Dear Reader
Finally it really feels like summer. Kids are out of school and
traffic has lessened because of it. People are on vacations.
Gardens have exploded with a multitude of colours, birds are
indoctrinating their offspring into life in the neighbourhood,
squirrels having shed their winter fur are frantically looking
for nourishment to feed their little ones and many Robins, Blue
Jays and Cardinals have returned from their winter quarters to
enjoy their summer residences.
Our front page has all those exuberant colours that summer
splurges with. Garden parties and picnics and B-B-Qs are
imminent, where we shall also remember those that have left us
when we get together.
 We hear almost weekly of people that are no longer among us.
Just the other day we got news that Ursula Pavelko succumbed
earlier than expected to her battle with Leukemia. We remember
her for her years of leadership in the Silesian circle, her
poetry, her verve for preserving German heritage, and for the
flowers from her beautiful garden that she brought to events as
table decoration. Many of her activities fell to Christian
Klein, who also runs the interests of other groups, such as the
Historical
 Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada. We thank him for
his engagement in the activities of the local German Canadian
community despite personal challenges.
And then there is the news that the Neue Welt has stopped
printing after about 7 years. It just was not viable according
to owner/publisher Kersten Martins, who currently is president
of the German Canadian Congress. His aim to revamp this
organization with new blood into the board of directors, his
efforts to rejuvenate the congress might all but be too late. We
Germans have integrated well, perhaps too well, to sustain us as
an identifiable ethnic entity. We might have to get used to
becoming more interested in mainstream culture. Some of us “old
immigrants” have done it already, especially with children in
the family as a second and third and fourth generation. It
cannot be helped. It is the course of life and progress.
There is truly no influx fresh from the homeland, and if there
are newcomers, they are not interested in German culture abroad;
they want to know what it is like to live in Canada as a world
citizen. They come here to do business. They are the ones that
will go to Dundas Square for a Soccer game, or to a local
stadium if there was a live game, but never to a German Club.
There is one good thing about the German community in Canada. It
has ties with many other groups, such as the Ukrainians, many of
which came to this country via Germany. I know that one of my
best girl friends of Ukrainian parents was born in Hamburg, as
was her brother, before her family moved to Toronto. I also know
that we have married couples where one part is Ukrainian. There
are other ethnicities that mingled with ours.
And I think that is a great thing, especially since we
live in a country with such a diverse culture. We are indeed the
United Nations!
Last but not least I would like to tell you about Werner
Bogdahn, whose account of his early life has gripped the
interest of many of our readers. This story is his epitaph. He
lost his long battle with cancer a couple of weeks ago. We are
grateful that he chose us to publish his recollections and we
are proud to do so.
But enough of sad news, let us embrace the best summer has to
offer.
Until next time
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
As the editor of Echo Germanica Sybille reflects on cultural, artistic,
political and daily events within the German-Canadian landscape.
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