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| Format | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Author, Analytic | Menze, Ernest A. |
| Title, Analytic | Benjamin Franklin Seen with German Eyes: Selective Co-optations by German Authors |
| Journal Title | Yearbook of German-American Studies |
| Date of Publication | 2001 |
| Volume ID | 36 |
| Location in Work | 29-46 |
| View Online | https://doi.org/10.17161/ygas.v36i |
| ISSN | 0741-2827 |
| Abstract | This essay examine German perceptions of Benjamin Franklin's life and work. The approach is that of an overview, letting a few representative writers come to word. Any retrospective of American influences on Germany over time will always be subject to a measure of bias, caused by the consequences of the Second World War. Notwithstanding the 'many faces' of Franklin that will be alluded to in the following, he is seen here in the main as anticipating an American pragmatism that differs markedly from the idealist preoccupations of German thought. The thesis of Franklin, endorsed here, as a teacher of democracy not heeded at a critical point in German history is informed by a decided partisanship on the author's part for the American way as pioneered and lived by the Philadelphian sage. The flaws in Franklin's character and conduct, so very much present in the critical eyes of his countrymen, tend to be overlooked by his European admirers in the light of his virtues and accomplishments. |
| Call Number | MKI Periodicals |
| MKI Terms | America in German literature/ Franklin, Benjamin/ History |