Volume 26 No 2 • Spring 2017

Symposium Report: People of Faith, Voices of Tradition— Germanic Heritage Languages among Christians and Jews

Mark Louden Photo credit: Kelly Hofer Kelly credit: Photo Hutterite girls observing the process of building a dike, Manitoba, Canada

he focus of our recent the pressure to give up their heritage INSIDE MKI symposium, “People languages in favor of English, despite of Faith, Voices of Tradi- a general consensus among linguists • Message from the MKI Friends Ttion: Germanic Heritage Languages that fully one-half of the approxi- President among Christians and Jews,” which mately 7,000 languages spoken across • Friends Annual Meeting in took place on the UW–Madison the globe today are considered en- Milwaukee campus March 30–April 1, 2017, dangered, that is, at risk of no longer • Welcome New Board Members! was on North American minority being used actively in communities languages that have remained vital of speakers. • Mark Twain as a Source for for generations after immigration. What makes a language endan- Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person Speakers of Amish , gered? The majority of the world’s of Szechwan Hutterite German, Mennonite Low languages are spoken by very small German, , and populations, often indigenous people have all successfully resisted Continued on page 4 2 DIRECTOR’S CORNER

Greetings, Friends and Readers!

e at the Max Kade (GSP), America’s oldest German- ties between MKI and the German Institute can look back American organization, which Language Atlas Research Center on another successful was founded in 1764 (http://www. in Marburg, with an eye toward Wyear of work demonstrating the reach germansociety.org). Over the past organizing jointly sponsored events of MKI across Wisconsin, the nation, few years we have worked closely in the near future. and the world. Together, Antje Petty with the GSP, whose Joseph P. All in all, this has been a busy and and I gave literally dozens of presen- Horner Memorial Library is an thoroughly enjoyable year. I want tations to community groups across amazing repository of German- to close by expressing our deep the state, mainly outside of Madison. American publications. The GSP has appreciation to you, our Friends, MKI is pleased to work closely with generously donated to our Library/ for your support in so many ways. the UW Speakers Bureau (https:// Archive literally hundreds of valuable Our Beer Fest in October was again speakers.wisc.edu), whose mission materials, mainly books and copies successful, thanks not only to the is to promote the Wisconsin Idea of pamphlets, that are duplicates of generosity of the Zamzow family through direct engagement of UW Horner materials. Kevin, assisted and Bull Falls Brewery, but also the staff and faculty in the state. I en- by JoAnn Tiedemann, has done a hard work that Antje, Fran Luebke, courage our Friends who have con- wonderful job of organizing these and John Pustejovsky in particular nections with local groups, especially donations for integration into our put into the preparations. Vielen public libraries, to refer them to the collection. Speaking of the library herzlichen Dank! Speakers Bureau website for ideas for and archive, I want to express my As we approach the finish line for presenters on a range of topics at no deep gratitude to JoAnn and also to the NEH Challenge Grant on July cost to the sponsoring group. Charles James for all they do for us 1, which John addresses in his letter On the national level, Antje, Cora in helping to process new donations on the facing page, I want to extend Lee, and I all traveled to Philadelphia to our collection and organize and to you special words of gratitude for in April and made presentations interpret our unique materials. your kind generosity. Your support at the annual symposium of the Thank you! has made it possible for us to find Society for German-American In this Newsletter you will find a new and more spacious home Studies, the premier professional an extensive report on our spring in the University Club, where we organization in our field. MKI conference, “People of Faith, Voices can better succeed in fulfilling our has close, longstanding ties with of Tradition: Germanic Heritage mission. You have also helped us to SGAS. One of our stalwart MKI Languages in Christian and Jewish secure the future of our Librarian/ Friends and a past Friends Board Faith Communities.” Building on Archivist position, which, along with member, Karyl Rommelfanger, is the the momentum from this successful our Associate Director’s position, membership chair for the society and event, which would not have been is absolutely crucial to the work of played a central role in the planning possible without the support of MKI. Thank you, good Friends! We and organization of this year’s numerous campus partners and the wish you all a wonderful summer symposium, in addition to helping to Max Kade Foundation in New York, and look forward to seeing you in build the membership of the society. I will be traveling this summer to the the fall! Thank you, Karyl! University of Marburg for a month —Mark The presentations at this year’s of research and outreach. Among SGAS symposium were held at the other things I will be working with German Society of Pennsylvania colleagues there to strengthen the

