How German is American?

Guten Tag!

I found this article very interesting and eye-opening. Some cultural information I was already familiar with - such as pretzels, bratwurst, and Oktoberfest, but those are recognized as generally well known. All of my family is of European descent - but the amount and influence of German heritage specifically is small as compared to the 100% Polish descent from my mother's side. That being the case, I was particularly interested in the information about the German immigration patterns and social groups. I wasn't surprised to find that both Polish and German immigration occurred for economic reasons and in pre/post war times. However, I had never previously been aware of the German social groups such as the Turners and the Free Thinkers, although they had a very important influence on German American (and what eventually dissolved into simply American) social life and institutions. The key point of German social groups and varying culture within Germany itself is essential to the explanation of why German culture is not so much an obvious driving force as a subtle element in modern American culture. Their differences among themselves melted into the already foreign influenced America and became another enriching part of it. With America being such a mix of cultures it's no wonder Germany is influenced by it on a regular basis as well.