German Migration to Arizona

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Our Project

Research Question: What are the main factors that influence German immigration to Arizona?

We created a survey to why explore why exactly Germans have chosen to come to Arizona and the United States. We looked specifically at:

what the expectations were
the actual experience of a German in Arizona
reasons for and influences on immigration
the general demographics of the German immigrant population here

Table of Contents

Our Project

Survey Questions

Check out some of the graphics from our site!

Question 8

Question 10

Respondent Residence

Supporting Germans in Arizona

Here are some highlighted German organizations!

Immigration Services and Resources in Arizona for German communities:

The German footprint on Arizona

Survey Questions

What do you identify as, from the following options? You may choose as many as apply.

a. German

b. Arizonan

c. American

d. German-American, American of German Descent

What best describes your legal status?

a. Green card

b. Dual citizenship

c. US citizenship

d. German citizenship

When did you move to Arizona?
Which part of the valley do you live in?

a. North

b. East

c. West

d. Central Phoenix

e. South

f. Other part of Arizona

Where did you live before coming to Arizona?

a. Germany

b. Different state in the US

c. Another country

If you answered B or C in the previous question, please specify.
I have relatives or children in:

a. Germany

b. Arizona

c. Other states in the US

I speak German...

a. Never

b. With relatives and children

c. With friends

What is your marital status?

a. Single

b. Married (German spouse)

c. Married (US spouse)

d. Married (other spouse)

e. Divorced

f. Widowed

Did you come to Arizona for any of the following reasons? You may choose as many as apply.

a. Economic (job offers, better prospects, etc.)

b. Religious

c. Political (relating to governments, regimes, laws, etc.)

d. Environmental

e. Personal (family and friends)

f. Education

g. Retirement

h. Marriage

i. Other

Thinking about your previous answer, which of the following do you agree with more?

a. I wanted to leave Germany and happened to move to Arizona. There were factors that made me want to leave Germany.

b. I wanted to move to Arizona because there were factors that pulled me toward the state.

c. There were factors that both pushed me to leave Germany and factors that pulled me to the US or Arizona.

Most of my friends in Arizona are:

a. German

b. Other recent immigrants

c. Americans from other states

d. Arizonans

What were your expectations, if any, about Arizona before you migrated here?
Does your experience match your expectations or did your expectations change?

a. It matches my expectations.

b. My expectations changed.

Did any media (film, popular culture, music, or literature) influence your perception of Arizona prior to coming here? Please elaborate.
Do you want to return to Germany? Or do you consider yourself to have settled in Arizona?

a. I want to move back some day.

b. I have permanently settled in Arizona.

c. I am not going to move back, but Arizona is not my final place of settlement. I will move to another state.

For those who want to move back to Germany or to another state, please elaborate.
If you have any US-born relatives, have they ever considered returning to Germany either temporarily (for work/study) or permanently?

a. I don't have any US-born relatives.

b. My US-born relatives do not want to return.

c. My US-born relatives want to return temporarily.

d. My US-born relatives want to return permanently.

How do you connect to your German heritage?

a. Making regular visits to Germany

b. Participating in German cultural events in Arizona

c. Participating in a German social club or group

d. Other

What social clubs or groups do you participate in? Are there any German restaurants, businesses, etc. that you frequent?
Being in Arizona with German heritage, I feel:

Choose from a scale of 1 to 5, Like an outsider to Well-integrated

Have you ever faced discrimination in any of the following ways?

a. No.

b. Yes, for being German.

c. Yes, for being an immigrant.

d. Yes, both for being German and an immigrant.

How frequently, if ever, have you experienced discrimination due to being German or an immigrant?

a. Never

b. Rarely

c. Sometimes

d. Often

e. Always

Check out some of the graphics from our site!

Question 8

Question 10

Respondent Residence

The map to the right shows the concentrations of German immigrants living in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. The darker the blue, the more survey respondents that indicated they lived in that region!

Some respondents did not live in this area at all, and live in other regions of Arizona.

Supporting Germans in Arizona

Immigrating to a new country, state, or even neighborhood can be a challenging process. This move can be emotional and stressful. As part of our project, our group wanted to see which ways German immigrants could be supported. Connecting with the present German community in Arizona represents a method in which to build fellowship, friendship, and connection. This section of the project provides information through digital flyers which facilitates easy sharing. The goal of this section is to continue to engage the German community in Arizona and create strong interpersonal ties to make adapting to life in America easier.

Here are some highlighted German organizations!

Immigration Services and Resources in Arizona for German communities:

The German footprint on Arizona

The purpose of this section is to give insight into the various German immigrants who have left an impact on the community of Arizona. Some of them directly influenced German migration to Arizona, while others left historical imprints on the state. The three different individuals outlined below each come from some sort of German background and found their way to Arizona.

