The End of a Social Movement? Some Critical Thoughts on German Ethnic Organisations in South Australia

1. Introduction

Before analysing the decreasing club membership of Germans in South Australia, I asked myself, does club membership fit the concept of a social movement? What is a social movement? Rudolf Heberle, cited in J. A. Banks [1], had to come to the rescue:

Using this explanation, club membership of Germans in South Australia can be considered a social movement. This chapter has a long history. It started in 1993 as part of a PhD thesis. It presents a sociological as well as historical perspective of the settlement of German-born immigrants who came to Australia after World War II. Most of them arrived in Australia in the 1950s, with South Australia having its largest intake in 1952 [2]. There can be no doubt that shortly after 1945 Germans created some suspicion, but they were admitted, despite strong criticisms by the Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism [3]. Most men were tradespersons (on entry officially classified as labourers), and most women were clerks (officially classified as domestics), meaning that German qualifications were not recognised. The structure of Australian society was unfamiliar to them and their knowledge of English was often minimal, so German ethnic clubs were created or given new life after the Second World War. These were meeting places where people could speak their mother tongue and maintain aspects of their culture without being ridiculed. Emotional support was available to assist people to come to terms with a new life. It was important for the new settlers to create a buffer, a so-called comfort zone, to soften the settlement process. But as interview data reveals, German ethnic clubs were not welcomed or frequented by all people of German background – there was caution and disapproval because of the terrific events that had taken place during the recent past. Measured by official statistics on workforce participation, education and training, income and home ownership, most German-born newcomers succeeded in their efforts to improve their lives and also contribute in a positive way to an unfamiliar society [4, 5]. There were high rates of out-marriages, high rates of language shift from German to English in the first generation, and high rates of naturalisation, all of which accelerated the transition into a new culture.

Data from 131 interviews conducted between 1993 and 1995 with first-, second- and third generation ‘Germans’ form the basis of this chapter: 97 first-generation, and 34 second- and third generation ‘Germans’. Interviews with leading persons (presidents and secretaries) of nine/ten clubs [6] were also conducted; these interviews were repeated and information updated in 2003, and, as far as people could be contacted, in 2020/2022.

In trying to analyse the transition from a sociological point of view, the theory of acculturation will be used. Acculturation [7] is important and a useful way of tracing the process of integration. The German immigrants’ membership of their ethnic clubs will be used to determine the sense of identification with being German. How important are old values and customs? According to Jacob [7], acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that occurs when individuals balance two cultures. It needs adjustment to the new cultural environment and usually occurs through social pressure and over long periods of time. But it also needs a host society that is empathetic towards the new settlers; in a way acculturation can be connected to Australia’s multiculturalism. It is possible both quantitatively and qualitatively to draw insightful conclusions about post-war immigrants from data of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (1945 to 2021), the Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research (until 1996), and from publications such as People and Place. So, how important are or were German ethnic organisations to German-born people in South Australia? Is this strong social movement coming to an end?

2. Acculturation versus assimilation

In the early years of post-World War II immigration, club membership was an important tool for the identification of German immigrants as they were looking for people of the same background for advice and support, and the most common place to meet compatriots were the ethnic organisations. In relation to the theory of acculturation, Eric M. Kramer’s [8, 9] and Emory Bogardus’s [10] concepts are useful, adding to Jacob’s explanation. These scholars argue that acculturation combines adaptation with learning but does not necessarily create assimilation. Assimilation requires changes in attitudes, which take a long time to achieve; acculturation requires changes in cultural patterns, which can more easily be achieved, as long as a certain tolerance level of the host society exists (the more tolerant the host society, the easier it is for the newcomer to abandon old customs and habits); but the immigrants’ want to fit into an overarching framework (follow the laws, learn the language, participate in the workforce) and to have a desire to succeed are equally important. To achieve acculturation, some characteristics and activities of the migrant group need to be modified to fit the requirements of the new environment, and the host society must provide the conditions for this; it is a two-way process. Kramer developed an interesting theory of cultural fusion, considering a clear distinction between assimilation and acculturation. Australians often talk about assimilation, but according to Kramer, assimilation is based on complete conformity to a pre-existing system. He argues that it is impossible for a person to completely change to ‘unlearn themselves’. In order to grow, to fit into a new society, processes of new language learning and developing additional ways of thinking, working, and worshipping will have to take place. This blending of language and culture results in cognitive complexities and the ability to switch between different cultural repertoires. As mentioned before, looking at Australia, acculturation has not been a one-way process; the country was declared a multicultural society (1973/1975), multiple cultures are recognised now and appreciated, indicating that a level of understanding, acceptance, and tolerance was/is at work.

