Abstract

This thesis will describe and analyze the uses and meanings of a German categorical identity among German migrants in Montreal. Rather than limiting itself to a mere description of an ethnic group, it questions its very existence by exploring when and if, how and by whom a German categorical identity is ascribed and enacted. More precisely, it will examine if being German is at all relevant for German migrants in Montreal and, if so, in which periods of time, locations and social contexts it has relevance. Different interpretations and experiences of the category by various individuals who might be labeled “German” will be explored and their impacts on the mobilization, circumvention or rejection of the category or particular versions of it analyzed. These similarities and differences in meanings and practices will be investigated in their relationship to other forms of identification such as linguistic, national, regional, and generational forms of affiliation and German migrants’ local and transnational ties, practices and attitudes. This thesis establishes that the mobilization of a German categorical identity is considerably limited by obstacles and barriers arising from important variations in its use and meaning among German migrants in Montreal.