Kultur 1

After reading this article by the Max Kade, it has become more apparent to me how much German culture has had an impact on general American culture.  As mentioned in the article, Irish people have a very different culture and thus are seen as celebrating their heritage more prominently.  On the other hand, German heritage is less seen generally.  I believe this is because the Germans integrated very well into the "American" tradition.

It truly is incredible the impact that Germans had on two of the largest entertainment industries in America, the film industry, and the "entertainment" industry of eating.  German recipes came along with the immigrants, and sausage has become a staple at many a sporting event tailgate.  And what college student hasn't had a bag of pretzels sitting next to him/her when studying for finals at one point?  Then of course, there is the German tradition of beer drinking.  As different as German beer is to American beer, the tradition of drinking ales and lager and pilsners has also come to America (though not to the extent it remains in Germany).

German quickly became German-American, and to some extent, that is what became American.  Of course, our country is made up of many other ethnic groups, but Germans had a strong enough will to become one of the main ingredients in our cultural melting pot.