The monument was first commissioned in 1896 by the Schwaben-Verein, a German-American society, and finally dedicated on June 13, 1914. The statue stands both as a celebration of a German hero, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and the contributions of German immigrants in Chicago. The initial commission of the statue occurred during a period of intense German immigration to the United States, particularly to the Midwest. By the turn of the 20th century, the population of immigrants and first-generation German Americans in Chicago had reached 470,000. This was by far the city's largest ethnic group. German newspapers, clubs, churches, and theaters formed a social network that allowed for strong ethnic German ties to be maintained. The dedication of the statue in 1914 therefore occurred during a period of Chicago's history where German immigrants and their children openly engaged with their language and culture while living and working in Chicago.

Image 1: The statue's inscription 

Image 2: The memorial bench inscribed with an excerpt from Faust

Image 3: German cultural fair in Chicago early 19th century

Image 4: German Hospital

Bibliography:

https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html#:~:text=1950s%20%2D%20Between%201951%20and%201960,immigrated%20to%20the%20United%20States.&text=1970s%20%2D%20Between%201971%20and%201980,immigrated%20to%20the%20United%20StatesLinks to an external site..

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/512.htmlLinks to an external site.

https://images.chicagohistory.org/search/?searchQuery=german