence been more erased by the passage and vicissitudes of time. Lost German Chicago traces the mosaic of German life through the tumultuous events of the Beer Riots, Haymarket Affair, Prohibition, and America's entry into two world wars. The book is a companion piece to the Lost German Chicago exhibition debuting in the newly created DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center museum, located in what is still known today as the "German town" of the north side of Chicago. Entrusted as the caretaker of many archives, artifacts, and historical documents from many now defunct German organizations, the DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center has been committed to preserving history, traditions, and contributions of Germans and German Americans for over 50 years.

Genres: History, American History

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2009

Reviews

[carl theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great photographic glimpse into the history of the influence of the German population on Chicago. The pictures provide a look at the personalities, the architecture, the politics, the professions, the pastimes, elusive WW2 prisoners, the food, the beer, more beer !

With up to 25 percent of the citizens being of German heritage in the early 1900s, it must have been like a visit to the fatherland for many. My maternal, German speaking grandparents, left the ‘old country’, and made their way separately to Chicago in 1906, met and married. This gave me a little look at their lives.

Each chapter has a short history and the ‘Lost’ is reflected in the gradual disappearance of ‘things German’ over the years, for example stores and restaurants, a marked decline after each World War and then with many of the last fading away in the 1980s.

[Bryan Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book on a whim to get a peek at my Chicago German past (I have relatives buried in St. Boniface Cemetery). The old pictures blew my mind. I got to see what The Daily Bar and Grill looked like in 1917, and zeppelins floating over Michigan Ave. Also, lots of pictures and not much writing. I only wanted a peek after all, not a three volume explanation.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good little bit of history about this fair city. It's pretty amazing how much German influence there once was and how that was washed over by subsequent immigrations. I always suspected that the world wars made it unsavory to be too Germanic, and it seems to be the case that my people work very hard to be more American and probably moved out to the suburbs in large numbers. They're still here somewhere.