Max Kade Institute Library Search

Use the above window to search all fields. Otherwise, search individual fields below.
Please note: In many of the bibliographic records, MKI has not used umlauts (ä, ö, ü) or the letter ß. Try searching both for umlauts and for ae, oe, or ue, and ss.

FormatJournal Article
Author, AnalyticWilbers, Christian
Title, AnalyticSaxon? German? American? Negotiating Germanness and Belonging in the United States, 1935–1939
Journal TitleGerman Studies Review
Date of PublicationFeb. 2016
Volume ID39
Issue ID1
Location in Work81-98
View OnlinePDF
AbstractUsing a series of letters written by Saxon immigrants living in the United States during the 1930s, this article complicates prevailing views about German ethnic consciousness after World War I. The author argues that immigrants, far from simply being “assimilated” Americans, continued to draw upon their heritage to negotiate challenges unique to their particular group. Subjected to pressures from increasingly exclusive German and American nationalisms, they tried to define Germanness as compatible with the “American Way of Life,” even though that eventually proved to be impossible.
Call NumberDigital file (PDF)
MKI TermsGerman Americans/ Ethnic identity/ 20th century/ Emigration and immigration (Germany-US)/ Letters/ Saxony