Dear Listers,
My Grandmother used to tell us, when we were little girls to Sitzemado, which we interpreted to mean sit down there. This is probably not spelled correctly in her native Holstein dialect. I do not care, whether she spoke High or Low German, but I would have loved to learn any kind of German from my Grandfather and her. They did not teach it to us, so both my cousin and I had difficulty with the language, when we lived in Germany. Too bad that the younger generation of German Americans were not taught the Language of their ancestors. I am very proud to be of German descent and also on my mother's side Danish.
Her Mother was born in Denmark and her Father's parents were also. Mother and her Aunt were not taught to speak Danish, but they learned a few words, so Great-Grandmother and Grandma could not speak Danish without having some of their conversation understood.
Does anyone on this list know of someone, who might be able to help me find the correct words to my little Fingerspiele that I inquired about?
Thanks for any help.
Karla Nurnberg
Karla, you have to think about the times in America. After both world wars
there was a lot of anti German feelings in this country. I came in 1953 as
an 11 year old. I was beaten up in school and called a German spry. I had
a terrible time in school and no friends. Germans would not even admit they
were Germans. In the 1960's I lost 2 jobs when people found out I was
German. In my case, my parents did not enforce German because there were
only the three of us and we had to learn English. My parents learned from
me. But we approached coming to America differently. We accepted America
with our whole hearts and beings. My father was the only one on the block
to fly the American flag and we were very proud to become Americans. The
last 20 years or so changed this situation. But still if I am asked if I am
German, I say no, I'm German by birth and American by choice. So don't
criticize your ancestors too much. They did this to protect their children.
Heide
PS Maybe Sitz mal?
That's really tough and I'm sorry, Heide. We had a half-dozen new students from Germany throughout
my 1948-1954 post-World War II years in public schools in Englewood, NJ, and also new were a Dutch girl,
a Belgian girl and an English boy, and I never noticed anything like that.
In our school, five elementary schools came together for Junior High and High School, and people more-or-less
had their cliques already formed from elementary school, so I'm sure it was difficult for transfers from the next
town as well. But I never heard any expression of dislike or references to the war. Or any physical violence
between students or ganging up on one. That's so sad. I'll apologize for them, they knew not what they were doing.
What I HAVE regretted is that the teachers never used the obvious wonderful opportunities we had then to help
us broaden ourselves and our outlooks and learn about the other cultures and customs and places they had lived
in Europe. There was no encouragement of that, our loss!
Maureen
I would have to agree with Maureen. I came here in knickers in March,
1952 and quickly learned to blend in. Within 6 months I was pretty
fluent in the language just from a few months elementary school and
life on the streets playing with new found friends. Yes, it was a
German neighborhood and the nuns at St Henry's in Philadelphia all
spoke German but kids being kids I was more of an attraction for being
different then being ostracized. I got invited to all the birthday
parties and learned about spin the bottle and other American games.
The girls kept picking me and the parents were all happy to have me as
a friend of their children. I was well mannered in the German style in
front of adults which impressed the hell out of them. Ok, I got some
ribbing about my name Wolfgang and soon found it easier to go with my
middle name of Fritz changed to Fred. One fits in a little better with
a proper name. 
Later in my early work experiences I always found that being German
was a tremendous asset. I had several Jewish bosses who expected much
from me simply because I was German and more diligent in my work
ethic. That's really all I could ever ask to let me proove myself.
When I was hired by the Philadephia Gas Works in their Engineering
Dept., my boss called a meeting to introduce me to the group giving my
background as a German refugee etc and afterwards told me that if
anybody should ever give me any guff about being German I was to
immediately tell him about it and he would take care of the matter.
Nothing ever happened. Later, when I formed my own business, most of
my early customers were Jewish. I don't know why that was but I
suspect because they knew I would always deliver on my promises. My
contract was a handshake, the old fashioned way. My dad who always
struggled with English was nevertheless given a car to take home to
try out. The salesman simply knew he could be trusted to come back and
pay for it. No documentation was even asked for. I was just a kid but
I was impressed by trustful people all around us. It was America and
it was proof of the pudding that the statue stood for something. I
built my business on that same kind of trust of our fellow man and it
has worked out just the way I planned it all.
To be honest, I think it was a different America back then. America
was still the land of the free and welcomed foreigners to join the
melting pot. Today we have been groomed to fear everything and
everybody and to reject anyone who might be different from us. The
flag no longer stands for what it used to, here or abroad. It is a sad
situation for our beloved country. Roosevelt's words from his initial
inaugural address keep ringing in my ears: 'So, first of all, let me
assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear
itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes
needed efforts to convert retreat into advance'.
