Parapsychology on the couch: The psychology of occult belief in Germany, c. 1870-1939

This article considers the attempts of academic psychologists and critical occultists in Germany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to construct a psychology of occult belief. While they claimed that the purpose of this new subdiscipline was to help evaluate the work of occult researchers, the emergence of a psychology of occult belief in Germany served primarily to pathologize parapsychology and its practitioners. Not to be outdone, however, parapsychologists argued that their adversaries suffered from a morbid inability to accept the reality of the paranormal. Unable to resolve through experimental means the dispute over who should be allowed to mold the public's understanding of the occult, both sides resorted to defaming their opponent. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The great errand 1939-1955

The novel was written in 2001. Description of post-war Germany from the viewpoint of a German, Fritz Meyer, who was a member of a local Nazi Youth organization in Sonneborn. He fought as a soldier and fell into the hands of the English in Northern France. He was taken to Canada as a prisoner of war. He escaped the camp and found refuge at a German family. Description of erotic encounters. Reflection on Nazi ideology. At the request of the family he returns to Germany for something subscribed as "the great errand", taking up the identity of a former American G.I. Desolation of post-war Germany. Confrontation with British emigre soldiers. Identifying with the anger of his German countrymen. Reflection on the Bible and the denial of the Jewish roots of Christianity. Creating an underground network of conspiracy with former Nazi leaders and high members of the Catholic church in order to continue the ideals of National Socialism. Donations from secret supporters abroad. Connections with the political leaders in the newly established German Republic. Revisionist history.

In Frankreich interniert - aus Frankreich entwichen 1933-1941

The author describes his escape from Nazi Germany to France together with his mother. He volunteered for the French army (Defense Nationale), but his application was rejected. After the outbreak of the war Schoenfeldt was interned in Antibes and Les Milles. Recollections of life in the internment camps. Lack of basic hygienic conditions. German invasion of France. Escape from the invading German army. Reunion with his mother. Fervent endeavors to leave France for Spain in order to escape another internment. Escape with his 76 year old mother via the Pyrenees. Arrival in Lisbon. Exit visa for America. In 1941 Herbert Schoenfeldt left with his mother for the United States.

Under Swastika and the French flag.

The memoirs were originally written for the Harvard University competition in 1940 and were translated by the author in 2001. Reflections on his childhood in Germany and Austria. His parents were both from Poland. They moved to Vienna in 1921, where his father opened a haberdashery store in the Second district (Leopoldstadt). Otto attended primary school in Czerningasse. Birth of his sister Cecile in 1924. After his failing business endeavors his father decided to move back to Germany, where the family opened a department store in Elbing, East Prussia. Otto attended Gymnasium, where he was one of only two Jewish students in his class. Growing Nazi movement among students. Summer vacations on the Baltic Sea. Private piano lessons. Hitler’s rise in Germany and life under National Socialism. Bar mitzvah in 1933. Anti-Jewish boycotts. His father fled to Vienna in order to escape a rounding up of Jews. The family followed soon after to Austria. Otto attended Gymnasium in the Zirkusgasse and started to work as a tutor. Member of a youth group and hiking tours in the mountains. Recollections of the Anschluss in 1938. Fervent attempts to obtain an exit visa for the United States, where they had a relative in New York. Description of discriminations and frequent attacks on Jewish friends and relatives in the weeks after the Anschluss. Otto was picked up by Nazi stormtroops. He was forced to hold up an anti-Jewish sign and was walked up and down, receiving beatings and spittings in front of a jeering crowd. Detailed account of the atmosphere within the Jewish population. The Gymnasium Zirkusgasse was transferred into a Jewish school. Frequent attacks of Hitler Youths on the students. Preparations for the “Matura” despite the turmoil. In June of 1938 his father was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp. After passing the final exams, Otto planned on leaving the country illegally, since he was subject to the Polish quota for the United States with

Dreiundsechzig 1933-2005

Irene Runge wrote 14 books so far. This one was written for the occasion of her 63rd birthday - instead of a speech, it was printed and delivered to 63 of her friends. The book is a memoir, and jumps back and forth in time. It consists mostly of personal memories and anecdotes, but there is also an essay-style to it, with very reflective passages and analyses. It is divided into many chapters, which also resemble diary entries. Irene Runge is a member of the "second generation". She was born in the New York exile, but her parents moved back to Germany after the war, during a climate in the USA, which made it very difficult for sympathisers with the communist party. Her memories give rich insight into the life as an emigrant in New York, but also as re-emigrant in Germany. She writes about the their disappointments with the evolving German Democratic Republic (GDR), Eastern Germany, experiences, which repeated again in 1989/1990, when the reunification with West Germany took place. The year 1989 had practical consequences for her private life--she lost her job at the university, because her past seemed not compatible. She discusses the PDS, the party which evolved from the communist party of Eastern Germany, Berlin after the "Wende" (reunification), and life in Berlin after the reunification. At one point she asks whether the current Turkish-Muslim community in Berlin could be comparable to the living conditions of the Jewish community in the 1930. This is a rare memoir documenting many recent aspects of German-speaking Jewry.