3 Continued from page 1 who comprise politically weak minority groups in the countries in which they live. These languages are not often used in writing, nor do many enjoy official recognition or governmental support. The pressure on minority language users to as- similate to the language of the larger societies is therefore hard to resist. In immigration situations, language shift is the norm. In the United States and English-speaking Canada, for ex- ample, the children of non-English– speaking immigrants—including Hispanics, contrary to widespread stereotypes—typically prefer English by the time they reach adulthood. By the third generation, the loss of a heritage language is usually complete. Yet speakers of the languages rep- resented at our symposium not only have resisted a shift to English, but in certain groups the languages are thriving, with the numbers of speak- ers doubling every twenty years or so, a growth rate unmatched by any oth- er speech community on the planet. Just how this has been possible was a main question of “People of Faith,

Voices of Tradition.” Front page of Der Blatt, a contemporary Yiddish-American newspaper published in New York The key to understanding the vital- ity of the five languages we explored tion and assimilation by selectively for example, shared insights from at the symposium, whose historical adopting certain aspects of the larger her longstanding research among roots all lie in German-speaking societies in which they live without Yiddish-speaking Hasidim in North Central Europe, has to do with their compromising their connection to a America and Israel. A native speaker association with highly traditional spiritual heritage that remains at the of Yiddish herself who was born in Christian and Jewish faith communi- center of their daily lives. Germany after World War II, Miriam ties, specifically conservative Amish, Most of the presentations at the earned her doctorate in linguistics at Mennonite, Hutterite, and Ashke- symposium looked at the various Cornell University and is considered nazic Hasidic groups. Far from re- ways Amish Swiss German, Hutterite the premier expert on Yiddish spo- maining frozen in time, despite their German, Mennonite , ken by the Hasidim. Her presentation outward conservatism in dress and Pennsylvania Dutch, and Yiddish shared the different ways Yiddish is culture, these groups have all charted are all thriving today. Miriam Isaacs, used in media produced for Hasidim a middle course between preserva-

4 of all ages, including children, an with native speakers after the Second Latin America. The most active users important sign of the contemporary World War. of Plautdietsch are highly traditional vitality of the language. Another of our guests from Ger- Mennonites in isolated communities A more historical perspective on many was Heinrich Siemens, who is in Mexico, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Yiddish that underscored how the both a native speaker of Mennonite However, while the physical and language has also been lost among Low German (also known as Plaut- social isolation of these Low Ger- non-orthodox Ashkenazic Jews in dietsch) and one of the strongest man–speaking Mennonites promotes Europe and elsewhere was provided public advocates for the language. the maintenance of their heritage by Jürg Fleischer, a professor at the Heinrich, whose doctoral disserta- language, it is true that more assimi- University of Marburg in Germany. tion was on the history of Plaut- lated groups still speak Plautdietsch What most people think of as Yid- dietsch, provided a good overview as well. dish is actually a group of dialects of how the language has developed Complementing Heinrich Siemens’s spoken historically in Eastern Eu- among a group of Mennonites who presentation was that given by Chris- rope. “Western Yiddish,” however, originated in Dutch- and Frisian- topher Cox, a Plautdietsch-speaking refers to varieties that were spoken speaking northwestern Europe, but linguist at Carleton University in into the twentieth century mainly who migrated eastward into Poland Ottawa. Most of Chris’s research cen- in parts of southwestern Germany, and the Russian Empire. Today, the ters on Mennonite Low German in eastern France, and Switzerland. geographic diversity of Plautdietsch Canada, which has a long history of Jürg’s presentation focused on the speakers is somewhat comparable to Mennonite immigration from Russia, different sources we have to docu- that of Yiddish. While there are still emigration into Latin America, and ment Western Yiddish, which include many living in Russia and Central more recently back to Canada from literary and other texts written in the Asia, a number, like Heinrich’s fam- the south. His presentation focused nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ily, have settled in Germany, but most on small but highly significant differ- as well as recorded interviews made are living in North and especially ences in the varieties of Plautdietsch spoken by people living within the same communities—in some cases, the same families—in the Saskatch- ewan Valley in central Canada. Chris showed that variation across Plaut- dietsch speakers is not only a legacy of immigration history, but a marker of social differences today. Three other presentations focused on the sociolinguistic situation of groups who speak what is known popularly as Pennsylvania Dutch (PD). This language, despite its name, developed from spoken mainly in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany that were brought in the eighteenth century to colonial Pennsylvania. Steve Hartman Keiser, a linguist at Marquette University, investigated Mennonite family in Campeche, Mexico interesting patterns of variation within PD that correlate with both

