-Reply

Harry Needham wrote:  I wonder how many of the allegedly "German"
immigrants to the USA were actually Austrians or Schweitzerdeutsch? I
suspect a great many of these were labeled "German", from the
language they spoke, just as most Flemings were labeled as "Dutch".

>>>>>>
This is a good point you bring up, but you might also be right about it
being hair splitting--especially at the research level at which most exhibit
curators are forced to settle because of time restraints.

The language similarities you mention are a problem for historians and for
those researching exhibits.  Many historians are unfamiliar with the
language subtleties, or religious and cultural differences between those
groups--and in some cases, it's impossible for us to sort out.

Heck, 20th-century North Americans have a hard enough time
distinguishing between the Dutch and Germans (e.g. Pennsylvania
"Dutch"), let alone Belgians and Dutch, or Austrians and Swiss and
Germans.  During WWI, some Dutch-Americans were persecuted by
English-speaking Americans for being German.   And during the time
period of your mother's family in New Netherland, there was sometimes
more of a distinction between Lutherans and Calvinists than between
Dutch and German speakers, which confuses things further.

So, I think it may be a hopeless cause to get people to consider the
distinctions, and perhaps very difficult to figure them out historically.  I
think pride in one's Belgian, Austrian or Swiss heritage would be the
main motivating factor for people to stand up and say "Hey, I'm not Dutch
or German!", and I'm afraid there are not enough Belgian, Austrian or
Swiss around to make enough noise to keep from getting lumped in with
everyone else.

Another similar thread that might also be worth pursuing on the museum
list would be the depth that exhibit research should take.  Should we be
conducting research at a level that would allow us to publish an article in
an historical journal, or do we do as much primary research as we have
time for, with mostly secondary research that introduces our visitors to
the topic and inspires them to do more reading on their own?

Christine Mouw
Assistant Curator
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum
West Branch, Iowa  52358
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