In search of Gustav: The story of the Lilienfeld (later Lynfield) family covering the last 200 years 1800-1920

This is the first of three books about the history of Geoffrey Lynfield's family. It is about four Lilienfeld brothers--Geoffrey Lynfield's grandfather and his brothers. They were born in the Jewish enclave of Marburg and ended up in South Africa when and where the first diamonds were discovered. The manuscript also includes photographs and documents.

Comparing Notes 1918-1991

Memoir by Pierre Ferrand, written in 1992, including recollections of his meeting with Alfred Doeblin in the freight car of a military transport leaving occuppied Paris in 1940 for Cahors, information on Ferrand's family which Ferrand believes is portrayed in Doeblin's "Schicksalsreise," critical comments on Doeblin's work and character, and information on Ferrand's father's work as Advisor on German Affairs for the French government and on the family's emigration to the United States; newspaper clipping of 1991 with letter to the editor on Frederick the Great by Pierre Ferrand.

[Childhood memories of Berlin, Rhineland, Holland] 1933-1945

Childhood memories of Berlin, Rhineland, Holland; emigration to United States in 1936; impressions of New York; life in Paso Robles, California; memories of his mother; reflections on life of mother.

Walter, Greta and Karl Loewenstein Collection. 1821-2004 Bulk: 1933-1989

This collection holds papers of members of the Loewenstein family, especially Walter and Karl Loewenstein. Among the papers here are examples of Walter Loewenstein's writing, documentation of life in Rietberg in Westphalia (Germany) during the late 1930s and early 1940s, and correspondence concerning the fate of several family members during this time. Papers relating to Karl Loewenstein focus on his wartime activities. The genealogy of the Brandenstein family is also represented here along with a few papers of other family members. The collection consists of unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, official and restitution documentation, notebooks and notes, genealogical research, and fliers.

Une comparaison entre l’utilisation des troupes africaines par la France et l’Allemagne pendant la Première Guerre mondiale

Pendant la Première Guerre mondiale, les puissances occidentales étaient obligées d’utiliser toutes leurs ressources afin de vaincre. Dans les colonies allemandes, les troupes coloniales, la Schutztruppe, la plupart étant des Africains noirs, avaient la responsabilité de défendre les colonies contre tout envahisseur. Pour sa part, la France craignait, depuis la fin de la guerre franco-allemande, l’écart démographique vis-à-vis de l’Allemagne. Elle a finalement pris la décision de renforcer ses troupes par des soldats africains, les Tirailleurs sénégalais étant les plus nombreux. Ce mémoire vise à analyser et à comparer le recrutement et le déploiement dans les deux cas, particulièrement l’idéologie qui soutenait ce recrutement, les relations entre Africains et Européens pendant la guerre, la contribution des Africains à l’effort de guerre, ainsi que les conséquences de la visibilité accrue des Africains dans la société européenne. En général, nous pouvons remarquer d’importantes ressemblances entre les deux cas, en particulier le fait que l’utilisation de troupes coloniales a eu pour fonction de justifier leurs politiques coloniales et de condamner celles de leur adversaire.

