German Society of Montreal
The German Society of Montreal ( DGM ; Société allemande de Montréal or German Society of Montreal ) is an association of German-speaking Canadians that was founded in Montreal in 1835Founded. This makes it the oldest surviving society of its kind in Canada. Its aim is to support immigrants whose mother tongue is German. In addition, it is dedicated to maintaining and promoting the German language and culture. It has 192 members, including 32 honorary members. The board consists of nine members, the president and the vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer and five assessors who work on a voluntary basis and are elected every one to two years. The 25th president since 2009 is Gisela Steinle. The annual general meeting takes place annually in the last week of May.
history
Its first president was Louis Gugy, the Sheriff of Montreal until 1839. About half of the 81 founding members were born in Canada, the rest came from Germany, some from Great Britain, the USA, France and Switzerland. It was founded in the company's house, the former Hotel Nelson, 452 - 454 Place Jacques-Cartier on April 21, 1835. Since 2005 there has been a memorial plaque on the house in the immediate vicinity of the town hall .
In 1864, the company got involved when in Belœil , Québec, 500 immigrants were affected by a serious railway accident in which 97 people were killed - the worst railway accident in Canadian history. A memorial stone in the Mont-Royal cemetery commemorates this.
However, the company issued an urgent warning against emigrating to Canada without funds. To this end, she had the corresponding “warnings” distributed in German newspapers, such as the Ingolstädter Tagblatt of July 13, 1868.
Wilhelm Christian Munderloh, President of the Society from 1873 to 1877 and from 1880 to 1893, was one of the pioneers of shipping and was also Vice President of the Montreal Board of Trade . After the establishment of the German Empire, he became its first consul in Canada. He persuaded the Hamburg-America Packet Company to start direct traffic between Europe and Canada. The line was taken over by HAPAG , with his company being involved as an agent.
The society was particularly active in emigration and immigration issues during the great waves of emigration in Germany, especially 1882–1884, then during the economic crisis from 1927 to 1930 and finally from 1951 to 1955. During these times, Montreal was Canada's largest city and the most important port in the country, so that practically all immigrants came through this port.
From 1992 to 1996, a woman was President of the Society for the first time, namely Barbara Brunner-Zaharescu. Peter Lövenich, President since 1998, was honored on April 26, 2005 at the Consulate General for his services to the German-Canadian cultural contacts.
literature
- Franz Fischer: Historical evidence of the German Society of Montreal from its foundation to the end of 1858 , Montreal 1859.
- Albert Möllmann: The Germanness in Montreal. A sociological-economic study of the history, post-war immigration and nationality of Germans in Montreal, Canada , Marburg, 1937.
- Karin R. Gürttler: History of the German Society in Montreal, 1935-1985 , German Society in Montreal, Montreal 1985.
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Warning for emigrants , in: Ingolstädter Tagblatt, July 13, 1868.