Fred
It seems as if neither of you is aware that it became actually illegal in some places to conduct business in German, that the German banks took on English names (in Fort Wayne, the German Bank -- that was its name -- became Lincoln National bank), that German-language newspapers stopped publishing, that the Lutheran schools began teaching in English and the churches began holding services in English all as a result of threats!
Maybe you have to be "of a certain age" to know these things, because history as taught these days is watered down so as not to offend anyone.
You think people are upset today by those who prefer to speak Spanish rather than English? It's nothing compared to those who spoke German after the wars or those who LOOKED Japanese (in otherwords, any Asian) after World War II!
And war brides -- my goodness, those poor women. Only those with European backgrounds were accepted -- unless, of course, they were German or Italian -- the other two nations in The Axis along with Japan. All Asian-looking women were shunned, whether Filipino or Hawaiian (U.S. Citizens for goodness sake!) or from the South Pacific Islands.
If our grandparents and parents had not been forced to stop speaking German outside the home, it might be that more of us would be bilingual instead of having to take classes to learn our families' mother tongue.
Loretta
Videos: http://krumbar.neptune.com
Families: Artesia Twp., Iroquois Co., Illinois: Index to several prominent families
Still photos: Go to the "Families" link above and click on Multi-Media Menu.
I was in Upstate New York, across the river from Albany. I was the only
"foreigner" in school. What made it worse, the teachers didn't know what to
do with me. During High School my principal tried to kick me out. I had a
wonderful guidance councilor who talked my parents into letting me stay so I
did graduate and b elieve it or not, I actually went to college and ended up
with a Masters in Education. We were a small group, 75 students. What
didn't help, we moved frequently between '54 and 57. So I was in 5
different school. High school I did in one. Upstate, being so rural, they
had less contact with immigrants. You in New Jersey had more. Heide
Refugees were actually more welcomed than those who had been here a generation or two and still spoke German. Weird, I know, but true.
I think the word "Refugee" implies that you were not in agreement with the land from which you came.
We all had different experiences. In all my school years, there never was a
person who spoke German. Same for my parents. They both worked in Albany
Med and had wonderful work relationships. I wasn't so lucky. I had no one
to explain what was what. I ended up working for Kling Photo in Manhattan
and my supervisor lost family in Germany. You can guess what happened and I
was hired because I knew German. That situation repeated a few years
later. I didn't have a German accent to I was able to hide my background.
You learn survival skills. Heide
I like to tell my students my father searched for 7 years for a sponsor to
come to this country legally. My mother and I came 6 months later. Heide
Dear Listers,
My Grandmother used to tell us, when we were little girls to
Sitzemado, which we interpreted to mean sit down there. This is probably not
spelled correctly in her native Holstein dialect. I do not care, whether she
spoke High or Low German, but I would have loved to learn any kind of German
from my Grandfather and her. They did not teach it to us, so both my cousin
and I had difficulty with the language, when we lived in Germany. Too bad
that the younger generation of German Americans were not taught the Language
of their ancestors. I am very proud to be of German descent and also on my
mother's side Danish.
Her Mother was born in Denmark and her Father's parents were also. Mother
and her Aunt were not taught to speak Danish, but they learned a few words,
so Great-Grandmother and Grandma could not speak Danish without having some
of their conversation understood.
Does anyone on this list know of someone, who might be able to help me
find the correct words to my little Fingerspiele that I inquired about?
Thanks for any help.
Karla Nurnberg
Hallo,
ich dachte, das Problem wäre schon längst gelöst; jetzt also auch noch mein Senf:
"Sitzemado" kann eigentlich nur hochdeutsch heißen: Setz dich mal dahin!
I thought the problem was solved before, so I did not answer. Here my suggestion: Sit down now!
Which words are inquired to Fingerspiele, perhaps I can help.
Regards
Gerd
Hi,
I was born in 1955 in a suburb of Chicago that was still at that time pretty much German. At one time it was 100% German. They had stopped German Lutheran Services after WW2, but I heard that in a nearby town they continued into the 1970's to have one service in German and one in English. My relatives who arrived here all did learn English right away, and I have them holding an American flag proudly, probably the day they became citizens. I know my dad spoke both languages until Kindergarten, then he began to forget his German. I went to a Lutheran school, as did my dad and my grandma, and probably many more. I know that new people who were "different" in some way, we all made an extra effort to welcome them, and have them join us in everything. I never once saw a bad action towards them. The teachers weren't strict there, but it just came natural. My dad had gone to the same school before me, and even had one of the same teachers, who started there in 1917. I know many people left their doors and windows open, many owned guns for hunting, there was never any thought of trouble at all.
Back then the 2 worst things were chewing gum in class or passing a note. I'm female, and it was safe for me to go long distances at a very young age. I rode my bike for miles and miles every day in the summer if I wished.