Von "weiblichen Vollmenschen" und Klassenkämpferinnen

Zusammenfassung zur Inaugural-Dissertation: Von „weiblichen Vollmenschen“ und Klassenkämpferinnen – Frauengeschichte und Frauenleitbilder in der proletarischen Frauenzeitschrift „Die Gleichheit“ (1891-1923). Die wissenschaftliche Bedeutung, die der SPD-Frauenzeitschrift „Die Gleichheit“ (1891-1923) als Quelle der Geschichte der Frauenbewegung zukommt, spiegelt sich weder in Darstellungen zur Geschichte der SPD noch in der Geschichtsschreibung der deutschen Frauenbewegung wider. Auch ist die „Gleichheit“, Presseorgan der organisierten proletarischen Frauenbewegung Deutschlands und der Sozialistischen Fraueninternationale, bisher kaum Gegenstand einer umfassenden publizistischen Analyse gewesen. Es galt daher, zumindest das Hauptblatt der „Gleichheit“, die an ihr beteiligten Personen, ihre Strukturen und ihr Selbstverständnis möglichst detailliert und anhand publizistischer Kriterien darzustellen. Wandlungen ihres Erscheinungsbildes, ihrer editorischen und personellen Strukturen oder ihres Seitenumfangs markieren entscheidende Wendepunkte der deutschen Politik während des deutschen Kaiserreichs und der Weimarer Republik. Ihr Niveau lag deutlich über dem einer allgemeinen Frauenzeitschrift, eines Mitteilungs- oder Unterhaltungsblattes. Ihr Ziel war es, sowohl politisches Schulungsblatt für die engagierten Genossinnen als auch Agitationsmittel für die indifferenten Proletarierinnen zu sein. Inwieweit sie mit dieser Zielsetzung erfolgreich war, kann jedoch selbst die große Zahl ihrer Abonnements (der Höchststand lag 1914 bei 124.000 Exemplaren) nicht validieren. Tatsächlich ließ gerade der von ihrer langjährigen Redakteurin Clara Zetkin (1857-1933) angestrebte hohe intellektuelle Anspruch die „Gleichheit“ jedoch nicht zu einem Medium der Massen werden. Im Mai 1917 entschied sich der SPD-Parteivorstand, der dem Burgfrieden abträglichen, konsequent sozialistischen und internationalistischen Haltung Zetkins keine öffentliche Plattform mehr zu geben und entließ sie aus der Redaktion. Die Leitung der „Gleichheit“, die auch bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt durchaus keine „One-Woman-Show“ war, oblag schließlich bis zu ihrem letztmaligen Erscheinen im September 1923 noch einigen weiteren Redakteurinnen und Redakteuren (Marie Juchacz (1879-1956), Heinrich Schulz (1872-1932), Clara Bohm-Schuch (1879-1936), Elli Radtke-Warmuth (?-?) und Mathilde Wurm (1874-1935)). Deren Tätigkeit für die „Gleichheit“ wurde jedoch bisher kaum wissenschaftlich reflektiert. Dies gilt auch für die ausgesprochen internationale Zusammensetzung oder die männlichen Mitglieder des MitarbeiterInnenstabes. Indem sie sich selbst in der Tradition und als Teil eines Netzwerkes deutscher Frauen­öffentlichkeit („Die Frauen-Zeitung“ (1849-1852), „Die Staatsbürgerin“ (1886) und „Die Arbeiterin“ (1890-1891)) sah und indem sie besonders mittels frauen­geschichtlicher und frauenbiographischer Inhalte das Selbstbewusstsein ihrer Leserinnen zu fördern versuchte, betrieb die „Gleichheit“ gezielt Frauengeschichtsschreibung. Zahlreiche Artikel porträtieren Frauen aus Geschichte und Gegenwart und stellen in ihrem elaborierten Stil „Typen“ bzw. „Vorbilder“ dar. Um die Frage beantworten zu können, welche Frauen der Geschichte und welche ihrer Charaktereigenschaften von der „Gleichheit“ als vorbildlich für Sozialdemokratinnen erachtet wurden, wurden die biographischen Artikel zu 173 Frauen nach Analyse ihrer Inhalte und ihres Duktus vier Frauenleitbildern zugeordnet. Die Kategorisierung der einzelnen Frauenleitbilder „weiblicher Vollmensch“, „sozialistische Mutter“, „sozialistische Ehefrau“ und „Klassenkämpferin“ lehnt sich wiederum an den von Zetkin bereits 1898 veröffentlichten Artikel „Nicht Haussklavin, nicht Mannweib, weiblicher Vollmensch” (Die Gleichheit, Jg. 08/ Nr. 02/ 19.11.1898/ S. 1.) an. Sämtliche frauenbiographischen Artikel appellieren an die „Gleichheit“-Leserinnen, die oft selbst gesetzten Grenzen ihrer Handlungs – und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten zu sprengen. Die sich daraus ableitenden Identifikationsangebote waren somit nicht auf dem Reissbrett ent­worfen, sondern basierten auf geschichtlicher Erfahrung und antizipierendem Bewusstsein. Diese Leitbilder versuchten, Realität und Utopie miteinander zu verbinden und konnten daher kaum frei von Widersprüchen sein. Wie die „Gleichheit“ selbst, so blieben auch ihre Ansätze politischer Frauen­bildung teilweise zwischen revolu­tionärem Umsturz und traditioneller Kontinuität gefangen. Indem sich die „Gleichheit“ historischer Vorbilder bediente, machte sie jedoch konkrete Ansprüche geltend: Sie forderte den weiblichen Anteil an Geschichte, an politischer Macht und am öffentlichen Bewusstsein.

Dresden as Opferstadt? : the politics of commemorating destruction, 1985-2005

Using public remembrance of the controversial WWII firebombing of Dresden as its case study, the thesis probes the politics of war memory and commemoration. It argues that before, during, and after Germany's reunification, Dresden was portrayed as a, if not the, leading paradigm of German wartime loss and suffering.