I have found this in my own genealogy as well, my GG granpa LOATHED being called german and constantly informed people of the fact that his son (my G granpa) was serving/had served in WW1, against the germans. The family had also immigrated prior to the American Revolution, so the last ""german"" in the family had been his own GG grandpa (from Hesse), and he was not shy about saying so. Providence only knows if great granpa (in WW1) had met distant relatives in battle etc and not known it. -----Original Message----- From: hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of D.L. MacLaughlan-Dumes Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 7:27 PM To: hesse@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [HESSE] Alsace-Lorraine/Darmstadt Weinsheimer/Gerstenschlaeger On Feb 28, 2011, at 7:09 PM, Kathy Cochran wrote: > I would LOVE to know why some people (my Grandmother included) never mentioned the name "Germany" but dramatically "dropped the name" of Alsace-Lorraine whenever she thought someone might be listening. Ah, she was a drama teacher, but I also wonder if back in the 30's and the 40's if the hatred and fear of Hitler caused this to be a factor in her (and many other people) not ever mentioning that her (their) people came from Germany. This was common not only in the 1930s onward but before that period, all the way back before WWI. From 1914 there was a great prejudice against all things German, especially family roots in Germany. Some folks changed their surnames (as my grandfather did from Petersen to MacLaughlan -- much easier to be Irish or Scottish than be mistaken for German). Some folks decided that their ancestors came from Alsace or even France. One family line had the surname Jatho from Hesse-Kassel, and several cousins were told that the surname was really "Jathaux" from France. We now know better.... Regards, Debra MacLaughlan-Dumes http://sakionline.net/familypage ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HESSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Thank you for this. It helps to heal. Kathy From: hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of RoseMary Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 8:29 PM To: hesse@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [HESSE] Alsace-Lorraine/Darmstadt Weinsheimer/Gerstenschlaeger I have found this in my own genealogy as well, my GG granpa LOATHED being called german and constantly informed people of the fact that his son (my G granpa) was serving/had served in WW1, against the germans. The family had also immigrated prior to the American Revolution, so the last ""german"" in the family had been his own GG grandpa (from Hesse), and he was not shy about saying so. Providence only knows if great granpa (in WW1) had met distant relatives in battle etc and not known it. -----Original Message----- From: hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:hesse-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of D.L. MacLaughlan-Dumes Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 7:27 PM To: hesse@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [HESSE] Alsace-Lorraine/Darmstadt Weinsheimer/Gerstenschlaeger On Feb 28, 2011, at 7:09 PM, Kathy Cochran wrote: > I would LOVE to know why some people (my Grandmother included) never mentioned the name "Germany" but dramatically "dropped the name" of Alsace-Lorraine whenever she thought someone might be listening. Ah, she was a drama teacher, but I also wonder if back in the 30's and the 40's if the hatred and fear of Hitler caused this to be a factor in her (and many other people) not ever mentioning that her (their) people came from Germany. This was common not only in the 1930s onward but before that period, all the way back before WWI. From 1914 there was a great prejudice against all things German, especially family roots in Germany. Some folks changed their surnames (as my grandfather did from Petersen to MacLaughlan -- much easier to be Irish or Scottish than be mistaken for German). Some folks decided that their ancestors came from Alsace or even France. One family line had the surname Jatho from Hesse-Kassel, and several cousins were told that the surname was really "Jathaux" from France. We now know better.... Regards, Debra MacLaughlan-Dumes http://sakionline.net/familypage ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HESSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HESSE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3474 - Release Date: 02/28/11