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Founded in 1909, Der Volksverein deutsch-canadischer Katholiken (Association of German-Canadian Catholics, or VDCK) was one of the largest German-Canadian religious societies in Canada. The VDCK was involved in German immigration and cultural movements in Canada, with its most productive period from 1909 until the depression. Although the VDCK's work continued during the 1930s, immigration had ended, and many Canadians were suspicious of German cultural organizations due to the Nazi movement in Europe. Canadian society became increasingly secularized in the postwar era, and a decline in interest in rural settlement led to the VDCK's dissolution in 1952.
Keywords: Canadian Catholic organizations; Canadian immigration; German Catholic organizations; German culture; German emigration
Der Volksverein deutsch-canadischer Katholiken (Association of German-Canadian Catholics, or VDCK) was formed on July 14-15, 1909, intending "to coordinate German-Canadian Catholics in order to protect those rights that can only be safeguarded through being organized." Eventually becoming one of the largest German-Canadian religious societies, the VDCK intended to preserve the language, culture, and religion of German Catholics through establishing and maintaining German-speaking settlements.
The VDCK wanted to influence important members of society, businessmen, and district and farm leaders through networking at local gatherings and advancing Catholic ideals. VDCK members were to provide solutions to social problems while supporting humanity through Catholicism.1 The VDCK made steady progress toward its goals until World War I curtailed its agenda.
Partners in its endeavors included six German-language newspapers such as the German-Catholic newspapers St. Peter's Bote (Muenster, Saskatchewan) and Westkanada (Winnipeg, Manitoba). In addition, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) worked with VDCK to settle German speakers in western Canada. The group attempted to work with the CPR and the Canadian National Railway (CNR), but rivalry between the two railway companies put an end to this cooperation in May 1928.The Saint Raphael's Society for the Protection of German-Catholic Emigrants also worked with the VDCK.
During the interwar period, the German government was skeptical of the VDCK's work, casting the VDCK's motives as financial rather than altruistic, regarding any affiliation between railway companies and religious-based immigration boards with suspicion, and believing that the VDCK had CPR backing (the VDCK's office in the CPR's business center in Winnipeg tended to confirm this suspicion). During the 1930s, Nazi aggression in Europe led Canadians...