During the First World War, there was rampant anti-German hysteria around Canada.
From the changing of the name of German dishes, to the removal of statues celebrating Germans, to the internment of German-Canadians, it was not a good time to be of German heritage.
Some places even went a step further by changing the name of their entire community. One place that did this was Strassburg, Saskatchewan, who changed their name to Strasbourg.
But the most famous example was the renaming of Berlin, Ontario.
The area of Kitchener had long been settled by the First Nations. Indigenous sites have been found dating as far back as 15,000 years.
Around 1300 CE, the Neutral People settled in the area and began to establish villages. One village, discovered in 2010, was dated to at least 500 years ago.
The first settlers of Kitchener arrived in 1800 CE, coming from Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania. One of the most famous early settlers to the area was Benjamin Eby and his family. Two brothers, George and Samuel Eby arrived in 1804 in the area of what is now downtown Kitchener. Due to the prominence of the family, there community was called Ebytown initially.
Today, Benjamin Eby is considered the founder of the community. It was in his home that the first school house and religious service were held. In 1830, the village centre of Ebytown was established and the community continued to grow.
In the mid-1820s, the community changed its name from Ebytown to Berlin to honour the German settlers who now lived there.
By 1846, there were 400 people living in the community and nearly all of them of German-descent. The newspaper was called German Canadian and there was a Lutheran meeting house.
From here, the community continued to grow as it blended its dual heritage.
In May 1871, the community held a German heritage celebration that brought in 12,000 people. Called Peace Festival, it marked the end of the Franco-Prussian War and celebrated the unification of Germany. At the end of the festival, the residents sang God Save The Queen. This festival was a way for the residents to celebrate their German heritage, while also honouring their connection to Canada. This festival would be held nine times from 1874 to 1912.
On Dec. 17, 1874, William Lyon Mackenzie King was born to John and Isabel King in their rented frame house on 43 Benton Street in Berlin.
On Aug. 13, 1897, a bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I was dedicated in Victoria Park by George Rumpel and John Motz. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier ensured that the bust entered Canada duty-free. It was placed in that specific park to link the two heritages of residents, English and German.
While the community was of German heritage, members of the community were loyal to both the British Empire and their German history. When questioned about this, residents stated that there was a relationship between the British and German Royal Families thanks to the marriage of the English Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert.
It was not unusual to see both the Union Jack and the German flag flying outside homes, and most residents considered themselves German-Canadian, rather than German.
Prior to the First World War, Berlin was a moderate-sized town in Ontario, and it was home to a large number of Mennonites and German Canadians. Roughly 75 per cent of the population were of German descent, and many called it the German Capital of Canada.
The Duke of Connaught would visit the community in May of 1914, three months before war was declared, praising the German residents of the community, stating quote:
“It is of great interest to me that many of the citizens of Berlin are of German descent. I well know the admirable qualities, the thoroughness, the tenacity, and the loyalty of the great Teutonic Race, to which I am closely related. I am sure that these inherited qualities will go far in the making of good Canadians and loyal citizens of the British Empire”
Within a few months, that sentiment would change with the outbreak of the First World War.
On Aug. 12, the Berliner Journal wrote to its subscribers,
“Don’t allow yourselves to be driven to demonstrations of any kind, avoid arguments … Be silent, bear this difficult time with dignity, and show that you are true Germans grateful to the country that accommodated you.”[
Ten days later, three young men went to Victoria Park and took the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm from where it had stood for years. They promptly threw it into the lake from a bridge. Soon after, it was retrieved by residents of the community.
The Toronto Star wrote,
“The bronze bust of Emperor William I of Germany was removed from its base in Victoria Park early Sunday and thrown into the lake, presumably by three young men who were seen nearby on a bridge. It was recovered, not badly damaged.”
As the school year began, Berlin’s Board of Education voted to end the use of German in all its schools. Many prominent members of the community were opposed to this decision.
In the coming months, the anti-German hysteria only increased in Berlin when news of the war began to reach the community. The violating of Belgium’s neutrality, the execution of Edith Cavell and the use of poison gas only made things worse.