5 Continued from page 5 geographic and social factors. Steve, a leading expert on the development of PD in the Midwest as it moved away from its origins in Pennsylva- nia, shared with us examples drawn from the recently completed transla- tion of the Christian Bible into PD by a committee of Midwestern na- tive speakers. All these speakers are also fluent in English, and therefore, contact with English is an impor- tant factor in how the language has changed over time. Steve addressed this topic by investigating patterns of language use among various tra- ditional (Old Order) Amish who are now employed in non–Amish owned Heinrich Siemens speaking at the conference enterprises where English is predom- inant, and among more progressive churches, such as the Beachy Amish, Lynn Marcus Miller, who is from an Josh noted, a parallel trend is under- where English has increasingly been Amish settlement in Illinois, gave a way among . He shared the incorporated in worship services. fascinating talk on how German is results of a survey he recently con- The Old Order Amish—like their used and taught in traditional com- ducted among speakers of Hutterite close spiritual cousins, the horse- munities and how the profile of the German, which revealed their enthu- and-buggy-driving Old Order Men- language might be raised through siasm for preserving their heritage nonites, who also speak Pennsylvania the efforts of groups like Lebhaftes language, encouraging its use also by Dutch—continue to use a form of Deutsch. means of written texts. standard (High) German in worship. A different aspect was offered by The presentation by Guido Seiler, Although “Amish High German” is Joshua Brown, a German linguist a professor of German linguistics quite similar to European standard at the University of Wisconsin–Eau in Munich, looked at a subgroup German, there are a number of dif- Claire, who looked at developments within the Amish who are not widely ferences, especially in pronunciation in the use of Pennsylvania Dutch known, namely the so-called Swiss and vocabulary. Since it is essential (PD) and Hutterite German. PD, Amish. The descendants of immi- for Amish and Old Order Menno- which in the past served mostly as an grants who came in the nineteenth nites to learn High German for use oral medium among the sectarians, century from Switzerland and France in worship, it is taught as a subject was once widely spoken also by non- to the Midwest, especially Indiana, in their parochial schools and by sectarian residents of rural southeast- the Swiss Amish maintain a distinct parents at home. In order to promote ern and central Pennsylvania, some identity within the larger Old Order literacy in High German, people of whom produced a sizeable body of Amish community. Their language, from mainly Amish communities, written texts. Today, sectarians com- which they call Shwitzer, is de- including a number of teachers, prise the majority of active speakers scended from Bernese Swiss German, have formed the group “Lebhaftes of the language, and they have begun although, as Guido underscored, it Deutsch” (Lively or Active German). to write in PD, producing primarily shows strong lexical and structural One of the members of the group, children’s and religious literature. As influence from Pennsylvania Dutch.

