Hints for searching the data base

Once you have reached the search page you will see a number of items displayed (usually 25 per page) under "List of entries". Please ignore the "Home" and "Login" fields at the top of the page. You will just have to deal with the search field on the top right of the page ("Search in ....").

Searchable fields: Each bibliography item consists of fields, such as the author, title, date of publication, page numbers, abstract and keywords (=search terms). Once you have reached the search page by clicking on the "Click here to go to the bibliography" button on the Overview page, you can search the data base (a) in all fields, (b) the keyword field, (c) the abstract field or the (d) author field.

German characters: Type the special characters, such as ä, ö and ü, the same way as you would in your word processing program. Windows users can set their computer to type these letters through the Keyboard Control Panel under Settings; or insert the characters through the Character Map utility.

1. Searching the data base. In order to facilitate fast and highly specific searches in this large data base, each entry has been catalogued by as many search terms ("keywords") as possible. While one could search, for example, for "anti-German actions", this would yield a very large, unwieldy number of hits. For this reason, "anti-German actions" have been subdivided in, for example, "arrests", "boycotts", "censorship", "ban on immigration", "charge of sedition or treason", and so on. Where can these descriptors be found?

The hierarchically organized Keywords Page is organized alphabetically by major descriptor (in bold red), subdivided by intermediate descriptors where applicable (in green), and finally by "minor descriptors" where applicable (in black). For example,

    Anti-German actions
        Arrests
        Ban on immigration
        Book burning
        Boycotts
        Censorship
            Ban on German music
            Ban on German books
            ...
        Charge of sedition or treason
        Compulsory labor
        Deportation
        ...

Searches by keywords should therefore be conducted by minor descriptors and/or intermediate descriptors FIRST to guarantee specificity of search results. In some cases, the major descriptors only serve conceptual purposes. In such a case, the reader will be referred to narrower search terms.

There are several minor descriptors which are used for more than one intermediate or major descriptor. In this case, a search should be performed by the minor AND the intermediate/major descriptor. For example, "Charge of sedition or treason" is used for both "Anti-German actions" and "Anti-Nazi actions". The search should therefore be narrowed down to "Charge of sedition or treason" AND "Anti-German actions", or - if this is desired - "Charge of sedition or treason" AND "Anti-Nazi actions".

The keywords are also available in an alphabetical listing.

2. Specialized keyword lists

There are two lists facilitating searches for businesses and occupations in which members of the German cultural group have been active:

Proper names (e.g., personal names, church names, names of clubs, groups or associations, social activities) are also available as keywords in following lists:



CAUTIONS

Orthographic inconsistencies

  • German words were either hyphenated - correctly or incorrectly - or not written together when they should have been, e.g., Farmer-Feuer-Versicherung, Farmer-Feuerversicherung, and Farmer Feuer Versicherung.
  • The old forms "th" and "ph" were used inconsistently in German place names; sometimes "t" and "f", respectively, occur in the original, e.g., Friedensthal, Josefsberg.
  • Some place names were spelled inconsistently with an "oe" or "ö" or a "ue" instead of an "ü"; in some cases the umlaut was left out altogether; e.g., Bruderfeld vs. Bruederfeld vs. Brüderfeld; Düsseldorf vs. Dusseldorf.
  • Very frequently, a "c" occurs in the original when a "k" would be used in modern German; this is especially true for all words relating to "Canada", e.g., Deutsch-Canadier, Deutsch-canadische Vereinigung, Deutsche Zeitung für Canada, Trans-Canada Vereinigung. The originals forms have been retained in the keywords. However, in a full-text search -  where appropriate - forms with both "k" and "c" should be used as search terms (e.g., West-Canada, Westkanada, West-Kanada, Westcanada).

Inconsistencies in the use of the names of clubs and groups

  • In many instances, a group's or association's name was used inconsistently, e.g., Motor Club Phoenix, Motorclub Phönix, Phoenix Club, Phoenix Motor Club, Phoenix Club. The "German-Canadian Clubs and Groups" page provides all versions occurring.
  • Occasionally, German or English proper names were translated in different ways, e.g., the German-Canadian Cooperative Association is referred to in Germans as Konsumverein and Konsumgenossenschaft. On the "German-Canadian Clubs and Groups" page all versions of the same term are listed.
  • Many groups and associations have undergone name changes, e.g., the Deutschsprachiger Kulturverband was renamed Canadisch-Deutsche Vereinigung. The "German-Canadian Clubs and Groups" page provides all versions where available.

Definitional difficulties

  • Who was a "German"? Here, the term "German/s" is used to refer to "speaker/s of German", no matter what their origin or nationality. Consequently, there are "Germans" from Volhynia, Germany, Rumania, the U.S., or Ontario. The term will also include Mennonites and Hutterites.
  • Self-identification as a "German". While many "Germans" were proud of their cultural and linguistics heritage, there were others - especially in difficult times - who wanted to hide their background and appear either as a "Canadian" or "Russian" or "Polish". Immigrants to Alberta from the U.S. and other parts of Canada - especially when they were born on this continent - frequently dissociated themselves from their ethnic background, especially when they were children from exogamous marriages. The List of  individuals mentioned in the Bibliography will therefore contain many names of people who are, in fact, "German" on the grounds of their background, but may not have wanted to be classified as such. Moreover, the sources often do not refer explicitly to a person's ethnic origin; a few individuals were included in the bibliography when having a birthplace in Canada where large numbers of immigrants of German origin are known to have settled (e.g., Berlin, Ontario or Waterloo County, Ontario) and having a "German" name may be taken as a strong indication of German background. In such cases, a cautionary note has been attached to the entry.
  • The settlers' national origin. This bibliography tries to remain as close to the original text as possible; for this reason, there are "Settlers from Russia" when no more information about their origin is given, or "Settlers from Bessarabia" when this was indicated in the entry. Of course, there are many overlaps because of shifting frontiers and country assignments. Settlers from "Galicia", "Austro-Hungary", or "Poland" may in fact have originated in the very same region.
     
    Similarly, settlers are classfiied as "Settlers from Canada" when no other information was given in the original text; otherwise they are referred to as, e.g., as "Settlers from Ontario." All settlers from individual states in the U.S. have been subsumed under the term "Settlers from the U.S."
     
    Note: Of course, in the majority of cases, the settlers' origin did not appear explicitly in the source. Virtually all Hutterites are "Settlers from the U.S.", with the exception of a few from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. "Mennonites" could be "Settlers from Russia" or "Settlers from Saskatchewan" or "Settlers from Manitoba."
     
    Please refer to the entries under "Immigrant groups" on the Keywords page for categories describing the settlers' origin.



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