The German Society of Montreal (French: ''Société allemande de Montréal''; German: ''Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal'') is a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

-based non-profit organization with the mission to promote the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

in Montreal and to promote the health and welfare of Montrealers of all origins. The Society was founded as an association of German-speaking business people and professionals in 1835 and was incorporated by the '' Act to incorporate the German Society of Montreal'',Alt URL
/ref> a public act of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

in 1865. Today, the Society is an important social and cultural institution in the German and German-speaking community of Montreal.

Current Mission

The German Society's mission has evolved over the years. While the Society was founded to support German immigrants coming to Montreal (and Canada), the Society today supports all Montrealers regardless of origin. Today, the Society also works to support the German culture, heritage and language in Montreal, by working to make connections between different groups in Montreal such as the Alexander von Humboldt Schule Montréal and the Montreal Goethe-Institut. There is also a Facebook page dedicated to Germans being able to connect, with monthly meetings: The complete mission statement has four elements.

History

1835-1850s: Early years

After a private meeting in March 1835, initiated amongst others by the physician Dr.

Daniel Arnoldi Daniel Arnoldi (March 7, 1774 – July 19, 1849) was a Canadian doctor. He was born in Montreal and received his education in England and Montreal, obtaining his medical licence in 1795. He practised in many towns in what is now Quebec and Ontari ...

, the German Society of Montreal was formally founded on April 21, 1835 at the Hotel Nelson. The original purpose was to be the voice of the German minority in Montreal and to the support of anyone of German origin living and/or arriving in Montréal with "advice, information and assistance o thosein need" (Gürttler, 1985, p. 3). At the first general meeting, the 81 founding members appointed Louis Gugy (at the time Sheriff of Montreal) as the first president of the Society. Over the course of its history, the leaders and members of the Society have ranged from tradespersons such as butchers to professionals such as lawyers, politicians, business people, doctors and diplomats. From early on, the Society was close to similar organizations focused on supporting newcomers, like the English St. George's Society of Montreal, the Scottish St. Andrew's Society of Montreal and the Irish

St. Patrick's Society of Montreal The St. Patrick's Society of Montreal (French: Société Saint-Patrick de Montréal) is the oldest fraternal organization in Canada. In existence since March 17, 1834, it predates the Société Saint-Jean Baptiste by three months. The St. Patrick' ...

, which were all founded around the same time. In the time leading up to the

Rebellions of 1837 Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, the Society, along with the other national societies in Montreal identified more closely with the British side. Over time, the German Society took a more neutral stance.

1850s-1880s: Immigration waves

Montreal was an important port for European immigrants coming to North America. Even though large numbers of Germans (and other Europeans) arrived in Montreal, not many remained in the city for long: most moved on to Canada’s west or the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Nevertheless, the German Society played an important role in welcoming German(-speaking) immigrants and helping them get settled in the city. With its goal to support the welfare of the German community in Montreal, the Society also assisted the opening of a German-language church in the 1850s. Beloeil bridge train accident, 1864

On June 26, 1864, the several members of the German Society assisted in the rescue efforts of a major train disaster in Belœil/Saint-Hilaire. A

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...

train with 467 passengers, many recently immigrated Germans, failed to stop at an opened

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

across the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

. Ninety-nine passengers and crew lost their lives in the accident. Following the tragedy, the Society arranged for the construction of a memorial at the Mont-Royal Cemetery. The German Society of Montreal was granted the status of a corporation by the

Parliament of the Province of Canada The Parliament of the Province of Canada was the legislature for the Province of Canada, made up of the two regions of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada, later Ontario) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada, later Quebec). Creation of the Parl ...

