Author to highlight German ties
In a city where the physical and cultural specter of Anheuser-Busch still looms large, other living landmarks of those Teutonic roots can be difficult to spot.
That wasn’t always the case. Before a wave of anti- German sentiment in the early 20th century that also swept through cities such as Chicago, New York and New Orleans, a halfdozen St. Louis streets bore names such as Kaiser, Von Versen, Hapburger and Bismarck. Berlin Avenue was transformed into Pershing Avenue to honor the general who led U.S. forces in World War I, a Missouri native.
Local historian Jim Merkel, an author whose great-greatgrandfather started a piano factory here in 1858, wants to honor the German heritage that was largely lost amid the war’s backlash. He initially pitched a proposal to add honorary street signs on Pershing Avenue, but some local neighborhood associations approached by Merkel and a St. Louis alderman were wary.
“It’s a one-word story. It just leads to confusion,” said Mark Jaffe, president of the DeBaliviere Place Association.
Merkel said he now hopes to add a historical marker else- where in St. Louis that would remind residents of the city’s strong German influences.
One possible location: Compton Hill Reservoir Park in south St. Louis, where the 100year-old statue The Naked Truth depicts a seated nude woman whose outstretched arms hold two torches.
The statue was created as a tribute to three German-American editors of the St. Louis Westliche Post, one of at least 19 known German newspapers in the city in the late 18th century and early 19th century, according to the State Historical Soci- ety of Missouri.
The marker would read, in part, “In St. Louis and the nation, patriotic German-Americans during World War I were made to show their loyalty by denying their heritage.”
Merkel said that such recognition can serve as a powerful reminder of the dangers of prejudice, whether racial, ethnic or religious.
He is working with the German-American Heritage Society of St. Louis.
“Anybody can become a target for this kind of discrimination,” he said.