German Benevolent Society of Montreal : The German Society of Montreal, mutual aid society, founded in 1835, has since its beginning, helped German immigrants in Canada. It provided them with advice upon their arrival in Montreal; where necessary it provided them with material aid, in particular in cases where immigrants had arrived destitute or had lost their job. As part of its immigrant aid program, the Society also supported the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge, to which it made an annual financial contribution, as well as the Montreal General Hospital. In the summer of 1864, the society helped the survivors of an immigrant train on which 97 immigrants, most of them German, had lost their lives as the train plunged into the Richelieu River at Beloeil, where the draw bridge had been opened to let ships pass. The Society's lawyer, J.C.S. Wurtele, represented the interests of the survivors in their dealings with the railway company.
Today, the German Society of Montreal still maintains a monument it had set up in the Mount Royal Cemetery for those who had lost their lives in this tragedy.
In 1872, the Society entered into an agreement with the federal government, whereby it was granted a township in Manitoba on the condition that it settle there German immigrants it would bring to Canada. The agreement stipulated further that the Society was to bring over fifty families during the first year and one hundred families during following years, until all the land was taken up. The government cancelled the agreement two years later because the Society had not fulfilled the conditions of the agreement. The Society, however, had succeeded in bringing over a few immigrants, largely through the work of Wilhelm Wagner who worked on its behalf in Manitoba.
When World War I broke out, the Society co-operated with other German clubs and German churches in Montreal, to provide aid to the many Germans in the city who had lost their jobs. It co-operated with German Canadian organizations across Canada to aid internees, in particular in Amherst and Kapuskasing, sending them reading material, tobacco and other things internees requested. At Christmas, it helped put on for them a Christmas party, which included small gifts for the internees. The war was no sooner over, when it co-operated with other German groups in the city and country in providing aid to Germany. During the Depression, it helped to establish a kitchen to feed the homeless as well as helped the needy with small sums or vouchers whereby they could obtain lodging or groceries. It extended similar help to German immigrants in the city who had lost their jobs as soon as World War II broke out.
Between 1939 and 1945, it resumed the work it had done with internees during World War I, helping both the internees and their families. Following the war, it co-operated with the Canadian Society for German Relief in sending food, medical supplies and other necessities to war-ravaged Germany. When the immigration of Germans from Europe began in 1947, it provided counselling services for immigrants, helping them find employment as well as provided other services. This work came to an end in the 1960's, when the society resumed its more traditional role in providing mutual aid. This consisted of supporting German language studies at the McGill University and supporting mutual aid organizations in Montreal in general.
Of course, the German Society of Montreal did more than operate as an aid organization. It celebrated festivals common to German-speaking areas of Europe, be this Fasching, the Winzerfest or other celebrations. These events served not only cultural or social purposes but usually served to collect money which was then used to forward the Society's mutual aid activities. Especially important in this regard was the German Society of Montreal's annual ball. It served as highlight of the Society's social season and at the same time was the main means through which it collected money to support its organizational activities and its mutual aid work in Montreal and elsewhere.
