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I can only speak for myself and the community that I grew up in (town in Pennsylvania), but I knew German as a small child but was forced to only use English. As a very small child I knew both the Pennsylvania German dialect and English and they intermingled, and even after I was made to use proper English I started to learn German again in high school and it was quite easy for me because I realized I already knew it.
Many Americans don't know of their German heritage BECAUSE German heritage is such a part of American culture. The largest ethnic group in America is German-American and that is the truth. The largest amount in the south is actually English, in the North it is German. And contrary to what others are saying, most people did not start mixing with other ethnic groups before the early 20th century. Especially in small communities outside of large cities. If you were Irish you were expected to marry Irish, or Italian with Italian. And this of course was true of religions too. If you were catholic you married catholic, but this changed in the early 20th century.
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