6 Guido compared Amish Shwitzer to guages and Lives.” Miriam Isaacs, portant was the friendly atmosphere a Swiss German variety spoken by Lynn Marcus Miller, and Heinrich the symposium generated. There Mennonites in the same area of Indi- Siemens were joined by Tony Wald- were numerous conversations out- ana, which is now nearly extinct. The ner, a member of a Hutterite colony side of the formal parts of the event, Mennonite variety is more conserva- in , to share some of resulting in many new friendships. tive than its “mixed” Amish coun- their life experiences related to their The diversity of our guests and at- terpart and is therefore more easily native languages and to respond to tendees was matched by the diversity comprehensible to modern Swiss questions from the audience. The of our supporters, whose generosity people, especially from the Bernese next evening, attendees were treated made the symposium possible: the region. to an hour of readings of original UW Anonymous Fund, the Center The final presentation of the sym- literature, mainly poetry, written in for German and European Stud- posium by MKI Director Mark Yiddish, Mennonite Low German, ies, the Center for European Stud- Louden tied together a number of Hutterite German, and Pennsylvania ies, the UW Lectures Committee, strands from the other presenta- Dutch. In addition to several confer- the Religious Studies Program, the tions by identifying some common ence speakers, readers included two Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish characteristics of the Christian and other colleagues from UW–Madison, Studies, the Mayrent Institute for Jewish communities that are es- Sunny Yudkoff, an assistant profes- Yiddish Culture, and the Department sential for maintaining the heritage sor in the Department of German, of German, Nordic, Slavic (all part language. Mark observed that above Nordic, and Slavic and the Center for of the UW–Madison); the Friends of all, the association of a language with Jewish Studies, and Henry Sapoznik, the Max Kade Institute; and the Max a distinct social-spiritual identity is director of the Mayrent Institute for Kade Foundation, New York. crucial to the continued health of Yiddish Culture, who both contrib- the languages of the symposium. uted readings in Yiddish. He noted that the members of each We at MKI were very happy that community had survived periods of so many people took part in the severe persecution, which reinforced symposium: we had an average of both their distinctiveness and also 50 attendees throughout. Just as im- their commitment to their faith. An- other commonality Mark discussed had to do with the lack of connection between the languages of these com- munities and an ancestral homeland in German-speaking Europe. In large part because of the persecution these Christians and Jews have endured, they have been compelled to settle in areas far distant from the homelands of their ancestors, thereby making their languages and other aspects of how they practice their faith highly “p or t a b l e .” In addition to the daytime presen- tations, the symposium featured two evening events. On Thursday, March 30, Mark moderated a panel of na- tive speaker discussants titled “Lan- Road sign in a Swiss Amish community in Indiana

7 Friends Annual Meeting 2017: An Exploration of Milwaukee’s German Art

Antje Petty

ilwaukee, Wisconsin, riches. Our day started with an hour- has often been called long guided tour of the German art the “German Athens,” collection at the MAM. Recently ren- Mreferring to a time in the nineteenth ovated and with added gallery space, century and early twentieth century, the museum now displays over 1000 when a large German immigrant additional works brought out from population contributed significantly its vaults. The German and Austrian

to the city’s social life, education, masterpieces we had a chance to view R. Glembin John collection.mam.org, credit: Photo theater, music, and the arts. As the spanned four centuries and included city grew more prosperous, the numerous mediums of artistic ex- vibrant local arts scene was enhanced pression: paintings, prints, sculp- with art collected around the world, tures, furniture, household objects, including from Germany. Many of and more. There was a walnut-veneer these works are now in the collec- cupboard from Frankfurt from the tion of the Milwaukee Art Museum early 1700s, tankards made by the Ludwig Meidner (1884–1966), Self-Portrait, 1912. (MAM) and other city museums Meissen Porcelain Manufactory in This painting inspired Marvin and Janet Fishman such as the Haggerty Museum at Dresden from the same time period, to focus their collecting on New Objectivity art. Marquette University. and a metal table clock from Augs- On May 7, the Friends held their burg dating back to the late 1500s. annual meeting in Milwaukee and On the other end of the time spec- plate Eva Hesse’s installation Right got a glimpse of some of these artistic trum, we had a chance to contem- After (1969) and Anselm Kiefer’s oil painting Midgard (1985). We also saw works representing art move- ments as varied as German Expres- sionism (Gabriele Münter), Romanti- cism (Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller), and New Objectivity (Georg Grosz, Ludwig Meidner). In short, one hour was not nearly enough to take in the MAM’s treasures, and many of us decided to return another time for a more in-depth visit. For our business meeting and dinner we moved on to the Envoy Restaurant in the historic Ambassa- dor Inn. Recently renovated and with its original Art Deco design restored, the restaurant was a beautiful and cozy venue for our event. Our day