in 1865. The '' Act to incorporate the German Society of Montreal'' received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on March 18, 1865. The mass migration to Canada from Europe in the 1860s and 1870s increased the importance of the Society’s charitable mission of helping needy immigrants. Many immigrants arriving in Montreal had no material means to support themselves, as they presumed the Canadian government would support them in getting settled in the country. As this was not the case, the Society played an important role in helping German immigrants with their immediate needs upon arrival in the Port of Montreal. The Society assisted immigrants in getting settled in Montreal, by supporting them with aid, and the finding of employment and housing. Good relationships with different shipping and railway companies allows the Society to negotiate fare discounts for Germans wishing to travel further west. During and after the Franco-Prussian War (which also contributed to the large flow of migrants to North America) the German Society's relief efforts were also directed to Germany to support widows and orphans. Recognizing the issue, the German Society, along with other organizations pushed the government to implement harsher immigration policies to stop the migration of people without the means to support themselves. In 1868, the Canadian government adopted legislation and an order-in-council to restrict immigration to those with adequate means. The limited enforcement of these new policies, and the corrupt practices of immigration agents in Europe moved the Society to publish information campaigns in German newspapers and through the German Consulate General in Montreal, it also engaged with governments in Germany to take action against the flow of immigrants not able to support themselves to Canada.

Manitoba Project (1872-1874)

Under the leadership of land surveyor Wilhelm Wagner (President of the German Society from 1867-1870), the German Society was granted one and a half

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

s in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

with the goal of establishing a German community in that province. The agreement with the federal government was that the Society would find fifty families in the first year and then 100 families in every year after that to settle the township. Efforts of the Society and Wagner to promote immigration to Manitoba included the publishing of information brochures in German and a reduction of transportation fares. Nevertheless, the Society failed to meet its obligations, and the Surveyor General of Canada informed the Society in the fall of 1874 that the government would reclaim the townships, which due to changes in the political climate, the

Hudson’s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

became interested in. The Society put to rest the Manitoba Project.

Presidents of the Society

The Presidents of the Society have come from a wide array of professions and trades, including politicians, diplomats, butchers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and many others. * 1835-1839 Louis Gugy * 1840-1850 Dr. Daniel Arnoldi * 1850-1855 Henry Meyer * 1855-1858 Ernst Idler * 1858-1859 A. Schmidt * 1859-1860 Gottlieb Reinhardt * 1860-1865 Gerhard Lomer * 1865-1866 Heinz Drescher * 1866-1867 Emanuel Häusgen * 1867-1870 Wilhelm Wagner * 1870-1873 Emanuel Häusgen * 1873-1877 Wm. C. Munderloh * 1877-1880 Fred Gericken * 1880-1893 Wm. C. Munderloh * 1893-1894 Eugen von Rappard * 1894-1917 Ed. Scheultze * 1917-1923 Josua Dörken * 1923-1925 Alfred Pollock * 1925-1926 Franz Ramsperger * 1926-1929 H. Walter Dörken * 1929-1931 Jul. Schwartz * 1931-1938 H. Walter Dörken * 1938-1939 Rev. O. C. D. Klahn * 1940-1947 Louis Augustin (Acting President) * 1947-1957 Heinz Kuch * 1957-1963 Dr. J. Brabander * 1963-1966 Fritz Seebohm * 1966-1969 P.D. Consmueller * 1969-1972 Joseph Johl * 1972-1975 Franz von Müller-Hippmann * 1975-1977 Hans Black * 1977-1979 H. H. Behrens * 1979-1980 Dale C. Thomson * 1980-1985 Helmut Blume * 1985-1987 Richard Brabander * 1987-1990 Wolfgang Schmitz * 1990-1992 Dr. Charles H. Cahn * 1992-1996 Barbara Brunner-Zaharescu * 1996-1998 Dr. Paul Helmer * 1998-2009 Peter Lövenich * 2009- Dr. Gisela Steinle

Membership

Membership in the Society is open to all who wish and are willing to support the objectives of the organization. Since 1835, the membership has been fluctuating constantly, as can be seen in the data table below.

References

External links

German Society of Montreal (Official Website)
{{Authority control Ethnic organizations based in Canada History of Montreal Non-profit organizations based in Montreal 1835 establishments in Canada 1835 establishments in Lower Canada Patriotic societies German-Canadian culture in Quebec European-Canadian culture in Montreal Ethnic fraternal orders in Canada