3. German-born immigrants and clubs

As far as German immigrants are concerned the following picture emerges. Joseph Vondra, researching in the 1970s, claimed that German-speaking immigrants arriving in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s fashioned the dominant character of the post-war arrivals – the petty bourgeois nature of the group – hard-working, conservative, self-reliant and materialistic [11]. These people expressed their needs, tastes and lifestyles in the so-called club culture and have values fixed on increased affluence. Gisela Kaplan, writing approximately 10 years later, expressed the view that most clubs were formed in the 1960s, but membership was already declining by the 1980s [12]. In her view, the club culture was not representative of German residents in Australia, and it was not appealing to the younger generation. Sandra Kipp and others, writing again a few years later than Vondra and Kaplan, found that there were approximately 30 German-speaking community organisations in Melbourne, Victoria, but the majority of German speakers did not belong to any of them [13]. A similar picture could be established for South Australia (please see later).

4. South Australia’s German ethnic and cultural organisations

To assess whether ethnicity, the feeling of identification with, and solidarity among people of German background is persisting or declining, contact with nine/ten associations in South Australia was established between 1993 and 1995, in 2003, and between 2020 and 2022) and membership figures and scheduled events were explored. As the following table demonstrates, already in 2003, several German organisations had folded but the situation is worse in 2020/2022.

So, what has happened? How important still are German ethnic organisations? Table 1 shows the emergence and part disappearance of ten South Australian ethnic and two cultural associations. The table records the year the clubs were founded, whether facilities are owned or hired (community hall), the number of foundation members, the highest membership numbers, figures for 1993/1995, 2003, 2020/2022, and the services provided. Membership figures include German-born as well as people of other ethnicity; it is argued here that without members of no German background (estimated by presidents and secretaries 30% and 40%!), more associations would have folded!

South Australia’s largest German organisation will serve as an example of the way these associations emerge, develop and sometimes perish. The South Australian General German Association in Adelaide (today officially named SA German Association, affectionately called The Club or The German Club) was founded in 1886. According to Ian Harmstorf, the Club was closed during the two wars [14]. It had 600 members in 1911, but only 200 members in 1936. During the 1930s, strong internal divisions within The Club made it difficult to obtain patronage, because Nazi Party members used the organisation as a meeting place: eleven people were members of the German Nazi Party [15]. At the outbreak of the war in 1939, the Australian Government was suspicious of the Club’s activities, but a report of the Commonwealth Investigation Branch in Canberra in 1946 states:

Ian Harmstorf disagrees with this assessment and points out: “You only have to look at the photos of the club interior from that time to realize that the Nazis had taken over the place” (personal remark).

In 1950, the membership was 170, but there was a steady increase to about 2000 in 1986, the Club’s centenary. About 30% of fee-paying members had no German background. These members helped the Club to keep going. By 1993, membership had declined to 1000 and the participation rate of ‘other’ club members was 40%! In 2003, the membership was 894, and in 2020/2022 it had decreased to 300. During the 2021 Census, the German-born population was registered as being 9.489. 300 members would be 3%, but, as the Club has relied for many years on members other than Germans, it is argued here that only 2% of German-born people are paying members of the Club [17].

