Kultur 1

This article was very interesting to read in my opinion. Growing up in New York, in the area where I am from, one does not realize the prevalence of German in American society today. I honestly had no idea that the Midwest had such a high German-American population, nor did I even think of it to be one of the largest identities of Americans today. Being Jewish, I could really relate to the section in which the article referred to the mid 20th century when German Jews moved to the US, many of which spoke either German or Yiddish and came from Germany or the surrounding European countries. My Grandfather did in fact escape the Second World War; he was born in Vienna and spoke German, and was lucky enough to be able to escape any persecution. I never even considered myself to be a part of that culture nor have I really identified with the heritage so it was extremely fascinating to read about it.

I also found it quite interesting to think about how much of German society has been easily integrated into our everyday life without us even realizing it. Things such as having a hot dog and a beer before/during a football game, to me seemed nothing more than an American tradition. However, the key components to said "American" tradition are not American at all.

This article was an eye opener all around and allowed me to see things in a different way: something I definitely didn't expect to happen!