German Benevolent Society of Montreal fonds [textual record] Archives / Collections and Fonds
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German Benevolent Society of Montreal fonds [textual record]
Hierarchical level:FondsContext of this record:Fonds includes:5 lower level description(s)View lower level description(s) -
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Record information German Benevolent Society of Montreal fonds [textual record]
Date:1858-1987.Reference:R4432-0-6-E, MG28-V147Type of material:Textual materialFound in:Archives / Collections and FondsItem ID number:107165Date(s):1858-1987.Place of creation:Québec (Province)Extent:2.03 m of textual records.Language of material:EnglishScope and content:Fonds consists of records relating primarily to the German Society of Montreal's work from the 1930's to the 1980's. The material also includes the records of the Teutonia Society, which were left with the German Society of Montreal, when the former society dissolved itself in 1939. The Teutonia Society began as a glee club in 1880 and in 1907, it became the German Society Teutonia, continuing as such until 1939, when it ceased its activities. The collection is arranged into the following series: Minutes and Bylaws, 1916-1935, 1958-1968; Financial Records, 1936-1986; Correspondence, 1935-1987; Documenting the Record, 1858-1989; German Society of Teutonia, 1894-1941.Provenance:Biography/Administrative history: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.Additional information:General note:Donated by the German Society of Montreal in 1993.Subject heading:- Friendly Societies, German - Montreal German Canadians - Quebec (Province)
- Depression - 1929 - Montreal Montreal, Quebec - German Canadians
- World War, 1914-1918 - German Canadians - Montreal Quebec (Province) German Canadians
- World War II - German Canadians - Montreal Montreal, Quebec - German Canadians
- German Canadians - Immigration
Source:PrivateFormer archival reference no.:MG28-V147 -
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