The city of Curitiba and German immigrants during the First World War, an analysis of the local press

Abstract

The city of Curitiba, capital of Paraná (Brazil) is known to be one ofthe most important destinations for immigrants throughout the history ofimmigration in Brazil. Due to their particular ethnic profile – small proportionatenumber of blacks and browns in the local population since the mid-nineteenthcentury – the Curitiba’s society was especially marked by European immigrants,particularly Poles, Germans and Italians. In the streets trade in the center of thecity, at the end of the nineteenth century, establishments maintained by Germanimmigrants surpassed those of all other immigrant groups, except for the Luso-Brazilians. The local society was not indifferent to the outbreak of the First World War. In order to understand the various reactions and representations ofimmigrants during the war years, this paper analyzes the main local newspapersbetween 1914 and 1919, with particular emphasis on the period after thedeclaration of war by Brazil and end of the conflict. As a whole, it is clear thatlocal views accompanied and followed the lines of analyses laid down by nationalnewspapers edited in Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian foreign policy, cum granosalis. Immigrants and descendants of Germans were targets for manifestationsof rejection, but also support, demonstrating droit de cité in the local community,where the lifestyle of German-Brazilian was fully displayed through both culturaland religious practices and forms of civil organization.