THE GOTTSCHEERS: FROM A CENTRAL EUROPEAN ENCLAVE TO ASSIMILATION IN NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

In the fourteenth century, a group of German-speaking settlers established a colony named Gottschee in what is now Slovenia. The results of World War II banished Gottscheers from Slovenia and they relocated to Austrian refugee camps. While some Gottscheers later moved to other European countries, a large number migrated to existing Gottscheer or German communities in North America as refugees, practising cultural traditions in large cities such as New York and Cleveland. Like other German immigrants who initially settled in large American cities, many Gottscheers moved from urban areas and assimilated, soon after arrival or a few generations later. In fact, Gottscheers are one embodiment of the collective assimilation experience of Germans who migrated to North America. Formerly, once large communities of German immigrants who contributed to both United States and Canadian society have all but disappeared. This study investigates how and why Gottscheers created discrete ethnic communities in the United States and Canada that flourished in the pre- and postwar years. It also analyses the present state of Gottscheer communities to determine why Gottscheers and their descendants may assimilate into American society.