Anti-German Hysteria

U.S. entry into WWI in 1917 fueled a wave of anti-German sentiment across Wisconsin and across the nation. The fervor was particularly acute in Milwaukee, the most German city in the country. Historian John Gurda tells us how German Americans bore the brunt of war.

This story is part of the Wisconsin Life series, “Wisconsin in the First World War.”

John Gurda

John Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of twenty-three books, including the best-selling The Making of Milwaukee and its geographic companion, Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods.