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Originally Posted by Irmgard  And there's one thing I don't quite get: were there problems between Americans with different European ancestors? (e.g. German and English during WW1)? Or did they feel so American that they didn't relate to their countries of origin?
Thanks a lot |
That's great question and is the subject of much conversation today about the immigrants of today versus the immigrants of generations ago.
It seems that what the common thread of generations past is that they came here to become Americans. That is to say they embrace the ideals of the founding fathers from the 1700s. The point is that they had an affection for their countries of origin but felt very strongly that they were in a new world and were eager to assimilate to America.
My father-in-law was born in Frankfurt yet he fought in the Battle of the Bulge on the American side in WWII. He was also an interrogator and questioned many German prisoners. Many, many new Americans found themselves in similar positions in both wars. They loved their mother countries but were fiercely loyal to their new adopted country.
This is not to say that there were not problems between Americans of different bloodlines. Many German-descended people changed their names just before and during the 2nd World War. Japanese could change their names but not their appearance. Italians were only slightly more successful at assimilating. Many of these folks went far to "prove" to others that they were just as American as they were by displaying the flag, learning the language, encouraging their children to join the military... things like that. But they often held affection for their native countries.
I hope that helps a little.
ML