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BY GERMERIKA.NET
TYPIcally AMERIcAN! - AND THEREBY German?!? ...
Here we want to note a few things that are typical
for the “American Way of Life“ and of German origin. Everyone knows some of them,
others can surprise. The List is certainly incomplete! -
... and of course always new things shall be added! ...
Germerika
and Hecker!!!
No comment ...
Fahrenheit scale/ thermometer
The simplest example to recognize the degree of
German influence in America is to look at the next thermometer: the
Fahrenheit Scale - invented by the German (Prussian) Daniel
Gabriel Fahrenheit, just like the first really functioning thermometer.
Cars,
motorcycles, jet planes, ejector seats(...), helicopters, motorboats, ship’s
propellers, refrigerators, computers, e-mails ...
...
and much more mark the modern America and the way how people deal with the
width of the country. They hold families together and were invented in
Germany, just like the Diesel motor and fuel.
US
Dollar
The name of the American currency goes back to the
German Taler. More about this can be found at the links “The tribes“ -
„Saxons“.
State of Georgia
The 4th state of the USA is named for the German Georg
II, Electoral Prince of Hanover (Lower Saxony) - and King of Great Britain and Ireland …
Kindergarten
The Kindergarten is a German invention. The Germans
anyhow strongly marked the American educational system.
Soft
toy animals and Barbie dolls
At
the beginning of the history of soft toy animals stand the German Steiff
animals. More about this can be found at the links “The tribes“ –
“Swabians/Alemans“.
Barbie
is also a German descendent. Ruth Handler designed her, inspirited by a
German fashion doll named Lilli, which she had bought in Germany.
Weihnachtsmann/ Nikolaus/ Santa Claus
He was first known in
Germany. Already Martin Luther had figured out the “Christkind” to replace
the catholic St. Nicolas. In the 19th century the Nikolaus figure started to
get more and more secularised. During the American Civil War the German
immigrant Thomas Nast from the Palatinate drew the first pictures of him,
like we know him today.
Nast is called the
“Father of the American Cartoon”
Republican
Elephant
… also a
German-American styled by Thomas Nast ...
Nast’s Cartoons were of great importance for the election of
Abraham Lincoln, the Propaganda of the Union during the civil war and the
fighting spirit of the US-Army.
Christmas
Trees
Are there any American Christmas traditions that
aren’t German? … - Probably yes … - But in every case the
Christmas tree was imported by German immigrants.
By the way: The “roots” of these trees are so long
that they reach back to the old Germanic tradition of putting evergreen
plants into the house, before the holiday of “Jul”, which celebrates the
winter solstice. Accordingly they are actually part of a pre-Christian
custom. Also the German word “Weihnachten” = “Christmas” is of this kind. It
refers to the “sacred nights” after Jul. In Scandinavia the word Jul is today
used like the English “Christmas”.
Nutcracker
... do we really have to mention that the uniformed
nutcrackers are Germans too? …
The Grinch
... invented by Theodor Seuss Geisel (also known as
Dr. Seuss) ... – enough of Christmas ...
Disney
Walt Disney was just as much of German descent as the tales he
made films of and which inspired him.
The Peanuts
Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Co were drawn by the
German-American Charles Schulz.
The Simpsons
... and the Simpsons were drawn by Matt Groening ...
Modern male underpants
No joke: The modern male underpants is a worldwide
successful patent. It was invented by the German-American Arthur Kneibler.
Jeans
The jeans pants are an invention of Levi Strauss, a
German immigrant. Guys who’ve spend too much time in the internet should
remember to put on jeans over their modern male underpants before they visit
a shopping mall ...
Shopping
Mall
The invention of the Austrian architect Victor
Gruen, who immigrated to the United States.
Television
The German comedian and poet Heinz Erhardt wrote about this:
“Damit man
sehe, was man höre, erfand Herr Braun die Braunsche Röhre. Wir Wär’n Herrn
Braun noch mehr verbunden, hätt’ er was anderes erfunden ...“
“So that one may see, what one hears, Mr. Braun
invented the Braun Tube (CRT). We’d be even more attached to Mr. Brown, if he
had invented something else …”
Meant is Karl Ferdinand Braun.
Video Game Consoles
Invented by Ralph H. Baer
Gramophone
Generations enjoyed music with the help of
gramophones and records. Now they are in fashion again. Both were invented by
the immigrant Emil Berliner.
Newspapers
The newspaper is generally a German invention.
Air
Force One
Is a Boeing 747. Boeing is a German-American Company.
Highways
- Interstates and Route 66
The American Interstates were built after the German descending
President Eisenhower (actually Eisenhauer) had seen the Autobahnen in Germany
after World War II. Without his plan to take these as an example and built
the Interstates, Route 66 would have never become the American legend, it is
today. - So: even if Germans ruin something, we still create culture
… -
and hey: what would Route 66 be without cars and motorcycles? Awfully
boring!
Heinz Ketchup
Wouldn’t be mentioned here, if it wouldn’t anyhow have a 98%
share of the market in the United States. The Heinz family once came from the
village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate, just like the family of US-President
Trump.
Cafes/
Diners
The origin of the European Cafes that were exported
to America lies in the “Kaffeehäusern“ in Vienna und goes back to the time
after the besiege of Vienna by the Turks. In the gladness about the victory
and the relief of the besiege, people drank the coffee that the Turks had
left behind at the restaurant-keepers who had captured it. The Croissants
goes back to the victory of Vienna as well. The pastries existed in Vienna
already before, the crescent-shape however is a symbol for the victory
against the Turks. Only it’s name is French.
Tasty
bread
In America only findable in German bakeries. There’s
no discussion about that! ...
Shooting
Clubs
“Schützen Vereine = Shooters Unions“ are existing in
Germany already since the middle ages. That this follows the bread topic,
happens absolutely not intentionally …
Choirs
The American choirs arose of German traditions.
Labor
unions
The emergence of the American labor unions movement
can’t be separated from the history of the German Americans.
Music
of the South
The south of the United States is the home of many
great American musicians. Bavarian spoon-drumming, as well as the accordion, which was even been declared the
official state instrument of Louisiana, are German, just like the harmonica.
Without them there wouldn’t be the typical Cayun-Music, which also marked the
„black music“ of the south. The German brass bands have influenced these
styles of music as well. Processions with brass bands were probably adopted
by the blacks from the Germans, who’s welfare organisations were very active
to help the poor black population to get access to education and put an end
to slavery.
Generally the German culture is one of the cultures
that formed, what Louisianans call “Creole”.
Gymnastics -
”Turnen”
The sport was invented in Germany during the French
occupation under Napoleon. It was supposed to train the German youth for an
active resistance. It became a kind of symbol for national liberty and it’s
inventor, the Brandenburger Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, received the nickname
“Turnvater Jahn” = “Gymnasticsfather Jahn”. During the American Civil War
Abraham Lincoln chose German-American Turners to become his personal Guard.
He trusted them especially much!
Anti-slavery-movement
The birthplace of the anti-slavery-movement is
Germantown, Pennsylvania. The oldest German settlement in America. More about
this can be found at the links “History“ – “German-American history“.
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