by Roger Humbke
[English Version]
As a teenager and for the rest of my life I have been proud to be of German Ancestry despite World War I and World War II.
Two of my grand parents were born in Germany and all four of my great-grandparents were born in Germany. My father and mother both had German Fathers and were born on a homesteads in the Verdun District 12 miles West of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. I do not remember hearing anyone speak German at home and never a mention about the family left behind when my great paternal grandparents immigrated to the United States and then Alberta. Verdun School was originally called New Berlin, but the name was changed to Verdun as some were scared it would be burned down during the first world war.
I realized I must have had more relatives from Germany fighting in the two World Wars than Canadian relatives and learned not to talk about Germany in Canada at that time. Dad never mention anything about this topic as we grew up, but I developed a pride in being German and our history/culture. As a youth watching war movies, I did not want to see German soldiers portrayed as stupid and not human but kept it to myself. Hitler was a very bad man and crazy, yet most German people were normal. How should one reconcile all this as even if they love studying history and the past World Wars. the World is glad that Hitler was defeated, but many are still proud to be of German Ancestry. At age 81, I have never been to the home that still bears the HUMBKE name in the village of Windheim, NW Germany.
WINDHEIM, GERMANY
Ernst Humbke Sr. was an adventurous, risk taking, entrepreneur at heart and in 1913 took his family to Edmonton where he opened a store (confectionary or general). Business may have been okay, to begin with, but because of a growing animosity toward citizens of German ancestry the business was a failure and the three Humbke girls suffered from discrimination at the “North West Edmonton School” at 6902-128 Ave. Edmonton. The girls attended that school from Jan. 1913 to Mar. 1914 before returning to the New Berlin School (soon to be renamed Verdun School) to finish their elementary education.
VERDUN SCHOOL
(New Berlin School prior to WW I)
下面是简体中文（中国大陆通用）翻译，语气忠实原文，适合直接粘贴在英文版本下面用于 WordPress。
《你为自己的德国血统感到自豪吗？》
发表于：2026年1月6日
作者：Roger Humbke
【中文版本】
从青少年时期起，直到我的一生，我一直为自己拥有德国血统而感到自豪，尽管经历了第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战。
我的四位祖父母中，有两位出生在德国，而我的四位曾祖父母全部出生在德国。我的父亲和母亲的父亲都是德国人，他们出生在阿尔伯塔省韦塔斯基温（Wetaskiwin）以西约12英里的维尔登地区（Verdun District）的农庄上。我不记得在家里听到有人说德语，也从未听人提起那些在我曾祖父母移民到美国、后来又来到阿尔伯塔之前留在德国的家人。维尔登学校最初名为“新柏林学校”（New Berlin School），但在第一次世界大战期间，由于有人担心学校会被烧毁，学校名称被改为“维尔登学校”（Verdun School）。
我逐渐意识到，在两次世界大战中，来自德国、与我有亲缘关系的人，可能比加拿大亲属还要多。因此，在那个年代，在加拿大谈论德国并不是一件被鼓励的事情。父亲在我们成长过程中从未提起过这个话题，但我自己却逐渐形成了对德国身份以及德国历史与文化的自豪感。年轻时观看战争电影，我并不希望看到德国士兵被描绘成愚蠢或没有人性的形象，但这些想法我一直放在心里。希特勒是一个非常邪恶、疯狂的人，但大多数德国人其实都是普通而善良的人。即使热爱历史、研究世界大战，人们又该如何面对这样的矛盾呢？世界庆幸希特勒被击败，但同时，仍然有许多人为自己的德国血统感到自豪。直到81岁，我仍未去过德国西北部温德海姆（Windheim）村——那个至今仍保留着“HUMBKE”家族名字的地方。
德国 · 温德海姆（WINDHEIM, GERMANY）
Ernst Humbke Sr. 是一位富有冒险精神、敢于承担风险、具有企业家气质的人。1913年，他带着家人前往埃德蒙顿，并在那里开设了一家商店（可能是糖果店或杂货店）。起初生意也许还不错，但由于社会上对德国血统人士的敌意不断加剧，这门生意最终失败了。Humbke家的三个女儿在埃德蒙顿西北学校（North West Edmonton School，地址：6902-128 Avenue）就读期间，遭受了歧视。她们从1913年1月到1914年3月在该校学习，之后返回“新柏林学校”（不久后更名为维尔登学校），完成了小学教育。
维尔登学校（VERDUN SCHOOL）
（第一次世界大战前称为“新柏林学校”）
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