Photo credit: collection.mam.org, P. Richard Eells Richard P. collection.mam.org, credit: Photo was capped with a lecture by Curtis Eva Hesse (1936-1970), Right After, 1969 Fiberglass installation

8 Carter, Professor of Philosophy and the time of the two World Wars. In point that focused their interest as Aesthetics at Marquette University, 1990, works from the Fishman col- collectors on a particular place and titled “German Art, American City: lection were shown at the MAM in time. The portrait was later gifted the Fishman Collection in Mil- a major exhibition entitled “From to the MAM, and it was one of the waukee’s Museums.” The founding Expressionism to Resistance: Art paintings the Friends had a chance to director of the Haggerty Museum at in Germany 1909–1936.” This show see during our museum tour. Marquette, Professor Curtis told the revitalized interest in the period Curtis Carter described how story of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New and in many of the all-but-forgotten Marvin and Janet Fishman, with Objectivity) art collection of Milwau- artists, not only in Milwaukee, but their early gift of dozens of works of kee art collectors Marvin and Jane worldwide. The more realistic art that art, were instrumental in establish- Fishman. followed the expressionists was now ing a new art museum at Marquette Marvin Fishman was a prominent acknowledged as its own art move- University in 1984. More was added Milwaukee real estate developer who ment, Neue Sachlichkeit. later, including works by artists among other things brought the How did this Wisconsin couple Georg Grosz, August Dressler, Julius NBA Basketball team the Milwaukee without formal training in the history Huther, Ludwig Meidner, Max Bucks to town in 1968. He and his of art manage to create such a sophis- Oppenheimer, and others. After wife Janet began collecting art soon ticated collection? According to Mary Marvin Fishman’s death, the couple’s after they graduated in the late 1940s Louise Schumacher of the Milwaukee remaining collection was passed on from the UW–Madison, and they Journal Sentinel (October 12, 2009), to their heirs, who sold it through- eventually turned their attention Janet once said that the answer was out the world. Dr. Carter expressed toward early 20th-century German simple: art collecting was the only regret that this historically significant art, including examples of German hobby the couple had. It began with a and unique collection was not kept Expressionism and the Weimar era. haunting self-portrait by the painter together in one place. The advan- They gathered hundreds of oil paint- Ludwig Meidner, which gripped tage, however, is that we can enjoy ings, watercolors and drawings the Fishmans when they first saw it. the works in many different venues —many of them disturbing—from Purchasing that work was a turning today, including here in Wisconsin at Milwaukee’s MAM and the Haggerty Museum. We are grateful to John Pustejovsky, President of the Friends, for organiz- ing such a wonderfully informative and enjoyable day in Milwaukee.

Members of the Friends marvel at Self Portrait in Yellow, a work by American artist Tony Oursler