On Feb. 15, 1916, the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm had found its way into the backroom of the German Club, but it would not be there much longer. Later that evening, roughly 50 members of the 118th Battalion entered the hall and carried the bust of the Kaiser away. Where the bust ended up, no one really knows.
The Berlin News Record wrote,
“The bust was located and hauled downstairs to the street. A procession was at once formed which, with the bust held upside down, marched up King Street. Patriotic songs were sung and every block or so the soldiers would place their burden down and with canes and sticks would beat out the time on the helmet of the figure, while they sang “God Save The King”, “Rule Britannia”, We’ll Never Let The Old Flag Fall and other patriotic airs.”
The members who trashed the club received no punishment, but the club itself was blamed for causing an increase in passions due to not being patriotic enough in the community.
On March 1, 1916, the Berlin News Record printed a letter from the North Waterloo recruiting committee that stated,
“The fact remains that Berlin was named after the capital of Prussia and is to-day the capital of the German Empire, whence have emanated the most diabolical crimes and atrocities that have marred the pages of history.”
Around this same time, Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia for Canada, attacked Berlin Lutheran Minister Reverend C.R. Tappert in a speech in the House of Commons for using German in religious services and telling children not to salute the Union Jack or sing God Save the King.
Tappert stated that while he was loyal to Canada, his heart was German. Hughes called him a semi-apologist for German atrocities.
Threats came against Tappert, telling him to leave the community by March 1. He refused and on March 5, 60 soldiers broke into his home and seized him. He was then dragged behind horses through the streets. One witness said,
“His face blooded, his body twisting as if he fell unconsciousness while the pavement scraped his flesh.”
The two soldiers who were deemed responsible, Private Schaefer and Sgt. Major Granville Blood, had also stolen the Kaiser’s bust and thrown it in the lake. They were both given suspended sentences with fines of $100 each.
Hughes blamed Tappert for instigating the soldiers through his sentiments. Tappert for his part complained to the US Consul over his treatment and asked that they investigate the assault on him.
Three days after the attack, Tappert left Berlin with his family.
Things continued to escalate in the community and before long, a portion of the population, mostly of British origin, began to demand that the name of the community be changed.
The Berlin News Record printed the suggestion of a ratepayer that a resolution be adopted to change the name of the city.
While many saw it as a patriotic thing to do, the reality was it came down to money. When the war started, anything made in Berlin carried the label of “Made in Berlin”. Manufacturers in the community worried about how that would impact sales.
Soon enough, the Berlin Board of Trade was advocating for a change to the city’s name.
City council was in favour of this, and they petitioned the Ontario Legislative Assembly to have the city’s name changed, or if that was not possible, to amalgamate with Waterloo.
On April 24, council voted to hold a referendum on May 19. The city council published in a release,
“The council received a petition signed by business men asking the council to defer taking a vote, but the reply of the members of the council was that delay would only increase the agitation, not only in this city, but throughout the Dominion and the present was an opportune time to show by their votes that the electors of Berlin no longer desire to be called after the Prussian capital.”
In the referendum, the voters were asked, “Are you in favour of changing the name of this city?”
There were allegations that voters were pressured to vote for a name change with soldiers from the 188th Battalion keeping opponents away from the polls.
When the referendum was held, 3,057 votes were cast.
The referendum passed but just barely. The yes side won with only 81 more votes than the no side. Typically, women and soldiers voted yes, while working class individuals voted no.
As soon as the vote was announced, there was celebration in the streets and fireworks were set off. Several fireworks injured people.
The Star Weekly reported,
“Everybody is jubilant today over the victory of yesterday and the public holiday declared for today is to give a farewell to the soldiers of the 188th battalion, is quite timely. The celebration which lasted far into the night on Friday, was duplicated more strenuously than ever this morning and thousands lined the streets of the city all morning and hand-shaking was the popular pastime and everybody was happy.”
Alderman J.A. Hallman sent a telegram to King George V that said,
“The loyal citizens of Berlin Canada rejoice to inform Your Majesty that they have this day cast off forever the name of the Prussian capital.”
