On Dec.12, 1897, a comic strip featuring a German-American family with a distinctly Denglish accent appeared in a Sunday Supplement of the New York Journal. The Katzenjammer Kids featured twins Hans and Fritz, two boys who were always up to mischief and pranks. The word Katzenjammer basically means “Cat Wailing” or caterwauling, and that loud yowling is a perfect name…
Category: German American History
The Candy Bomber – The Berlin Airlift & Operation Little Vittles
Cover Image-C-54 dropping candy during Berlin Airlift c1949 – Public Domain In a 2021 newsletter, I mentioned that I would be writing about the Candy Bomber who dropped handkerchief parachutes with chocolate payloads for the children of Berlin during the Airlift. One of my readers, Dorothea Thunig Smith, reached out to me with a lovely memory. “I lived in Berlin…
Was the US Official Language Almost German? The Muhlenberg Legend
One of my FAVORITE urban legends is one I actually believed for a long time… that the official Language of the United States was almost German. It gets better! The legend says that in a Congressional vote, German lost by only one vote, and that’s why we speak English in America. I hate to bust this very exciting bubble, but…
The Gingerbread for Liberty Book- The Story of a German American Hero during the Revolution
Gingerbread for Liberty!: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution Gingerbread for Liberty book a beautifully illustrated children’s book by Mara Rockliff is based on the true story of Christopher Ludwich, a German Baker who arrived in America as a young man. Ludwich was known for his delicious Gingerbread, and his motto “no one goes hungry if I…