BereniceUK Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 I'd never thought of this until a recent churchyard visit (and I realise it may well have been discussed before) but what were attitudes to British servicemen with the surname 'German' like during the war? CWGC lists 44 soldiers and sailors from the Great War ranging from linen keeper and waiter to Captain and Major. I can well imagine that there would have been ignorant and bigoted people in the UK who wouldn't have understood the difference between surname and nationality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 I think that most people would have accepted it and fellow soldiers probably had no end of fun with it eg 'there's a german in the barracks" etc, I think FM. French would have been sympathetic. kaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPT Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 Likewise, the genuine casualties named Kaiser, Fritz and Bosch. What I found puzzling was that 71690 Sjt Sidney Edwards, Canadian Infantry, selected Fritz as an alias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BereniceUK Posted 23 October , 2013 Author Share Posted 23 October , 2013 One reason I wondered about this was because the British royal family changed its name from Battenberg to Mountbatten in 1917, supposedly because of anti-German sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 From what I can discover the family name 'German' is not actually German by lineal linguistic descent, it is, according to some sources, from the old french word/name 'germain,and may refer to persons who had trade with German speaking lands. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 The music of the composer Edward German was popular throughout the war. Contrary to the OP view people did understand the difference between surname and nationality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 They still kicked dachshunds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 people did understand the difference between surname and nationality. Indeed. And many men with Germanic sounding surnames served with, seemingly, no problem. Although some, of course, did Anglicise their names when they enlisted - but this was happening in general society, particularly after the Lusitania riots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 They still kicked dachshunds... Wonder if they were brave enough to kick German shepherds? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 Indeed. And many men with Germanic sounding surnames served with, seemingly, no problem. Although some, of course, did Anglicise their names when they enlisted - but this was happening in general society, particularly after the Lusitania riots. It didn't seem to trouble von Ranke Graves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 They still kicked dachshunds... In reality it appears that people who walked Dachshunds were the ones who had the grief "even the owners of dachshunds were mobbed when walking their dogs " Reynolds, Roger. In Defence of the Realm: The British Royal Family as War Leaders. London: Proteus In the US anti Dachshund sentiment was much more rampant from the Lusitania sinking onwards and in 1917 they were renamed Libertydogs! Alsations any one? [Hamburgrs became Liberty Burgers and Frankfurters Liberty Sausages] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 Spare a thought for this French soldier ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 Just had a look on CWGC the Scott's had the most casualties 3,971 Welsh 514 English 300 Irish 46 and 65 German's regards Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 Its hard to imagine such foolishness toward an animal, its a wonder there wasn't a campaign to send them all to an internment camp as enemy canines ! khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank_East Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 The main point is that the Germans did not call themselves German but Deutsche. I presume that there are no CWGC tombstones with the surname as Deutsche or for that matter Tysker or Allemand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 23 October , 2013 Share Posted 23 October , 2013 I presume that there are no CWGC tombstones with the surname as Deutsche or for that matter Tysker or Allemand. Frank you presume correctly although there are a few Tommy's and Bosch with cwgc headstones regards Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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