The most famous event staged by the Club was the annual Schützenfest, the King’s Shoot, which took place in the old German town of Hahndorf between 1964 and 1993. From then on, the location of the event was changed several times. In 1994 it was staged in Adelaide’s Bonython Park, between 2010 and 2014 it took place at Ellis Park/Tampawardli, but by 2015 it was back in Bonython Park. In April 2021 the Schuetzenfest was held over 2 days at the German Club’s new home in Adelaide, in Brooklyn Park [18]. Although the Club tends to date the Schützenfest from the post-Second World War era, according to Harmstorf [19], the first Schützenfest had already been held in 1890 in the Adelaide suburb of Walkerville; Lobethal, another suburb of Adelaide, staged such festivities already in the 1850s! The Schützenfest has played an important part in South Australia’s cultural history, and, according to several interviews, the Club has promoted German culture within a multicultural Australian setting: aspects of Australian culture were integrated into the club culture and different interest groups functioned well and had a ‘home’.

Figures of Schützenfest visitors are not easy to find; attendances had been declining and moving the event was trying to maintain the large number of visitors. In 2003 it attracted 28,000 local, interstate and international visitors, but in 2014 only 17,000 people attended the event. Apart from low attendances in 2014, other unforeseen challenges had to be dealt with: in 2018 the weather was not kind; rain, which is usually a blessing to South Australia, had converted the Bonython Park area almost into a swamp; further the costs for leasing the park area and of hiring big tents added to the overall debts the Club had incurred. It seems to have been the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Another misfortune was that the Federal Government had withdrawn a $150,000 grant to overhaul the Club which had been promised by the previous Labor Government.

During club meetings the voices to sell the Club and relocate to smaller premises became increasingly louder. In 2019 the home of the SA German Association was sold for AUS$3.5 million to pay off its debts and to buy new premises at 41 Airport Road, Brooklyn Park, South Australia. Many efforts are being made now to re-develop or update the premises which between 2019 and 2025 experienced several challenges initiated by the Adelaide Council: fire walls and toilet blocks need to be designed, re-designed, approved and built before a licence to operate on a regular basis can be granted. The new club facilities are only used occasionally with special licences being provided for certain activities. The voluntary committee and its 300 members are eagerly hoping that 2026 will bring changes and that group activities can be re-activated. In 2025 only the women’s gymnastics group (today called the Wellness Group) and Bund der Bayern are using the facilities on a weekly basis.

5. The research project, questions, answers, and some responses evaluated

Between 1993 and 1995, 1050 questionnaires were distributed to family, friends, the South Australian School for the German Language, the German Voice, ten German associations in South Australia, and two German cultural associations (Goethe Society and Wagner Societies). The study was advertised at Flinders University and Adelaide University in South Australia. Targets were first-, second- and third generation ‘Germans’. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Flinders University in 1993. One-hundred-and-sixty-four questionnaires (164) were returned, i.e. 16%. The questions referred to participants’ place and date of birth, year of arrival in Australia, reasons for immigrating, marital status, hobbies, level of education, professional status, and membership of an ethnic German association. Only short answers (yes/no, specific dates) were required. One of the questions was whether people would be interested to talk about their emigration/immigration and every-day life experiences in Australia. One-hundred-and-thirty- one (131) people agreed to be interviewed. The questions were distributed before the interview, and the participants had the right not to answer questions which made them feel uncomfortable, and they could withdraw at any time during the interview. The responses to the 131 interviews, which were conducted between 1993 and 1995 form the basis of this section of the chapter: 97 with first generation, i.e. the actual immigrants, and 34 with second and third generation ‘Germans’. Not all respondents of the questionnaire wanted to be interviewed, however, there was a group of participants who had not answered the questionnaire but were interested to tell their stories. To establish a baseline, introductory questions were like those of the questionnaire, but emphasis was on every-day experiences in, and impressions of, Australia. One of the queries related to participation in a German ethnic organisation, i.e. club membership, to state reasons for belonging or not to belong. Tables 2 and 3 demonstrate the answers to these questions.

As Table 2 demonstrates, to maintain customs (especially at Christmas) and language are important aspects when belonging to a German ethnic organisation. Communicating in the mother-tongue and the singing of folk songs were important. The responses are verified by the long-term existence of the Adelaider Liedertafel, by the creation of different choirs, and by sending their children to the School for the German Language on Saturday mornings (first and second generation). However, several participants criticised club-membership. The usual support network, provided by an ethnic organisation, was not needed; some participants felt ‘no affinity towards Germans’, those who were displaced from Eastern Europe and had to start a new life in West-Germany, and those who were classified as ‘ethnic Germans’ who were denied membership during the early days of re-opening the Club in Adelaide after World War II [14]. There was also criticism that club members lived ‘in the past’, and that clubs did’ not provide for young people’.

