German Americans of Cleveland
About This Site
German Americans of Cleveland is third in a series of websites developed or planned by the Cleveland State University Library to explore the ethnic influence that helped shape the history and development of Cleveland.
What does this site contain?
Mrs. Hermann Baehr with an unidentified child, 1909.
German Americans of Cleveland contains 273 images selected from the Special Collections Department of the Cleveland State University Library and others provided by outside institutions. Links to websites of contemporary German American organizations and culture will help acquaint you with German Americans today.
Criteria for inclusion
To be included in the site, an individual had to be either born or raised in the Greater Cleveland area or have lived here a significant part of his/her life in the region. We have attempted to include individuals who made a significant contribution beyond their own personal and family life to the history and development of Cleveland. Scenes depicted in the photographs should help illustrate the cultural life of German Americans during different periods of adaptation to life in the United States.
The Images
Most of the photographs in the German Americans of Cleveland are from the Cleveland Press Archives located in the Special Collections Department of the Cleveland State University Library. The photos included in the site focus on German individuals born and/or raised for a large portion of their life in the Cleveland vicinity and who have made a significant contribution beyond their own person and family life to the history and development of Cleveland. The scenic photographs add to the visual understanding of what Cleveland physically looked like during the different phases of the German immigrants adaptation to life in the United States. From the religious institutions that added stability to the immigrant's life to the hospitals, businesses, educational institutions photos bring life to the 'German' Cleveland of yesteryear.
Acknowledgements
This site relies heavily on several sources of information.
- The Cleveland Press Collection
Articles of Theodore Andrica who chronicled the ethnic communities of Cleveland as Nationalities Editor of the Cleveland Press in his series of columns "100 Years of Nationalities in Cleveland." His articles included on this site detail the history of Germans in Cleveland. - Walter J. Leedy, Jr. Post Card Collection
Images from this nearly 8,000 comprehensive collection were selected to portray the life of the German Americans through their homes, churches, colleges and universities, hospitals, and social agencies. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Prominent German Americans from Cleveland's past links to articles about these people in The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History compiled by David D. Van Tassel and John J. Grabowski, Cleveland, Ohio: Case Western Reserve University; Western Reserve Historical Society. (1998)-. - The Federation for German American Societies of Greater Cleveland
A wonderful source of information about German American culture past and present.
Feedback, additional information, and donations
We welcome not only your comments about this site but also additional information about any of the persons included in German Americans in Cleveland about accomplishments after 1982 when the Press ceased publication. Corrections of information are also welcome. The University Library invites the donation of photos for use on the site. They could be of individuals already included or of additional persons to be added. The photographs could be added to our permanent collection or, if requested returned to the owner after digitization for the web site. Please contact us.
