Because it seemed as though she was born and raised in America...and even if both her parents were German she would still have an American accent.
And one other thing that seemed strange to me....
Little Ruth had dark hair but in the pictures of her as a child she had Blonde hair...did i miss something?
The only reason I can imagine is because the actress is in fact German and possibly her accent is too strong to cover or act over.
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IrishEMT has the correct answer: Maria Schrader (aka "Hannah") is German, and speaks English with a German accent.
As for bilingual children, they adopt the accent of the community in which they live, in particular, the accents of the other children in that community. In large foreign-language communities, for example, where one hears only Spanish on the streets, in the stores, on the playgrounds, etc., the children of these communities grow up speaking English with a Spanish accent.
However, there are no similar all-German communities in New York. Thus, Hannah should've spoken English with an American accent. This has indeed been my experience with native speakers of German who have grown up in the States: they speak without an accent in either German or English.
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Not always. Besides, what you call a German accent is what can happen if the child "blends" the local vernacular --think NY--with that of the Parent. My Dad was second generation German and I a grew up in East Texas. I do not sound much like the average East Texan, except when I choose.
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