As Tables 2 and 3 demonstrate, the German-born population and their descendants are not overly keen to partake in German organisations. This could be related to Kaplan’s [12] thoughts, that club-culture is not representative of German culture, or to Kipp et al.’s [13] findings, that the majority of German-born residents in Australia does not belong to a German ethnic organisation. Looking at figures and considering the 1991 Census data, 14,348 German-born residents were living in South Australia [20], only 131 persons, i.e. 0.9%, were prepared to be interviewed, 97 first generation and 34 second and third generation ‘Germans’. But the figures can also be seen in a more positive light: 1050 questionnaires were distributed and 131 people, i.e. 12%, agreed to be interviewed, representing a more satisfying research response. Overall, the results point to an ageing population that is well acculturated into South Australian society.

6. Some thought on declining ethnicity and membership numbers

While there can be no doubt that ethnic organisations provide a buffer when settling into an unknown country and identification with people of the same culture is important, other values take over, namely the desire to ‘make it’, to be successful, professionally and privately, in the new country. This was outlined by Joseph Vondra (1970) dominant character of the post-war German arrivals – the petty bourgeois – hard-working, conservative, self-reliant and materialistic [11], and data of the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s demonstrate their accomplishments. The question to answer now is, could German immigrants have accomplished the same achievements without being a member of a German ethnic organisation? The answer is yes - the fee-paying membership overall was always low. The highest rate of all fee-paying members (those of German and of non-German background and including the members of Goethe Society and Wagner Society which were not founded by German immigrants) was 3460 in 1986. This figure was chosen because it presented the Adelaide’s Club highest membership. Assuming that 30% of these 3460 people were of non-German background, this leaves 2422, making up approximately 16% of the German-born population at that point in time (Census data 1981 counted 14,755) being fee-paying members of a German ethnic organisation and the cultural associations, i.e. the Goethe and Wagner Society. Looking at later Census data and membership figures, it is estimated that in 1993 and 2003, only about 10% of German-born people were fee-paying members. Since then, several ethnic organisations as well as the Goethe Society have folded, and membership has decreased. The 2021 Australian Census data demonstrated that only 9489 German-born people lived in South Australia - a further decline. Using membership figures of all clubs and the Wagner Society (794), this constitutes 8%; using the membership of the Club in Adelaide (300) only, it constitutes 3%. And here is a warning: Overall, the membership figures need to be treated with some caution, they have been collected during 30 years of interviewing presidents of different ethnic and cultural associations and, at times, secretaries or managers. Memories fade and there are no laws to keep official records. However, the findings do demonstrate a certain trend, namely that only a small percentage of German-born people have been closely affiliated with a German ethnic or cultural organisation, that the number in South Australia is decreasing, indicating that a social movement to maintain and/or promote German culture is struggling.

Interestingly, during interviews [21] people found that support through club membership was not needed and that they do not feel any affinity towards Germans. Experiences in Germany during the post-war resettlement process (from the East to West-Germany), encounters when, as an ‘ethnic German’, membership of the Adelaide Club was tried to be established, or the deeds during Nazi Germany were the reasons provided for their attitudes. But it may also be that these people arrived in Australia at a very young age and that they are completely absorbed in Australian society. Even stronger attitudes could be observed during interviews with second and third generation ‘Germans’: 34 interviews demonstrated that only fourteen participants wanted to maintain old German customs and culture, five wanted to maintain the language, and only two were interested in meeting people of the same background. An important message was that Germans in clubs live in the past, and that clubs do not provide for young people.

Coming back to today’s reality, it should be mentioned that not only fee-paying members frequent the Club; they bring partners, family and friends along, and that expressing German conviviality is an important issue for the current voluntary staff. Since 2019 the voluntary committee and the volunteers who work during special events at the new premises, demonstrate strength and great resilience to not let bureaucracy, i.e. South Australia’s State Government rules, get in their way, striving for some German traditions to be maintained and to be shared with other people of the Australian community.

