German Almanacs in Rio Grande Do Sul

From 1855 to 1941 Rio Grande do Sul possessed a rich German-language press that provided German immigrants and their descendants with newspapers, didac­tic books, and almanacs (Kalender).

One of the very first almanacs was Der neue hinkende Teufel: Deutscher Volkskalen­der fur das Jahr 1856 fur die Provinz S. Pedro do Sul (The Limping Devil: German Popular Calendar for the Year 1856 for the Province of S. Pedro do Sul, 1856—1858), compiled by the journalist and teacher Carl Jansen from Cologne, and printed, in Porto Alegre, in the Druckerei von Carl Jansen. The Deutscher Volkskalender (Ger­man People’s Calendar, 1862—1870), pub­lished by the editors of the Deutsche Zeitung (German Newspaper) in Porto Ale­gre, also belonged to this type of almanac. The most important such almanac was Karl von Koseritz’s Koseritz' deutscher Volkskalender fur die Provinz Rio Grande do Sul (Koseritz’ German People’s Calendar for the Province of Rio Grande do Sul), later renamed Koseritz’ deutscher Volkskalen­der fur Brasilien (Koseritz’ German People’s Calendar for Brazil, 1874—1918; 1921-1938), printed first by Gundlach, and from 1901 to 1938 by Krahe. Another important almanac was the Kalender fur die Deutschen in Brasilien (Calendar for Germans in Brazil, 1881-1918; 1920­1941) or simply Rotermund-Kalender, cre­ated by Wilhelm Rotermund in Sao Leopoldo.

There was also the Musterreiter's neuer historischer Kalender (Musterreiter’s New Historical Calendar, 1885-1887; 1901 — 1918), published by Casar Reinhardt, who purchased the Deutsche Zeitung in 1883. In 1917 a new popular almanac, the Volks- Kalender (People’s Calendar, 1917-1918; 1927-1931), was published in Porto Ale­gre by the company Ludvig and Irmaos. Ernst Reinhold Ludwig, who had a law de­gree and was the son of the German writer Otto Ludwig, was editor of this publica­tion. He also worked as a writer and editor at the Riograndenser Vaterland (Ri- ograndenser’ Fatherland), which had been circulating since 1903.

A second type of almanac was charac­terized by a historical perspective on events and a religious overtone. These al­manacs, in fact, propagated religious doc­trines. Such periodicals carried a strong didactic-pedagogical and moralizing tone and provided moral and religious guidance to families. One of the first such almanacs was Der Familienfreund Katholischer Hauskalender und Wegweiser (The Friend of the Family: Catholic Home Calendar and Signpost, 1912—1918; 1920—1942). The very first volume was arranged by Leopoldo Petry, but after the creation of the Volksverein fur die Deutschen Katho- liken (Association of German Catholics) in Rio Grande do Sul in 1912, this associ­ation took over the responsibility for this publication in 1915. It was produced by Hugo Metzler. in Porto Alegre, the printer of the Deutsches Volksblatt (German Popu­lar News), which had been created by Je­suits in 1871.

Protestant readers were targeted by the Kalender fur die deutschen evangelischen Gemeinden (Calendar for German Protes­tant Communities, 1922-1941), which was printed in Porto Alegre by Mercantil Tipografia under the supervision of the re­gional synod. Several pastors functioned as editors for this almanac, among them Franz Sauer, Hermann Dohms, Rudolf Becker, Karl Heinrich Oberacker, and Erich Knapper. Following the same con­cept was the Luther-Kalender fur Su- damerika (Luther Calendar for South America, 1925-1941), printed in Porto Alegre by Casa Publicadora Concordia. Among its editors were Pastor Ludwig Kaminski, Pastor Albert Lehenbauer (from the United States), and Pastor G. Kramer (from Guatrache, Argentina). The Ameri­can pastor W. Schelp was in charge of se­lecting the contributions, and W. Goerl, who was the administrator of Casa Publi- cadora Concordia, supervised its printing. Casa Publicadora Concordia, a publishing house connected to the Fifteenth District of the German Lutheran-Evangelic Synod of Missouri, Ohio, printed the almanac.

The third type of almanac (Heimat- kalender) was made for a specific commu­nity or region, which often was named in the title. Most of them were short lived. The very first attempt to create such an al­manac was the Deutsches Handbuchlein fur Pelotas und Umgebung fur das Jahr 1917 (German Booklet for Pelotas and Sur­roundings for the Year 1917), organized by Rudi Schafer and printed by Nelle, Herge- sell. Schafer was also the editor of the newspaper Deutsche Wacht (German Guard), which was published in Pelotas from 1914 to 1917. The almanac included an address book (names, professions, and addresses) of all German immigrants and their descendants living in Pelotas and sur­rounding areas.

Another Heimatkalender was the Illus- trierter Familien-Kalender “Siedlungshort” (Illustrated Family-Calendar “Settlement Place,” 1924-1927). Edited by Friedrich Bruggemann, who owned both a publishing house and a bookstore in Santa Cruz do Sul, this almanac provided a very idealized de­scription of the geographical and cultural peculiarities of Santa Cruz do Sul, Panambi, and communities located northeast of Rio Grande do Sul, especially Palmeira and Cas- calho, in order to attract future settlers. In addition, Bruggemann published the Neu- Wurttemberger Illustrierter Familienkalender “Siedlungshort” (New Wurttemberg Illus­trated Family Calendar, 1925—1926) in Neu-Wurttemberg (now Panambi). Using pictures and texts, it informed newly arrived immigrants about the peculiarities of and life conditions in Panambi and the settle­ments of Porto Feliz and Xingu. Der Heimatbote-Kalender fur die Deutschen Sud Brasiliens, speziell fur Central Rio Grande do Suls (The Home Messenger Calendar for the Germans of South Brazil, especially for Central Rio Grande do Suls, 1935; 1937—1938) was published in Vila Tereza with a similar goal.