9 ThreeNew Members for the Friends Board of Directors

Antje Petty

t their annual business Institut, and the German Embassy meeting on May 7, the in , D.C. In the spring, Friends elected three new Josh participated in the Max Kade Amembers to the Board of Direc- Institute’s symposium “People of tors for the 2017–2020 term: Joshua Faith, Voices of Tradition” with a Brown, Kay Gruling, and Todd Mi- presentation on “Heritage Language, chalek. In addition, Fran Luebke was Literature, and Literacy.” As a Board elected to a second term. member, Josh wishes to build bridges Joshua Brown is Associate Profes- between university scholars and sor of German at the University of researchers outside of academia. He Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where he feels strongly about encouraging out- focuses his research on the Pennsyl- reach programs that appeal to both vania . He is also cur- academic and public audiences, thus rently the editor of the Transnational supporting a concept that lies at the listserv housed at core of the MKI’s mission of research, H-Net (Humanities and Social Sci- outreach, and collaboration. Todd Michalek ences Online). In 2014, he received Kay Gruling is a family physician the Teacher of Excellence Award and lives in Wausau, Wisconsin. from the American Association of She received her medical degree Madison and, as an undergraduate, Teachers of German, the Goethe from the University of Wisconsin– spent a year at Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn, Germany, where she perfected her German. Hailing from a long line of immigrants from Pomerania in Marathon and Lincoln Counties, Kay grew up hearing Pommersch Low-German at home, which instilled in her a life-long interest in German heritage and local/regional culture. She and her husband, Tim Buttke, live on the family farm first homesteaded by Tim’s ancestors in 1858 and have passed their interest in the area’s history on to their children. Their daughter, Calla, graduated from UW–Madison in 2016 with a triple major in Chinese, East Asian Studies, and German, having completed her senior honors thesis with former MKI Co-Director, Kay Gruling, left, and her daughter, Calla Buttke Cora Lee Kluge. Isaac, their son,

10 is minoring in German at UW– pursues his interest in languages, Institute. Madison and will study abroad in international culture, and history. At a brief Board meeting after Vollendar, Germany, this coming He speaks French, Swedish, and the business meeting the following fall. Kay has been active in the local and is officers were elected: John and statewide community. She not actively engaged in numerous Pustejovsky (President), Hans only belongs to the Pommerscher community organizations. Todd Bernet (Vice President), Pamela Verein of Central Wisconsin, but also joined the Institute of World Affairs Tesch (Secretary), and Steven Geiger has been involved in the Wausau at UWM in 1988, is a member of (Executive Board member at large). School District, Trinity Lutheran SOKOL Milwaukee (Czech), the The MKI staff looks forward to Church in Stettin, the Aspirus Health Polish Heritage Alliance, the Italian another great year of collaboration Foundation, Wisconsin Singers, and Community Center, the Swedish with the Friends and extends a UW–Medical Alumni Association. In American Historical Society of heartfelt “welcome on Board” to the addition, Kay is a fierce advocate for Wisconsin, the Nordic Council of new Board members. the University of Wisconsin. Milwaukee, the Pabst Mansion, Todd Michalek holds a B.A. in Historic Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Political Science from Marquette County Historical Society, and University and an MBA from the the South Milwaukee Historical University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Society. In 2015, Todd became In 2009 he retired from Kohl’s a Life Member of the Friends of Department Stores after 33 years of the Max Kade Institute. He is service as a Systems Analyst at the enthusiastic about promoting multi- company’s corporate headquarters in national and multi-ethnic history Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Living and culture in Wisconsin through in South Milwaukee, Todd now the interdisciplinary work of the

