At 02:16 PM 4/7/97 -0500, you wrote: Was there something going on in Poland, Bohemia, and Lithuania >in the 1890's that made these people afraid to talk? Were they >afraid they would get someone in trouble? Were THEY the ones they >thought would get in trouble? I'd like to know what made these >immigrants so tight-lipped about their origins. > >Sandy I've talked to older family members about this (my father and his siblings---the first generation born in the US), and they've said a number things accounted for the reticence to talk about the old country. Primarily, their parents were very glad to be here. They had worked very hard to be able to come to the US. They didn't miss the old country (my gf was from Bohemia; my gm was from the part of Germany which is now in Poland). Life in the old country was hard, and laws and conditions strongly favored the landed and monied---neither of which describe my forbears. I've been told that both branches of the family deeply resented the power the upper classes had over their lives. [My uncle told me that my grandfather had even been pressured to give his last children his "boss's" surname when they were born! He refused for fear that the man would then be in a position to prevent them from immigrating.] To the ends of their lives, my grandparent's generation never got over their distrust of authority and government. Dad remembers his parents and neighbors talking about avoiding the census takers, sure that they were up to no good. My grandparents were extemely grateful to have immigrated to a country in which it was possible for them to work hard and acquire their own farm (an impossibility in their country of birth). They were so proud to have become Americans that they refused to let their children speak anything but English and considered their former lives completely irrelevant. Even my aunt, when I used to ask questions about my grandparent's lives in their former countries, put me off with, "Heavens! That was so long ago. It doesn't matter anymore. We don't have anyone left over there. They all died years ago!" In addition, the two world wars were awkward times for the many German immigrants (or German-speaking immigrants, as many Bohemians were). There was naturally a great deal of anti-German propaganda during these times, and no American wanted their loyalty called into question by appearing too attached to their former country. Shirley