Lists of keywords (=search terms) to facilitate a search of the on-line bibliography

This bibliography contains 10,370 items. So how can you find what you are looking for? Apart from looking up personal names, how do you even know what you can search for? A printed copy of the summaries of all items culled from the newspapers, books, journals, etc. would be about 2,800 pages in an 8.5 by 11 inch book; clearly some help is needed.

The index at the end of a book provides such guidance for effective and efficient searching. The lists of keywords presented below simply are such indices. Click on a link to proceed to the list of search terms.

 

  1. All keywords used in the bibliogaphy, arranged alphabetically
  2. Hierarchical keyword list, organized by concepts
  3. Specialized keyword lists
    1. All persons mentioned in the bibliography
    2. Clergy of all faiths mentioned in the bibliography
    3. German-Albertan social clubs and other groups
    4. German-Albertan bands, orchestras, choirs and other musical groups; singers; festivals, exhibits and other events (including visiting bands, orchestras, choirs and other musical groups; singers)
    5. German-Albertan dance groups (including visiting dance groups)
    6. German-Albertan sports groups (including visiting sports groups and Albertan sports groups visiting in Europe)
    7. German-Albertan theater, carnival and dance groups (including visiting theater, carnival and dance groups)
    8. Social activities undertaken in German-Canadian groups and clubs
    9. Schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions, early school districts, associations and initiatives
    10. Awards, prizes, bursaries, scholarships and other honours
    11. German-Canadian political groupings
    12. German-language radio and TV stations, and programs
    13. Keywords in business, commerce and industry; German-Albertan businesses; "German" businesses operating in Alberta; organizations, events and initiatives
    14. Keywords in the occupations and professions
    15. Church names
      •  Baptist churches, institutions and organizations
      •  Catholic churches, institutions and organizations
      •  German Churches of God
      •  Congregational churches
      •  Lutheran churches, institutions and organizations
      •  Mennonite churches, institutions and organizations
      •  Moravian churches, institutions and organizations
      •  Pentecostal churches
      •  Reformed churches
      •  Seventh Day Adventist churches
      •  United churches
      •  Other churches
      •  Hutterite colonies

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-Albertan 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 German as Konsumverein or Konsumgenossenschaft. On the German-Albertan 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-Albertan 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 persons 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 in the bibliography.
  • 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 borders 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 hierarchical keyword list for categories describing the settlers' origin.

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