Von Berlin to Kitchener – changing the name of a Canadian city

Before 1916, the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, was called Berlin. Ten years ago in 2016, colleagues from the Waterloo Centre for German Studies and I organized a panel discussion that marked the 100th anniversary of that name change. This discussion took place and was recorded in the Kitchener Public Library. Carl Zehrs, the former mayor of Kitchener, was our moderator. The well known local historian, rych mills, the history professor and my colleague at the time, Geoff Hayes, and I were the panelists.

In 1916, 75% of the population of Berlin, Ontario, spoke German. They believed they could be both – loyal to the British Crown and to the German Emperor. This got very difficult in the middle of World War I. Two separate referenda determined to change the city’s name. 100 years later, the city of Kitchener still has a sizable German minority, the name change had become a part of local lore, but also – at times – of passionate debate.

Video recording of the panel discussion on youtube

I have dug up a couple of older videos on the internet. Some of them have to do with my current thinking about AI, this one and a few others are related to my research but not to AI and language and learning. The connection, as almost always, is language …


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Author: Mat Schulze

professor, linguist, writer, blogger, manifestor Reflecting on change and complexity. Thinking about learning – learning to think. Smithing words and professing. Personal on texterium.org (creative writing), professional on pantarhei.press (language and learning, complexity and change)

2 thoughts on “Von Berlin to Kitchener – changing the name of a Canadian city”

  1. And still as dapper as about a decade ago …

    https://parenting-support.net/ https://youtu.be/iGL9Y2tTr5o?si=DhsGCb4PIkFGTmiW Confidentiality Notice:  This transmission (and/or the attached documents) may contain confidential information belonging to the sender, which is intended solely for the named recipient. Content is copyrighted. If you are not the named recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use, disclosure, duplication and/or distribution of the following contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately. Thank  you.

  2. My van / home-on-wheels was converted in Kitchener, Canada

    https://parenting-support.net/ https://youtu.be/iGL9Y2tTr5o?si=DhsGCb4PIkFGTmiW Confidentiality Notice:  This transmission (and/or the attached documents) may contain confidential information belonging to the sender, which is intended solely for the named recipient. Content is copyrighted. If you are not the named recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use, disclosure, duplication and/or distribution of the following contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately. Thank  you.

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