August Long, an opponent of the name change, had to endure a marching band and crowd gathering on his front lawn in celebration. When he confronted the crowd, a fight broke out but once again, no one was charged.
After the name change was approved, a committee of 99 people was created to produce name recommendations.
Thousands of suggestions came in, which the committee decreased to a shortlist of Huronto, Bercana, Dunard, Hydro City, Renoma and Agnoleo on May 30.
The Berlin News Record called the list of names the joke of the century. The newspaper stated,
“Renoma has nothing to do with renomination. Sounds like what the maiden aunt wants to call her first niece. Not a breakfast cereal. A fad not a food.”
Unhappy with the list, city council assembled its own list on June 1, 1916.
Then, four days later, the British Secretary of War, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, drowned on HMS Hampshire after it hit a mine.
On June 7, the Berlin News Record printed a letter from resident Elsie Master who suggested that the name Kitchener be chosen. The letter from Elsie Master stated,
“In taking the name of Kitchener, great honor would be done to our city in memory of the splendid man whom all the world delights to honour. The name of Kitchener would be a heritage to the citizens of Berlin in the generations to come and will always be typical of splendid patriotism, tremendous energy, great attainments and a sense of unswerving honor and rectitude.”
City council added Kitchener to their shortlist of names which included Brock, Adanac, Benton, Corona and Keowana.
Some residents still wanted to merge with Waterloo but a resolution pushing that failed in a vote at City Council on June 20.
On June 23, 1916, the Windsor Star wrote,
“A large number of manufacturers and businessmen, interviewed yesterday, favor the selection of the name Kitchener for this city, it looked upon as an exceptional opportunity to perpetuate the name of the late war secretary.”
From June 24 to 28, 1916, voting was held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Overall, voting was very poor with only 892 voters out of a possible 4,897 came out to vote. This was a voter turnout of 18.22 per cent.
In the vote, 346 voted for Kitchener, 335 for Brock, and the remaining 48 votes split among the remaining four choices. A total of 163 votes were invalid.
The name change became official on Sept. 1, 1916.
The Ottawa Journal reported,
“The post office name of Berlin, Ontario has been changed to Kitchener. This automatically follows the proclamation by the Lt. Governor of Ontario that the name of the municipality had been changed to Kitchener.”
It wasn’t a smooth transition though. Letter writers continued to address mail to Berlin, which forced the post office to issue a memorandum on the matter. On Jan. 1, 1917, Kitchener was to go through a municipal election and members of the British League wanted to prevent anyone deemed an enemy alien from voting.
Every candidate who was elected in that municipal election had been against the name change. This led members of the 188th Battalion and other supporters of the name change to gather outside the home of mayor-elect David Gross, his button factory and the Berlin News Record. Soldiers smashed up the interior of the buildings and broke windows. To calm everyone down, Gross promised not to try and change the name back to Berlin.
On Nov. 24, 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden visited Kitchener during the federal election campaign. While visiting the community, Borden was heckled by a group of citizens. Local business owners asked city council to apologize to the prime minister but council voted seven to five not to apologize. Various newspapers stated this was just evidence that even though Kitchener had changed its name, it was still not loyal to Canada.
On Dec. 3, the Kitchener Manufacturers’ Association protested the refusal to apologize by organizing a factory shutdown. This led city council to officially apologize to the prim eminister.
Borden said years later,
“The Kitchener incident was much more effective than any speech I could have delivered.”
Two years later on Dec. 2, 1919, there was an attempt to change the name back to Berlin. That didn’t move forward after 500 people, mostly veterans, crowded into the council chambers to oppose the vote.
After the vote, protesters grabbed two aldermen who did not vote and forced them to kiss the Union Jack. One of the aldermen was then thrown in the lake.
A century later, the issue of the name change once again came up. Horatio Herbert Kitchener played a significant role in establishing concentration camps during the Boer War, and some residents did not want to honour him with the name of the community because of that. In 2020, 380 residents signed a petition calling for the name change.
Kitchener City Council released a statement stating,
“While we in no way condone, diminish or forget his actions … Kitchener has become so much more than its historic connection to a British field marshal.”
