Accounts of immigrants from South Asia in Bradford have been well documented in programmes such as the BBC Yorkshire documentary, East to West. However, another wave of immigrants who came to Bradford in the 19th century and whose presence was just as strongly felt at that time and can be still seen today, should also be remembered. In 1846, George Weerth, a young German on holiday in England, described Bradford in a far from positive light in an article he wrote for a German newspaper: "In Bradford, however, you think you have been lodged with the devil incarnate. If anyone wants to feel how a poor sinner is tormented in Purgatory, let him travel to Bradford."
 | | Grand warehouses - the legacy of German merchants |
His words proved to be ironic, as by the late 1850s German merchants were coming to Bradford after hearing that the Yorkshire city was the place to be for anyone who was a textile mover and shaker. The merchants chose the area between Church Bank and East Parade because it was one of the few areas available in the late 1850s. The flat areas had been bought up faster and the area on a slope would have been available to snap up as it would not have been considered the most attractive to buy. More importantly the area was close to the great hubs of the day – Bradford's two railway stations – an absolute necessity for the transport, import and export of goods. More arrived after the severe effects caused by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. They brought into Bradford a new culture and language and spent a great deal of money constructing imposing warehouses for the storage and sale of their goods. The design of their ornate Italianate and Gothic buildings, considered controversial at the time, evokes an earlier Berlin. By 1900 this new architecture had changed the landscape of the sloping area of land and 'New Germany', as it was called then, was born. | " If anyone wants to feel how a poor sinner is tormented in Purgatory, let him travel to Bradford." | | German tourist to Bradford, 1846 |
So what legacy did the great merchants leave behind? With the industry long gone only relics of the past can be seen. Some of the wonderful architecture was demolished during the 1960s building and regeneration frenzy in Bradford. But, luckily, a unique collection of 85 buildings constructed between 1855 and 1890 still remains and makes up part of what is now a popular residential and business area. Fifty-five of these buildings are listed because of their architectural and historical importance. The German merchants from that time would be happy to know that the area now called Little Germany is still one of Bradford's busiest commercial areas, housing over 110 businesses and organisations and 3000 workers. Bradford Chamber of Commerce has also relocated here. It attracts around 100,000 visitors each year. The local authority has promoted plans to develop the area by converting the interiors of some of the historic buildings into housing, hotels and offices, while preserving the distinctive architecture.
 | | 'Little Germany is alive once more.' |
Bradford’s twinnings with Moenchengladbach and Hamm, both in Westfalen, South Germany, have produced inter-community experiences such as a joint art project between Hamm and Bradford in 2001. The Industrial Museum also includes information about the history of Little Germany in its collections. The forthcoming Delius Inspired festival taking place across the city in July will celebrate one of Bradford’s most famous sons, born in 1862 of German parentage. Frederik Delius' father became a prosperous wool trader when Bradford's wool trade was at the peak of its success. Amongst the backdrop of Bradford’s multicultural landscape, the city’s population is littered with German surnames. Names such as Schindler, Hoffmann, Hartmann, Schaefer, Koffman, Wagner, Leidenmuhler and Weber all indicate Germanic heritage. Other names were changed, as was the habit of many in fear of prejudice after both World Wars, and produced multiple variations of the original form. Müller became Mueller or Moeller. Various Schmidts chose to become Schmitt or Schmitz. The ghost of Bradford's German past is all around... and for hundreds of businesses in the area, Little Germany is alive once more and brimming with potential. Just as the German merchants would have wanted it! | 
