Through the latter half of the 19th century and into the first decade of the 20th, the City of Berlin, Ontario was a bustling industrial centre celebrating its German heritage (see Kitchener, Ontario). However, when World War I started, that heritage became the focus of considerable enmity from non-German residents within the city and throughout Waterloo County. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English, French (in some areas) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 4th 1,076,395... Bell Tower Of Old City Hall The City of Kitchener, formerly the City of Berlin (1854 – 1916), in southwestern Ontario, Canada, has a population of 190,399 (2001 census). ... World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world conflict lasting from August 1914 to the final Armistice (cessation of hostilities) on November 11, 1918. ... Waterloo County, which existed as such from 1853 to 1973, was the forerunner of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. ...

The fact that most of the original settlers of Berlin weren't directly German but were Mennonites from Pennsylvania didn't help, and the Mennonites' refusal to join the war effort (due to their pacifism) only increased tensions. The slow pace of recruitment for the local 118 Battalion led to suspicions of disloyalty. A bust of Kaiser Wilhelm, set up in Victoria Park long before the war (appropriate given that Kaiser Wilhelm was Queen Victoria's grandson), was thrown into Victoria Lake twice, and then vanished forever, possibly melted down to produce guns. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877, until her death. ...

In 1916, a movement began to change the name of the city. It did not have the support of the wider community. A contest was held to choose a new name and the results were ridiculed. [1] When news hit that Britain's Minister of War, Lord Kitchener, was killed in action off the Orkney Islands, his name was put forward as a possible replacement, and the whole matter was put up to referendum. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... The Earl Kitchener The Right Honourable Horatio Herbert Kitchenert, 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC (24 June 1850–5 June 1916) was a British Field Marshal and statesman. ... The Orkney Islands are one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and form a traditional county and Lieutenancy area, and the Orkney constituency of the Scottish Parliament. ...

The referendum itself did not give Berlin residents the option of maintaining the status quo, and anybody who spoke up against this process was viewed with suspicion. According to an article from the National Archives of Canada [2], "Those citizens who supported the status quo were immediately perceived, by those who wanted change, as being unpatriotic and sympathizers with the enemy. Violence, riots and intimidation, often instigated by imperialistic members of the 118th Battalion, were not uncommon in the months leading up to the May 1916 referendum on the issue." Library and Archives Canada (French: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is a new cultural institution created by the Parliament of Canada in 2004 (S.C. 2004, c. ...

Unable to oppose the change, the community stayed home. Only 892 people bothered to vote (Berlin's population at the time was over 15,000) and of those, just 346 were enough to change the name of the city to that of Kitchener. Following the referendum, a petition of 2000 names was sent to Queen's Park to try to stop the process, but they were turned down. The Ontario Legislature Building at Queens Park The Legislative Assembly of Ontario, is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario. ...

The name change of the City of Berlin to the City of Kitchener mirrored similar anti-German name changes in Canada and the United States, from liberty burgers to liberty cabbage, and was echoed by the anti-French sentiment in the United States early in 2003, with freedom fries. Kitchener is one of the few names that stuck during that period of anti-German sentiment, however. When the city was building its new city hall early in the 1990s, there was a small movement to change the city's name back to Berlin, but most felt that too much history had passed, and that it was time to move on. Liberty cabbage is a bowdlerization of the word sauerkraut. ... Freedom fries were famous anti-France propaganda by U.S. representatives Robert W. Ney and Walter B. Jones in 2003. ... Freedom fries was a short-lived name used by some in the United States for French fries. ...

References

1. Proposed Names For Renaming Berlin, Ontario
2. Article from the National Archives of Canada

Further reading

• Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener (a summary of Berlin's history and more details on the forced name change.
• National Archive of Canada entry
• Other Proposed Names for Berlin, Ontario
• An Editorial Comparing the Name Change to Freedom Fries