Now it is so hard for me to remember a time like that. My youngest asks at 14, if she can walk to the bottom of the street. I did that at 4 years old, no problem. There is a site online where you can see if there are sex offenders living near you. We live in kind of a middle-upper class neighborhood, and there are a few red dots nearby (meaning offenders) one of them is within about 3 blocks. When they were younger, and today even, people don't know God at all (my kids ask their friends), television is total trash, including the commercials, the movies are all rated R with good reason. Did the people my age and younger just have children and think they raise themselves?
I sent my kids to Christian schools all the way K-12. I never let them see the trash shows on tv of course, and they have never asked to. I just order the classics on dvds for myself, they are so much better. Flight of the Phoenix, It's a Wonderful Life of course (both Frank Capra, Jimmy Stewart, and many character actors the same) movies. A few Hitchcock/Jimmy Stewart movies like "Rear Window" and many others. Well of course the kids have different favorites lol. When I was a kid, you watched what your elders watched, I never had a "choice".
Well I think it was the late 60s that things mainly changed. Do away with marriage, drugs are fine, everything is fine, there is no God according to the Beatles and many other groups who were actually satanists. Then feminism (go ahead yell at me). People used to say feminism and this stuff was started by communists, and you know what? They were, BUT they were the people in our own CIA. The government also wanted the breakup of the family. I could write papers on things, which are totally documented). It's too bad we don't find out a lot of things until people's deathbeds. There is someone in 1954 who figured out the whole agenda of what was going to come. I'm not talking about some false prophets (my prophets are in the Bible only). If you want to hear the person himself who was in banking during the crash of 29, and who was asked by Congress in 1954 to investigate Trust Funds. The Trust Funds are not philanthropic, they want control. The government has nothing to do with the making of money in the United States. The money comes from privately owned banks and by the people running them, such as the Rockefellers, the Rothchilds in Europe, etc. Right away the Rockefellers wanted control of our educational system. They wanted to "dumb down" kids. All of the money is borrowed at some interest level, from the "Federal Reserve". They control if there will be a depression, recession, inflation, etc. The Federal Reserve is NOT us, it's like the top 13 familes in the world, and we owe them more and more every day. Watch this video made in the 1980's interviewing a man in his 80s, who had the rare traits of having integrity and being brilliant.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-201783240489827&q=norman+dodd&total=129&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
It is well worth the watch! If you can't find it, go to Google's videos and look up Norman Dodd. Please watch the whole 54 minute video, it is well worth it.
So laugh, but the CIA brought in the drugs and still do, to raise money for black op things, the CIA were in the crowds of the "hippies" in the 60s helping stir things up, the CIA funded MS magazine and helped their cause in many ways. CIA involved with Kennedy assasscination (Kennedy had 2 bullet wounds).
I was raised to be patriot, my father and both grandfathers fought in the World Wars. When there are wars, the bankers make money from both sides. Most know that Bush's grandfather Prescott Bush supplied a lot of steel and had various companies in Germany that were not to be bombed. My father was serving in WW2 for the US. I get saddened and angry when I realize now, and even far back in time, wars are often started by "us" so world bankers get rich. I know that is not what my dad was fighting for, and it makes me sick so many young men and women lost their lives.
Well sorry, I get caught up when the changes are brought up. ChangesRUs I think, but really more truthfully, our own government. Has anyone heard of people forming groups to unite with Canada and Mexico before our stupid government said it will happan someday and they even know what the money will be called (if money is used anymore). NO, nobody I know has wanted a unification. Now we are just ordered about and it doesn't really matter what president or congressman is there, it will be done when the people at the top order it. Ron Paul is only hope that will stand up against the people at the top of the pyramid, and he isn't allowed to debate or anything. This is so ridiculous, I hope groups of people will take stands.
susan
(NOT a kook, I am well-read, and a lot of "weird" things go all the way back to Lincoln's time, but can only deal with what we have now) I've had 8 years of college, graduating cum laude in 1980. I have studied for a long time, this is NOT National Enquirer news!
Hallo Listies,
Möglicherweise ist dieses nützlich.
mit freundlichen Grüßen
Barbie-Lew
Hallo,
You wrote, "Now we are just ordered about and it doesn't really matter what president or congressman is there, it will be done when the people at the top order it.
I have always felt the essence of being an American were the words of Abraham Lincoln...
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Very difficult to understand how democracy can be forged when...
"National Security"
Allows one to be imprisoned and/or totured without benefit of public trial...
As long as it occurs outside defined U.S. borders................
The hypocrite says,
"Do as I say, not as I do."
B
Se het segt
"Set di mol dahl" (dahl = dohl)
Bernd