Karl May

A son of 2 weavers and a sibling to 13 other children was born to the May family in Hohenstein-Ernstthal on February 25, 1842. While May had originally pursued a career in teaching, due to petty theft, he was unable to pursue his original career aspirations. In 1875 he landed in jail but began writing.

After being released from jail May wrote the novel Winnetou and it was published in 1893. Shatterhand, which was May’s alter ego, is the protagonist of many of his novels. May became an editor for a publishing house in Dresden. While May dabbled in many genres, he is one of the most prominent figures responsible for bringing the “Old West” to many Germans, and influencing the admiration of the desert amongst the German population.

Father Kino

Kino completed his Jesuit training in different parts of Germany. After his training, Father Kino completed missions to current day Northern Sonora and Southern Arizona.

He became a member of the society of Jesuits in 1665. While devoting his life to his religion, Kino was also one of the world’s earliest European astronomers to come to the desert, specifically in the Arizona area. He began his mission in 1678, and was assigned to Spain’s colony in Mexico. In 1681 Kino arrived in Mexico City.

Later on, all the way throughout the 1690’s, Kino made various expeditions to Arizona in his mission of Pimeria Alta, which is in current day Yuma.

Jürgen Wattenberg

Wattenberg was born in Lübeck on December 28, 1900. He was an Oberleutner in the German Navy and served on the U-162. Wattenberg’s connection to Arizona is tied to his time in the Papagao prisoner- of -war camp. On January 27, 1944, Wattenberg was brought to the Papagao POW camp from Fort Hunt.

Christmas Eve of 1944, Wattenberg and 25 other prisoners planned and executed an escape from Papagao Park and Wattenberg was not caught until later in January. Eventually, Wattenberg was sent back to Camp Shanks in 1964, and at the end of the War, he was sent back to the city of Münster in Germany. He died at the age of 94 in Germany.

Bibliography

Anne, Karen. “Karl May- Old Shatterhand and Winnetou.” A German Girl in America, 25 Feb. 2023, https://germangirlinamerica.com/old-shatterhand/.

“Arizona Population 2023.” Arizona Population 2023 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/arizona-population.

Bailey, J.R "Bill". “A WWII German-Style ‘Great Escape - Military Trader/Vehicles.” Military Trader, 14 July 2008, https://www.militarytrader.com/militaria-collecting-101/great-escape-german-style.

“Biography & Works.” Karl May Museum Radebeul, 8 Oct. 2018, https://www.karl-may-museum.de/en/collections/karl-may/biography-works/.

Bulletin no. 62, Reaching the German-Speaking Population, January 4, 1918. Arizona Memory Project, https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/119762

Castelli, Francesco. “Drivers of Migration: Why Do People Move?” Journal of Travel Medicine, vol. 25, no. 1, Oxford UP, Jan. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/tay040.

DesertUSA.com, From. “Father Eusebio Francisco Kino: Desert Missionary, Explorer.” Https://Www.kold.com, 9 Aug. 2015, https://www.kold.com/story/29743201/father-eusebio-francisco-kino-desert-missionary-explorer/.

Gemunden, Gerd. “Between Karl May and Karl Marx: The DEFA Indianerfilme (1965-1983).” New German Critique, no. 82, Duke UP, Jan. 2001, p. 25. https://doi.org/10.2307/3137409.

Gina Franco | Christopher PooreSeptember 21, et al. “The Mission San Xavier Del Bac: A Shrine without Borders.” America Magazine, 11 Jan. 2019, https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/09/21/mission-san-xavier-del-bac-shrine-without-borders.

Grytz, Gerhard. “‘the German Arizonians’: Ethnic Identity and Society Formation on a Southwestern Frontier, 1853--World War I.” UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations, no. 2536, Jan. 2003, https://doi.org/10.25669/45af-zqty.

Kino Heritage Society. “Eusebio Francisco Kino.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/tuma/learn/historyculture/eusebio-francisco-kino.htm.

Luebering, J.E. “Karl May.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-May.

Moritz, Author. B M, and B M Moritz. “Eusebio Francisco Kino SJ: Scientist and Missionary.” Science Meets Faith, 19 Mar. 2019, https://sciencemeetsfaith.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/eusebio-francisco-kino-sj-scientist-and-missionary/.

“Warfare History Network .” Google Search, Google, https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS967US967&q=jurgen%2Bwattenberg&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-ztzqrrb-AhVnJ0QIHWlBCuoQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=1346&bih=631&dpr=2#imgrc=wmW4wZ6Z9qkTlM.

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