DETROIT AND THE GERMAN COMMUNITY

Immigration
German immigration to Detroit began before 1820, and increased following the turmoil of unsuccessful European revolutions in 1848.

Institutions
Saint Mary's in today’s Greektown district, was founded 1841 and served 1,800 German Catholics. By 1855 the German population had increased and had expanded geographically to the east; a daughter parish, St. Joseph’s, would serve the newly settled farms and community.

The Germans established cultural institutions to preserve the traditions of German Catholicism and the German language: newspapers (including the Detroiter Abendpost, which survives today as the Nordamerikanische Wochen-Post), clubs and societies, following the pattern of other ethnic groups (24 church societies were active in 1873 representing the Irish, German, Bohemian, and Polish communities).

The educational institutions begun by the immigrant communities assured assimilation to American culture, while German parishes and societies maintained cultural continuity.

Development at St. Joseph's
St Joseph’s established a grade school staffed by lay teachers in 1860.

IHM sisters, established in Monroe, came to staff the girl's school in 1861.

The Christian Brothers assumed responsibility for the boy's school, 1867, and later the brothers organized the high school.

The Commercial College was formed 1889, and gained a reputation as the finest business college program in Detroit. By 1880, 1,100 pupils were attending the schools, where instruction was in German.

Organizations
Fraternal organizations provided security in fellowship, insurance plans, widow's benefits, and guaranteed turnouts for member's funerals; such groups preserved German culture as well.

The St. Joseph Liebesbund was founded 1856. Its most notable legacy of is the Holy Family window (over the door in the west transept), which was donated by the group around 1873. After World War I, due to the unpopularity of “Germanic institutions”, the Liebesbund was disbanded following World War I.

The Knights of Saint John, St Joseph Commandery, was formed 1888, and flourished through the 1950s. In 1991 the St Joseph Commandery merged with a suburban counterpart.