20th Anniversary of German-Canadian Congress
The German Canadian Congress [GCC] celebrated its 20th anniversary by hosting its first annual ball on May 27. It was held at the Grand Ballroom, Fort Garry Place, with a dinner, dance and music from the "Gig One Big Band."
The 2001 Census counted 5400 people of German origin in Winnipeg.
Hubert Kondziela, a past president of the GCC [http://gccongressmb.tripod.com], estimates there are about 250,000 Germans in Manitoba, 200,000 of whom may be in Winnipeg today. “Though the first Germans came to Canada three centuries ago, there was a wave of immigration after WWII, when thousands of Germans immigrated here, including not only himself but also the current president, Helmut Hesse. Both of them were born in Breslau, then part of Germany, now in Poland.
The GCC is an umbrella organization of German-speaking peoples, not only of Germans. Nine organizations are affiliated to it: the Friends of Austria Club; Swiss Club of Manitoba; Manitobans for German Language Education; South Winnipeg Kinderschule; German-Canadian Heritage Foundation; German Canadian Benevolent Fund; German Canadian Cultural association; German Society of Winnipeg; and the German Canadian Business and Professional association of Manitoba.
“Organizations like ours are increasingly important at a time when the world is shrinking,” explains Hesse: “To understand something of the global village in which we find ourselves, we must start with the corner of it from which we sprang.”
The GCC’s objectives include fostering cooperation among German-Canadians and promoting a better understanding of their cultural heritage; cultivating the German language, customs and culture within the concept of multiculturalism; and establishing charitable funds.
In complex structures like Canadian society characterized by cross-identities, an individual may belong to one group by ethnic heritage, another by religion, and yet others by occupation, regional grouping and so on.
This profusion of social identities reduces the intensity of the individual’s dependence on a particular group for meeting psychosocial needs, reducing the potential for polarizing group loyalties and increasing tolerance for other groups. Anthropologists say such complex patterns and overlapping group memberships increase tolerance and social stability.
The 2001 Census counted 5400 people of German origin in Winnipeg.
Hubert Kondziela, a past president of the GCC [http://gccongressmb.tripod.com], estimates there are about 250,000 Germans in Manitoba, 200,000 of whom may be in Winnipeg today. “Though the first Germans came to Canada three centuries ago, there was a wave of immigration after WWII, when thousands of Germans immigrated here, including not only himself but also the current president, Helmut Hesse. Both of them were born in Breslau, then part of Germany, now in Poland.
The GCC is an umbrella organization of German-speaking peoples, not only of Germans. Nine organizations are affiliated to it: the Friends of Austria Club; Swiss Club of Manitoba; Manitobans for German Language Education; South Winnipeg Kinderschule; German-Canadian Heritage Foundation; German Canadian Benevolent Fund; German Canadian Cultural association; German Society of Winnipeg; and the German Canadian Business and Professional association of Manitoba.
“Organizations like ours are increasingly important at a time when the world is shrinking,” explains Hesse: “To understand something of the global village in which we find ourselves, we must start with the corner of it from which we sprang.”
The GCC’s objectives include fostering cooperation among German-Canadians and promoting a better understanding of their cultural heritage; cultivating the German language, customs and culture within the concept of multiculturalism; and establishing charitable funds.
In complex structures like Canadian society characterized by cross-identities, an individual may belong to one group by ethnic heritage, another by religion, and yet others by occupation, regional grouping and so on.
This profusion of social identities reduces the intensity of the individual’s dependence on a particular group for meeting psychosocial needs, reducing the potential for polarizing group loyalties and increasing tolerance for other groups. Anthropologists say such complex patterns and overlapping group memberships increase tolerance and social stability.
posted by Ashoke Dasgupta @ 9:03 PM
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