19- America the Bilingual Podcast - When America went to war against the German language

Americans remember World War I, but most of us have forgotten the war within our own borders that took place during those same years. It was a war against all things German-American, including the teaching of the German language. Our internal war was so violent, destructive and cruel, that as soon as the war in Europe ended, Americans were quick to sweep what happened under the rug. The lynchings, internment camps and book burnings are not mentioned in our history textbooks. But on the centenary of that forgotten homeland war, the results linger with us still.

America the Bilingual is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL — The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was written by Steve Leveen and our producer Fernando Hernández (who also does our cool sound design and mixing). Our associate producer is Beckie Rankin. Check out the rest of our cast at America the Bilingual dot com, including Mim Harrison, Maja Thomas, Carlos Plaza and especially our bark-lingual mutt, Chet. Special thanks to Michelle van Gilder of the Lead with Languages campaign and Kristen Gillet, who sang us into this episode.

Music in this episode with a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License by: (in order of appearance)

Kevin Macleod, Jorge Mario Zuleta, Rafael Archangel, Francisco Penilla and Lee Rosevere,