Preserving the German Culture
St. Edwards Church Fayette ND*
As the Germans left Russia to settle in the plains of the United States, they intended to be Germans in the United State much like they had been Germans in Russia. Scouts had traveled to the US to find suitable sites for an entire Russian community to settle. As a result, the plains became dotted with clusters of German-Russian homesteads.
The requirement to live on the homestead land prevented the German-Russians from forming central communities and farming the surrounding area as they had in Russia. With the farm sites being isolated from one another, the church became the social hub for the surrounding community.
The German-Russians had a number of things in their favor to help them preserve and maintain their German heritage. They had successfully maintained their culture for over 100 years while living in a foreign country. They were settling in sparsely populated areas alongside other German-Russians. Finally, poor roads and discouraging marriage to non-Germans combined to limit the amount of interaction with other ethic groups.
Children were expected to learn and speak German at home as they had when they lived in Russia. Unlike the schools in Russia, however, children were expected to speak and learn English in the American schools. While many German children did not advance beyond the eighth grade, learning English was the start of integration into mainstream America.
Preserving the Culture
