Armistice Day, November 11, 1918

Many of Globeville’s immigrants came to America during the 1890s to escape the political unrest, constant territorial wars and changing borders in Europe. Young men wished to avoid conscription -  a six-year term in the military of the empire that had absorbed and erased your nation. But war eventually caught up with Globeville, exploding during the summer of 1914 following the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. By August 1914, all Europe had chosen sides and mobilized their forces, hoping to settle old scores and regain territory lost in recent conflicts. The United States wanted to remain neutral and so did Globeville. But by 1917, Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare had destroyed Allied, neutral and civilian ships, cost innocent lives and changed public opinion. When Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, the announcement was met with enthusiasm, patriotism and romantic notions. For some Globevillians, the war offered an opportunity to prove that they were loyal citizens. Others sought adventure or wanted to fight for their adopted country. By the time the Armistice was reached, the world and the Globeville neighborhood would be forever changed. 
On November 11,1918, Poles in Globeville felt enormous pride in the restoration of their homeland. Their country had ceased to exist for more than a century after Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia carved it into three sectors in 1792.
Yugoslavia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, was created in 1918.
The Russian Revolution in March 1917 meant Russia was out of the war and helped the allies. But it meant Holy Transfiguration lost contact with Orthodox Church officials, credentials and records. The church had been funded by Czar Nicholas II and lost its financial backing.
After the Revolution, German Russians were caught in a new conflict - regarded with suspicion by Bolsheviks, by Germans and the Allies. Their lands were seized by the new collectives and many were imprisoned in Siberia.
Although America had been triumphant, attitudes had changed and Americans turned inward. There were severe restrictions on immigration after the war, and citizens of Globeville found it difficult to bring family members to this country. Many lost touch with relatives and friends. The war also fostered suspicion of anyone who might be a Communist, Socialist, or anarchist. A Red Scare in the 1920s questioned the loyalty of Globeville’s people. By the end of the Great War, seeds were already planted for the next war.

Armistice Day Parade, 1918 Denver Public Library

Globeville and The Great War

“Globeville Smiles Despite War That Rages in Europe” proclaimed the August 2, 1914 headline in the Denver Post. The Post continued, “There are 600 foreigners working side by side at the Globe Smelter. Austrians, Servians, Prussians, Bohemians, Greeks, Italians, Germans, Montenegrans, almost every nation of Europe is represented. Officials at the Globe Smelter felt no little anxiety when hostilities broke out between Austria and Servia[sic]." There was an expectation that old national loyalties would lead to confrontations and violence in the community.
But Globeville's immigrants felt no loyalty to Germany, Austria-Hungary, or Russia, the empires that had annexed and suppressed their native countries. Many had come to America to avoid the constant wars of Europe, and to avoid mandatory service in the army of their oppressors. The Post elaborated, “John Domitsky, an intelligent Austrian, declared, ‘The foreigners in this community came here to stay . . . these fellows are much more interested in earning their bread and butter here in Globeville than they are in fighting over the murder of a crown prince and a princess in Austria or Servia’.” 1
There were unavoidable repercussions of the war, however, as travel and communication between the Old Country stopped. In February, 1914, five year old John Werner, his sisters and his mother arrived from Sussanental, Russia and joined his father in Longmont with the hope that their grandparents and uncles would join them in September. They never saw rest of the family again.
As the war continued, there were other consequences. Reports of German atrocities were circulated and anti-German feeling reached a fever pitch in the nation. People of German heritage were suspected of being disloyal or subversive and many people were harassed. “English only” legislation was enacted in Denver, German books were burned, and classes in the German language were no longer taught in the Denver public schools. By the time the United States entered the war in April 1917, the suspicion of all things German had reached Globeville.
The fact that worship services in the three Volga-German churches in the community were conducted in the German language had never been an issue before, but war hysteria called attention to the situation. When the patriotism of the congregation was questioned, minister John Strohecker and Matthew Eagleton, the principal of Garden Place School, invited Mayor Speer of Denver and other city officials to attend a Sunday service at the First German Congregational Church. Two hours of preaching and singing must have convinced the dignitaries that there was no disloyalty in Globeville. Perhaps Matthew Eagleton pointed out that George Lauck, Henry Kilthau Jr., and John Reisbeck had enlisted in the armed forces of their adopted country, or called attention to other contributions to the war effort by the citizens of Globeville. Services continued to be held in German. 2.
The abdication of Russia's Czar Nicholas II March 2, 1917, took Russia out of the conflict and aided the Axis powers. and cut support for Globeville's Transfiguration Orthodox Church, which was funded by Czar Nicholas himself (the bells in the cathedral were a personal gift of the Czar). As the Bolsheviks gained power, Globeville's Carpatho-Russians also came under suspicion and many changed their names to sound more American. Photos of church or lodge events included large American flags as a backdrop.

Two men, Martin Clements and John Wysowatcky, would sacrifice their lives for their country as Globeville and the rest of the nation would be forever changed by the Great War.
1. “Globeville Smiles Despite War That Rages in Europe,” Denver Post, August 2, 1914

2. First German Congregational Church, Diamond Jubilee. 1894-1969. by Chester G. Krieger, Schwartz Printing Company, Denver, Colorado pg 26 

Western Slavonic members proudly display their American flag