Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History

Acknowledgments

xi Acknowledgments This book has much to say about the generous spirit of the Christmas mood, and perhaps it was contagious: many friends, colleagues, and institutions supported my work on this book in many ways, and it is a real pleasure to thank them here. It is impossible to note everyone who helped along the way, but I will always recognize this as a collective project. Any errors that remain, despite this gracious assistance, are of course my own. A number of institutions provided the research and travel support that made this book a possibility. A grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) allowed me to spend eighteen months in Germany conducting research. I also received invaluable aid from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History at Georgia State University; the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); the DAAD (again); the American Historical Association; the Council of European Studies; and the German Historical Institute. I am deeply indebted to those who read and commented on substantial portions of the book or gave other invaluable support. Rudy Koshar and Paul Lerner reviewed the manuscript for the University of North Carolina Press, and their sage advice pushed me to consider the full implications of the history of German Christmas. Peter Fritzsche has been on board since the beginning and read drafts “again and again”; his mentorship strengthened the study in countless ways. Alf Lüdtke and Bernd Wegner made fundamental contributions to this work as it was taking shape, and Alon Confino, who supported this project early and often, interceded at crucial moments along the way. Doris Foitzik, whose own book on German Christmas I deeply admire, shared copies of her original sources, an act of remarkable generosity that I will long remember; Timothy C. Dowling did the same. Sven xii Acknowledgments Reichardt, Katherine Pence, Rolf Dieter Müller, and Christian Gerlach also shared sources. I am grateful for permission to reprint the revised portions of this book that previously appeared in Central European History and Radical History Review. I am also thankful for the encouragement and help extended by Chuck Grench, Jay Mazzocchi, Katy O’Brien, and the rest of the team at the University of North Carolina Press. Archivists and librarians across Germany facilitated my research. The friendly interest of Katerina Rentmeister at the Children’s Book Section of Stabi-Ost/Berlin encouraged me in the early days of my research. I was amazed and delighted when Dr. Peter Kunzl of the Evangelisches Zentralarchiv (EZA) in Berlin dug up an entire file labeled “Weihnachten.” His help, and that of Dr. Peter Beier and Barbara Lehman, made the EZA the friendliest archive in all of Germany. Sabine Schumann at the Bildarchiv-Preussicher Kulturbesitz went out of her way to make sure I had the best possible illustrations for the book. The congenial staff of the Bundesarchiv, the Bayerische Hauptstaatsarchiv, the always astonishing Deutsches Bibliothek in Leipzig, and the other archives and institutions where I worked provided indispensable assistance. Over the years, colleagues and friends read drafts and offered encouragement of many kinds. Knowing Karsten Borgmann, Eve Duffy, Ingo Haar, LeeAnna Kieth, Anna Minta, Brian Plane, Sven Reichardt, and Maria Paz Squella made my stay in Germany exciting and productive. When I was working in Atlanta, Jeanette Brabanetz and Alexandra Pfeiff tracked down missing materials in Germany. Mike Allen, Jennifer Evans, David J. Fine, Michael Galchinsky, Giles Knox, Tom Lekan, Rob Nelson, Stephen Nissenbaum , Jack Santino, and Anthony Steinhoff read and commented on chapter drafts, and their constructive criticism greatly improved the book. I’ve also benefited from more informal exchanges with Omer Bartov, Andrew Bergerson , Benita Blessing, P. C. “Buddy” Boyd, Paul Breines, Belinda Davis, Wilhelm Deist, Andrew Donson, Heide Fehrehnbach, David Goldberg, Jeffrey Herf, Gerhard Hirschfeld, Jennifer Jenkins, Eric Jensen, Brett Klopp, Jennifer Kopf, Urte Lietz, Anne Lipp, Christa Lorenz, Denise Messick, George Mosse, Armin Nolzen, Till van Rahden, Cory Ross, Richard SteigmannGall , and Eric Weitz; all shared insightful ideas about contacts, sources, and interpretations. The history department at Georgia State University (GSU) has offered a stimulating environment for my intellectual endeavors. Isa Blumi, Kevin Baker, Duane Corpis, Denise Davidson, Ian Fletcher, Richard Laub, Jared Acknowledgments xiii Poley, and Christine Skwiot all read chapters; their comments pushed me to think of Christmas in new ways. I’m also grateful...