At the onset of the Great War in 1914, Chicago was a town of imigrants whose talents and skills were reflected in the European-inspired restaurants and hotels.

Evidence of anti-German sentiment during wartime can be seen among nearly every major hotel in Chicago, either by display of the United States flag (left), or the renaming of restaurants, dining rooms, and even entire hotels.

The tradition continued during World War II, when Chicago's hotels once again demonstated their dedication to Uncle Sam. The Chicago Beach hotel was even converted to an Army hospital to help the Allied cause.

This comic card (right) shows the sentiment many Chicagoans during the Great War. Kaiser Wilhelm II, and all things German were considered the enemy. The card shows a U.S. doughboy knocking out the Kaiser with a poem to the soldiers that reads:

"We miss you at home like the dickens, We hope you are happy and well, And when you get hold of the Kaiser, Just give him particular hell."

The word "hell" has been censored, as an offensive explative at that time.

Chicago's Kaiserhof Hotel had an unpopular German name that had to be changed in wartime: the name "Kaiserhof" meaning literally the "home of the Kaiser."

At the outbreak of war, the owners of the Kaiserhof who had recently added on to their hotel nearly tripling its size, renamed their building the "New Kaiserhof Hotel." The name, however, had to go, and a new name was chosen, the "Hotel Atlantic."

The name "Kaiserhof" was repainted on the side of the building (left) for all to see and now it was officially the "Atlantic."

The Kaiserhof's famous "Italian Garden" restaurant was renamed the "Winter Garden" and the "Bauern Stube" restaurant was now referred to as the "Ladies' Cafe."

As a way to save money for its name change, the Atlantic simply recycled numerous post cards and overprinted the cards with the new name "Hotel Atlantic" (left).

In some cases, a sticker was affixed over the old name, with a new "Stop At Hotel Atlantic Chicago" logo design.

The name "Atlantic" certainly would have been more palatable to its American guests, and it complimented the name of another venerable Chicago hotel across town called the "Grand Pacific Hotel."

The La Salle Hotel boasted numerous European-inspired rooms, but during the First World War, the one fatality was the "German Room" Restaurant.

Like the Kaiserhof, the LaSalle conserved the old postcards and printed over the top of the originals. In the case of the La Salle, the "German Room" became the "Dutch Room" (right).

The Morrison Hotel updated their main lobby and showed their patriotism during wartime by displaying a large American flag (left) at the check-in counter.

Above the large flag are two more small flags perched among some greenery.

The Bismarck Hotel changed its German name to the "Randolph Hotel" during the WWI and then back to the name Bismarck at war's end.

During the second world war, the Bismarck again demonstrated their patriotism. This 1942 postcard of the Bismarck Lobby (right) shows a colorful red, white and blue color scheme with a giant flag, and patrons dressed in patriotic colors.