German Newspapers

In late October, the Journal reported on a speech given by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in Montreal, where he encouraged Canadian men to enlist. He begged his audience to help Britain, France and Belgium immediately for the cause of humanity. Knowing that he was asking young men for a great sacrifice, he also said that he envied them their youth which allowed them to make such sacrifices. Laurier felt it important that Canada should create a volunteer army into which every member would make an individual choice to enlist.

(„Sir Wilfrid Laurier…“, Berliner Journal, 28 October 1914)

At half past eleven in the morning on October 27, 1914, forty volunteers from Berlin rushed to London to enlist in the second Canadian contingent to be sent overseas. Of these forty men, only 25 were actually admitted for active service after the medical examinations. Three of them were born here in Berlin.

It was resolved at a special City Council session on Saturday evening that there would be a festive celebration for the volunteers.

(„Abschiedsfeier für die Berliner Freiwilligen“, Berliner Journal, 28 October 1914)

In November 1914, the Canadian government imposed registration system on Germans and Austrians without Canadian citizenship. However, many in the Waterloo region and Western Ontario in general felt that this registration was not necessary. As the Berliner Journal announced on November 11, the government knew that the German community in the Waterloo region was loyal to their new homeland. Therefore, they did not have to be registered as enemy aliens.

(“Keine Registration unter uns” Berliner Journal, 11 November 1914)

As the war proceeded, suspicion towards German-Canadians grew, and the Berliner Journal reported on several incidents. For example, several Canadian citizens of German origin had been notified by the government to stop expressing their affection for Germany, otherwise they would be imprisoned and their belongings would be confiscated.

Another incident illustrated that the German community was also suspicious. A farm not far from Waterloo had erected a lookout tower. Several citizens of German origin thought they were being observed and suspected the tower was being used by spies. They told the government in Ottawa which sent an officer to investigate. He was able to calm the community down, explaining that the tower had simply been built for the purpose of land surveying.

(“Verschiedene wohlbekannte Bewohner” Berliner Journal, 4 November 1914; “Die Spionenfurcht” Berliner Journal, 11 November 1914)

By December, 1914 the Berliner Journal already had a scare over the possibility of being shut down by the Canadian censorship board. A reader’s anecdote demonstrated the confusion about which newspapers were allowed to publish in Canada during the war. He wanted to pick up the Berliner Journal, but the people at the post office claimed that this German-Canadian newspaper would not be available any more. The reader complained about this and asked whether this reflected the gratitude of the Canadians or the British for what the German population in this region had already done for the war effort. The people here had given more money to the Patriotic Fund than any other city in Canada.

The Berliner Journal replied to this letter by assuring readers that the newspaper was allowed to continue publishing after an investigation by Ottawa and that the post office staff must have been mistaken.

(„Deutsch-canadische Zeitungen nicht verboten“, Berliner Journal, 2 December 1914)

As reported by the Berliner Journal, a visit to the interned German and Austrian reservists in Toronto found that the men were not complaining about the food or the treatment, but said that they were generally satisfied so far. Some expressed a wish for tobacco, games and good books, which was apparently granted by the officer in charge, as well as a Christmas celebration.

Likewise, the Berliner Journal later informed its readers that the American ambassador in Berlin had told the British foreign office that British war prisoners in Germany were also receiving many luxuries such as cigarettes and chocolate sent to them by friends.

(„Die deutschen und österreichischen internierten Reservisten in Toronto“, Berliner Journal, 2 December 1914; „Wohltaten für Gefangene“, Berliner Journal, 28 April 1915)

On December 2, 1914 the Berliner Journal reported another case of anti-German oppression in which soldiers with German names serving in the Canadian Army were being imprisoned. The British war ministry had commanded this action and it seemed that the soldiers might end up in a concentration camp. Ironically, many of these men had already fought under the British flag in South Africa and elsewhere, and some had even received medals from Queen Victoria for their bravery.

(„Deutsche Namen die Ursache von Verhaftungen“, Berliner Journal, 2 December 1914)

In this article, the Berliner Journal was responding to the suggestion by a reader of another newspaper that would unite the cities of Berlin and Waterloo in order to change its name. One editor of the Journal strongly refuted the proposal, saying that there would be no advantage for Berlin and that Canadians should not take Russia as a model for name changing. Since even the English newspapers emphasized that Canada was not fighting against the German nation, but against German militarism, the editors at the Berliner Journal felt that the name of their city should not make a difference to Canadians.

(„Berlin und sein Name“, Berliner Journal, 2 December 1914)

Three brothers of a family in Berlin went to the war (one as a staff surgeon, one as a captain and one as a cadet). They hadn’t heard anything from another since the war broke out, because they were in different regiments. One day, the staff surgeon and the captain met each other and were happy, but had to part again after a few hours. Hours later, after a battle, the staff surgeon was told by other soldiers that his brother, the captain, was dead. He searched for him on the the battle field, couldn’t find him and went on to another battle field, where suddenly his youngest brother called his name. The surgeon managed to care for him, so that he would not bleed to death.

(„Ein Wiedersehen auf dem Schlachtfelde“, Berliner Journal, 9 December 1914)