Der Deutsche Correspondent Archive

Der Deutsche Correspondent, translated as the German Correspondent, was a German-language newspaper published in Baltimore from 1841 to 1918. Its founder and editor, German immigrant Col. Frederick Raine, was born in Minden, Prussia, on May 13, 1823. He learned the newspapers trade from his uncle Frederick Wundermann in Münster and became assistant editor of his newspaper Westfälische Zeitung (“Westphalian Newspaper”) before immigrating to Baltimore in 1840. Raine's father had immigrated to Baltimore in the 1830s and offered his son employment at his Whig campaign paper, Der Demokratische Whig (“Democratic Whig”), upon arrival.

Following the election, Frederick established Der Deutsche Correspondent, serving as owner, editor, typesetter, printer, and carrier. Though Raine had worked for his father's Whig paper, by 1841 he had become a loyal member of the Democratic Party, and the Correspondent was likewise Democratic in its views. The Correspondent contained local, national, and international news, including reports from Germany, advertisements, announcements, market prices, and works of fiction and poetry. During its nascent years, publication frequency fluctuated, but by 1848 the Correspondent had gained the footing needed to sustain daily publication. In the same year, a weekly edition began publication on Fridays.

An influx of German immigrants to the Baltimore area beginning in the 1840s contributed to the success of the Correspondent. Raine translated important government documents from the city, state, and national levels, usually within one to two days, providing a valuable service to German immigrants who were not fluent in English. He was also quick to embrace the latest printing technologies and abandoned the German method of layout and publishing, which proved to be a savvy business decision. All of these factors contributed to the Correspondent becoming the preeminent and longest lasting German newspaper in Maryland.

After successfully launching Der Deutsche Correspondent, Raine married Pamelia Bull in August 1854 and began a career in local politics, serving on the Baltimore City Council and the Maryland Electoral College. He was also a member of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland and advocated for the addition of the German language to Baltimore's public school curriculum. Raine's community leadership did not go unnoticed. Governor Oden Bowie bestowed upon Raine the honorary title of colonel in 1868 for his civic service, and in 1885 he was appointed consul-general at Berlin by President Grover Cleveland. Upon his return from Germany in 1889, Raine's health declined. Edward Raine, who had taken over the paper in the 1860s while his brother pursued a civic career, continued to edit the Correspondent after Frederick's death in February 1893. Edward's daughter Annie and longtime business manager Evan A. Heinz succeeded him in 1911.

At the height of its popularity in the 1880s and 1890s, the Correspondent circulated over 15,000 issues daily. However, the newspaper could not weather the anti-German sentiment triggered by America's entry into World War I, and it lost many of its advertisers and subscribers. Publication ceased before the end of the war with the last issue appearing on April 28, 1918. In 1919, it merged with the Bayerisches Wochenblatt (“Bavarian Weekly”) to form the new Baltimore Correspondent. In 1935, the title of the paper changed to Täglicher Baltimore Correspondent (“Daily Baltimore Correspondent”), but it reverted to the Baltimore Correspondent from 1941 until publication ceased in 1976.