In spite of this variety among al­manacs, all of them had a similar struc­ture. Besides the normal timetable for the year and general information, such as measurements, weight tables, interest rates, international currency quotation, mail and telegraphy fees concerning Brazil and other countries, and train and boat schedules and itineraries, these almanacs contained sections for specific topics.

Most popular, religious, and regional almanacs had a section usually called Jahresrundschau (Reminiscences), reserved for a summary of the national and interna­tional events of the previous year. The first almanac to have that section was Muster- reiter's. The Koseritz' Kalender and the Rotermund-Kalender added such a section only after 1900. During World War I, the almanacs used this section to cover news about the war. Another task of almanacs was to introduce readers to literature, mainly poetry, short stories, soap operas, and reminiscences or (Erinnerungen). The almanacs played an important role in pro­moting German Brazilian literature. The Koseritz' Kalender was the first periodical to publish poetry. Poets such as Adolf Ring- wald, Alfred Funke, Arthur Spindler, Carl Jansen, Ernst Niemeyer, Georg Knoll, Karl von Koseritz, Mathias Gansweidt, Wilhelm Wustrow, and Wolfgang Ammon con­tributed nearly all their works to the al­manacs published in Rio Grande do Sul. The Rotermund-Kalender, furthermore, published German authors from Ar­gentina, among them Wilhelm Rhenius and Gil Til. Musterreiter's published lyric productions by German authors from the United States, among them Konrad Krez and Konrad Nies. And the Koseritz’ Kalen- der offered literary works from German au­thors (in Germany), mainly Frida Schanz, Heinrich Sohnrey, Jeremias Gotthelf, Peter Rosegger, Ricarda Huch, Theodor Storm, and Tim Krogger.

Almanacs also included entertain­ment, such as anecdotes, jokes, cartoons, and comic strips, in the sections Heiteres (Amusing) and/or Humoristische Ecke (Amusing Corner), but the humor was not always meant to entertain. Many almanacs had a clear purpose, especially the Catholic almanacs, which showed scenes that were contrary to the religious and so­cial code of conduct. In the art of humor the Brummbar-Kalender (The Bear Calen­dar, 1931—1935; 1938) stood out. Most of its texts were written in the German di­alect spoken in the Hunsruck. It was a very popular periodical with the German im­migrants living in Rio Grande do Sul, who had come mostly from this area in Ger­many. Its playfulness was ensured by jig­saw puzzles, enigmatic letters, riddles, crosswords, and graphic enigmas, with so­lutions provided either at the end of the volume or in the following year’s almanac, a strategy to guarantee the continuing pur­chase of the periodical.

Each almanac reflected a certain set of political and religious ideas. Der neue hink- ende Teufel had a Socialist tendency. In its first years, the Koseritz' Kalender was char­acterized by its anticlerical and freethink- ing stance, as well as by discussion of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The Illustrierter Familien-Kalender published texts on theosophy and esoteric. Der Heimatbote spread ideas that belonged to the Brazilian Fascist Party of the 1930s and its committees located in Central Rio Grande do Sul. The Rotermund-Kalender and the Kalender fur die deutschen evange- lischen Gemeinden in Brasilien propagated the superiority of the German way of life. The Catholic almanacs, finally, were con­nected to the project of Catholic restora­tion, based on the Catholicism originated in Trento and reinforced by the First Vati­can Council.

Imgart Grutzmann

See also Koseritz, Karl von; Printing and Publishing; Rotermund, Wilhelm

References and Further Reading

Arndt, Karl J. R., and May E. Olson. Die deutschsprachige Presse der Amerikas, 1732—1968: Geschichte und Bibliographie. Pullach/Munchen: Verlag Documentation, 1973.

Grutzmaππ, Imgart. “‘Deus, germaπidade, patria’: a preseπςa do germaπismo no Kaleπder fur die deutscheπ evaπgelischeπ Gemeiπdeπ iπ Brasilieπ." 500 anos de Brasil e Igreja na America Meridional. Ed. Martiπ N. Dreher. Porto Alegre: EST, 2002, 308-334.

------. “O almaπaque (Kaleπder) πa imigraςao alema πa Argeπtiπa, πo Brasil e πo Chile.” Imigraςao and Imprensa. Eds. Martiπ N. Dreher, Arthur B. Rambo, aπd Marcos J. Tramoπtiπi. Porto Alegre: EST; Sao Leopoldo: Iπstituto Historico de Sao Leopoldo, 2004, 48-90.

------. “Leituras sob o ceu do Cruzeiro do Sul: Os almaπaques em lιπgua alema πo Rio Graπde do Sul (1855-1941).” As sombras do carvalho. Ed. Aπtoπio Sidekum. Sao Leopoldo: Nova Harmoπia, 2004, 177-254.

------. “O almaπaque Der Heimatbote: Historias, iπformaςδes e πotιcias em lιπgua alema.” Anais do VI Semindrio Nacional de Pesquisadores da Historia das Comunidades Teuto-Brasileiras. Eds. Isabel Cristiπa Areπdt aπd Marcos Aπtoπio Witt. Sao Leopoldo: Oikos, 2004, 160-177.

Silva, Heike Kleber da. ^ζcRepreseπtaςδes do humor πo imagiπario teuto-brasileiro.” Representaςoes do discurso teuto-catolico e a construςao de identidades. Eds. Heike Kleber da Silva aπd Isabel Cristiπa Areπdt. Porto Alegre: EST, 2000, 7-96.