German Pride in NYC

The German-American Steuben Parade took place on saturday along 5th Ave. – big deal in NYC! Almost one fifth of the New York population is proud of having german roots and they really show off during this parade, which lasted over 2 hours. Lots of organisations and associations, mostly headquartered in NY State – American Steuben Associations, military bands, police and firemen's groups, language schools, "turner vereins", Schuetzen Associations, carnival groups, floats of breweries, marching bands, dance groups, etc. – took part, as well as a colorful selection of invited german guests (oompah bands, performers in traditional costumes, military bands).

1957 the first German-American Steuben Parade took place and since then each September participants come together to honor their culture and traditions, and honor a guy by name Steuben. Baron von Steuben (1730-1794) was a Prussian-born military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He wasn't too successful in Germany, but came to France and there George Washington asked him to come over and prepare the American troops for the battle of Valley Forge in 1778. He became very influential and taught the U.S. army the essentials of military drills, tactics, and discipline, though he didn't speak English at all.

Many New Yorkers of german heritage were attending the parade, cheering and apparently very proud of their german roots. In the parade it's been mostly elderly people, besides a couple of student's/kid's groups. Apparently at least two generations are lost in transition, at times when nobody was proud anymore to be German. Nowadays, pride is back again and clearly shown, though it sometimes has a little old-fashioned/backward flavor.