(English: The German Canadian; originally , English: The German Canadian and News Messenger) was a German-language weekly newspaper published in Berlin, Canada West (now Kitchener, Ontario), from 1841 to 1865. The was founded in January 1841 by Heinrich "Henry" Eby, son of Berlin's founder Benjamin Eby. It was among Upper Canada's first German-language newspapers and was the only one published in British North America from September 1841 through January 1848, during which time it was widely read across Canada.
In the 1840s, Canada West experienced an influx of German immigrants who left Europe due to social and political upheaval. The directed its coverage towards the interests of these new immigrants, focusing on European politics and social happenings, especially those of Germany. Regarding Canadian politics, the newspaper was a reliable supporter of the Reform Party. As most new immigrants were artisans rather than farmers, readers demanded German prose and poetry, and the newspaper supplemented its political coverage with literary content.
Across its twenty-four year history, the newspaper went through numerous owners and editors. The instability which characterized its management left it unable to easily cope with competition. In 1859, the head of the s mechanical department, , abruptly left the newspaper to found the competing Berliner Journal. The folded in January 1865, with attempted revivals in the late 1860s failing quickly.
Background
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Waterloo Township in Upper Canada was primarily made up of Mennonites from Pennsylvania. With an influx of European immigrants to Upper Canada beginning in the 1820s, the presence of this German-speaking population attracted German settlers. As the third-largest immigrant group to Canada in the nineteenth century after the English and French, German publications were in high demand. The publications faced numerous obstacles to their success, including a short supply of German printers and typesetters. As well, most news items needed to be translated into German from English, a labour-intensive process, especially when dealing with more technical subjects.
Canada Museum und Allgemeine Zeitung
In 1835, Heinrich Wilhelm Peterson established in the hamlet of Berlin, Waterloo Township. As Upper Canada's first German-language weekly newspaper, the publication predated Berlin's first English newspaper by 18 years. Born in Quakenbrück, Duchy of Oldenburg, on 27 May 1793, Peterson's parents migrated to Baltimore, Maryland when he was two years old. Arriving in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in March 1803, he operated several German publications in Pennsylvania in the 1810s and 1820s before moving to Berlin in 1832. Wanting to start another newspaper, but finding himself with little available capital, he relied on help from around 140 friends, 51 of whom became shareholders in the newspaper. After a printing press was transported from Pennsylvania to Berlin via oxen, he printed, published and edited the first issue of , appearing on 27 August 1835. His first apprentice, Heinrich Eby, the son of bishop and Berlin-founder Benjamin Eby, assisted in the production, printing a poem by the German poet Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart.
The presence of the in Berlin helped to emphasize the town's status as the centre of Upper Canada's German population. The newspaper ran pieces advocating for Berlin to be the township's "district town", while subscribers hoped it would help to preserve their language and traditional values. Peterson became increasingly active in the community, leaving him with less time to sustain the publication of the . He sold the German part of his printing business to Heinrich Eby, who had by that time been apprenticing under Peterson as a printer for four years. The final issue of the ran on 18 December 1840, with Peterson recommending Eby and Enslin's new German language newspaper, , to all subscribers.