Germanisten im 'Niemandsland'. Die exilierten Akademiker und ihre Wirkung auf die amerikanische Germanistik (1933-1955)

This dissertation examines the impact of German-speaking refugee intellectuals on the field of German studies in the US between 1933 and 1955. It interweaves two separate "strands" of research: the histories of Central European academic exile and of American Germanistik.; Barely recovered from the anti-German sentiment which had swept the nation in the wake of World War I, American Germanists were unsure how to react to Nazi Germany. Those who sought to distance themselves from contemporary Germany aimed at representing the "other Germany" of Classicism and its heirs. Thus, they avoided taking a political stand regarding not only Nazism but also the growing number of refugees. As a result, exile literature was largely ignored in the curricula of the country's German departments until the late 1960s, even though some of the refugee German professors had been writers themselves before their forceful expulsion and others started writing in exile.; The majority of the refugees were assimilated Jews whom the Nazis had branded "non-Germans." Having escaped Hitler's henchmen, they were confronted by xenophobia and, once again, anti-Semitism, since most universities initially did not welcome large numbers of Jews to their student body or faculty. However, America's entry into World War II dramatically increased the demand for language expertise which not only boosted linguistic research and language teaching methodology but also enabled "outsiders" like actors, archaeologists, lawyers and writers, leftists and homosexuals to build a career as American Germanists. Many of them participated actively in the war effort and helped rebuild West Germany, which was now to become a bastion of Democracy against the raging Cold War. However, while the men embarked on often illustrious careers, similar professional success eluded most of the equally well-educated female immigrants in the highly charged atmosphere of the McCarthy-era, regardless of their publication records.; Overall, their special status as refugees for whom the United States were frequently the last resort, definitively shaped the self-conception and cultural identity of these women and men. Yet, it was precisely this specific immigrant experience which led them to their unique contributions to American Germanistik.