7. The future of ‘Germaninity’ in South Australia: an end to an era or a matter of survival?

Since the 1980s only very few new German immigrants arrived in Australia, especially in South Australia, and club memberships are declining, but the German presence is visible - to a certain extent; Germans have not completely disappeared within Australian society, they are acculturated. As this research shows, group identification is minimal: the highest proportion of people belonging to German ethnic and cultural organisations was 24% in 1986 (German-born population in SA 14,664, overall membership 3460). This was the year of the Centenary of the South Australian German Association or the Club, which registered 2000 members, i.e. 16%. But in 2021 the overall membership had declined to about 8% (German-born residents 9489, 794 members) and to 3% (300 members) for the Club. Important are also the rates of out-marriages, naturalisation and language shift to English only within the first generation, adding to a sense of belonging. Herbert Gans’s [22, 23] notions of acculturation and of symbolic ethnicity [10] are an important theoretical issue. As mentioned previously, both rest on the tolerance of the host society, so that new settlers fit into the overall system and can maintain (some) old customs. Gans states that when acculturation has taken place, ethnic populations no longer need ethnic cultures or organisations but resort to symbols such as foods, traditions and perhaps identification with national figures or church holidays. It is argued here that the customs of first-generation Germans in South Australia have indeed moved to what Gans calls ‘symbolic ethnicity’; the Schuetzenfest, Oktoberfest, Laternelaufen (Lantern Walks), German choirs and folkdance groups come to mind. Scholar Sol Encel confirms Gans’s argument by suggesting that ethnicity does not refer to a survival phenomenon by which groups cling to their past, but that, in a modern industrial society, ethnicity is based on, and strengthened by, common occupational positions, residential stability and concentration, and dependence on universal institutions and services [24]. Social upward mobility (occupational, social and geographic) plays a more important role than the maintenance of ethnic heritage in the life of post-World War II German immigrants to Australia. And there are the later arrivals, the few who have come since the 1980s, early 1990s, they are well-educated, speak the English language, are businesspeople or sought-after professionals. A very interesting, new group of Germans to be researched are the young German partners of Australians who have met overseas, during travels or study. They are a young generation, well-educated, following their hearts and settle in Australia. My research determined that they find German ethnic organisations old fashioned but would not mind the occasional visit to special festivals, like The Schuetzenfest, partake in the Oktoberfest and at special Christmas celebrations (Advent festivities).

8. Conclusion

Overall, previous research in relation to education, workforce participation and income, home ownership, language shift to English only, and out-marriages shows that German-born immigrants are an ageing and acculturated migrant population, having found their place in Australian society. Further, membership to a German ethnic or cultural organisation was minimal, indicating a shift away from old established values and customs. Additional analysis with focussing on interviews could be undertaken to establish how long people have been in Australia, at what age they arrived, whether they are married to someone of German or other background, this may have stimulated acculturation. These are important points that influence behaviour and attitudes. According to Harmstorf, Germans have a well-developed sense of fitting into the host society. Looking at the low participation rates in German ethnic and cultural organisations, one could assume that German immigrants are more adaptable than other migrant groups; but one also needs to consider that the troubled past can have something to do with the speedy acculturation of those who arrived between 1945 and the 1970s, early 1980s. Another issue is the relatively tolerant society, multicultural Australia. All of this will have contributed to the decline of the once vibrant movement to promote German culture in South Australia. Whatever the reasons for relatively positive settlement outcomes, the German Club in Adelaide, South Australia, is an important symbol of Germaninity: after 139 years it is still functioning in 2025, not in its original building and not on a full-time basis, but it opens its doors once a fortnight for well attended gatherings, run by old and young volunteers. The social movement of promoting German culture in South Australia has taken on a different direction, serving not only German-born people but all Australians. A statement by Peter Heuzenroeder, the secretary of the Barossa Valley Archives and Historical Trust, creates a sense of pride but also of responsibility in me, an immigrant of German background: