How do you prove that you are a true American? Especially if you’re of German descent and your country is engaged in a desperate struggle with your ancestors’ homeland?

Historian Petra DeWitt explores the dilemma of German Americans who, at the time of World War I, made up one of the largest and most prosperous ethnic groups in Missouri. But with America’s involvement in the war, the loyalty of those citizens often was called into question and they endured government attacks on their culture and history – including an effort to ban the German language in Missouri.

DeWitt teaches history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.

Watch at c-span.org