Joshua Brown teaching a class at UW–Eau Claire

11 Mark Twain’s “Magnanimous-Incident” Hero and Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan

Cora Lee Kluge

short, 2300-word essay by Mark Twain with the awk- ward title “About Magnan- Aimous-Incident Literature” was pub- lished in the Atlantic Monthly in May of 1878. In it the narrator presents a series of four anecdotes recounting high-minded and noble deeds, senti- mental literature that praises virtuous, generous, and benevolent individuals. The narrator claims that such stories in the past have taught him a lesson, given him pleasure, and brought back his self-respect whenever he thought meanly of mankind. With this essay, he takes them beyond their happy  climaxes to focus on their sequels or stop.” He went out with his shotgun manuscripts a labor that Twain results. (whose purpose is not stated), by describes as “plow[ing] through The first anecdote, “The Grateful chance stepping on the tail of the [the] papers, removing unnecessary Poodle,” tells of a dog with a broken original poodle, who then bit him. flowers and digging up some acres leg who was healed by a benevo- This poodle, unfortunately, had been of adjective-stumps.” The author was lent physician“who had read the “[driven] mad” with “enthusiasm” surprised, “because in the books books”and who then passed his because of the “great and good work the young struggler had needed but good fortune forward by bringing which [he] had been engaged in”; and one lift, apparently”; but he found another broken-legged dog for treat- in the end the benevolent physician himself permanently burdened with ment, each of whom then brought died of “hydrophobia” (= rabies). The aiding the beginner. A final blow an additional dog, and so forth, situation had become a catastrophe came when the young writer became  until the physician was completely not only for the benevolent physi- famous for a work in which he overwhelmed by the claims upon his cian, but also for the grateful poodle, described the author’s private life in services. The situation is described in both of whom had been attempting “blistering detail,” which “broke the detail: “the human spectators…the to do virtuous work. celebrated author’s heart with morti- cries of the wounded, the songs of the The second anecdote, “The Benevo- fication.” Dying, the author conclud- healed brutes…the traffic…interrupt- lent Author,” relates how a generous ed “The books deceived me; they do ed” and so on. The physician hired as- celebrated author helped a destitute not tell the whole story” and declared sistant surgeons but nevertheless was young writer by editing one of his “Whom God sees fit to starve, let not besieged beyond his capacity and was manuscripts and succeeding in get- man presumptuously rescue to his forced to conclude that he had been ting it published. The literary novice own undoing.” “fooled by the books,” which “only tell continued to request and receive the The third anecdote, “The Grateful the pretty part of the story, and then author’s assistance with additional Husband,” tells of William Ferguson,

12 who saved the lives of Mr. McSpad- by sending him a book and followed knew and respected the work of the den’s wife and son when they were up with several notes. Then, to Lin- American writer. He included Twain’s involved in a carriage accident. coln’s distress, Hackett asked to be name in a list of authors he recom- McSpadden rewarded William and sent as consul to Londonan unbe- mended for a library for the German promised him help if ever he should lievable and upsetting request in Lin- Democratic Republic’s Nationale need it. William did need help: a bet- coln’s view. In these four anecdotes, Volksarmee; his library, now held at ter job, a place for his mother to live Twain shows how people abuse the the Brecht-Weigel-Gedenkstätte in in the McSpaddens’ home, together kindness, gratitude, and generosity Berlin, contains several volumes of with her three younger children, of others and what the consequences Twain’s works; and Twain’s “About one of whom destroyed a lot of the can be. But his point is not merely Magnanimous-Incident Literature” McSpaddens’ valuable furniture and that good deeds can boomerang, was almost certainly the source of the then broke his neck falling down the that they are not always a good idea, overarching theme of his famous play stairs. Seventeen relatives showed that we may regret even having done The Good Person of Szechwan, name- up for the child’s funeral, all with them. Instead, the target of his criti- ly, the problems inherent in trying to requests for assistance. William’s cism, as is mentioned in each epi- live according to the gods’ command- mother drank and swore, and the sode, is “the books,” which deceive ments and the so-called Golden Rule McSpaddens undertook to reform us into thinking that we should lead that prescribes magnanimity. Shen her, out of gratitude for William’s lives governed by magnanimity. Te, the heroine of Brecht’s play, like good deed. Then William wanted Though this essay is not among the Twain’s physician, author, and hus- to go to college, and next he needed most familiar of Twain’s short works band, as well as President Lincoln, a vacation in Europe for his health. today, it was reprinted often in the wanted to keep the gods’ command- McSpadden had finally had enough years immediately following its origi- ments and live a life guided by hos- and refused, to the shock of William’s nal publication, both in English and pitality and benevolence. However, entire family. They accused McSpad- in other languages; and its popularity like Twain’s figures, she discovers den of ingratitude, and William’s persisted over many decades. It ap- problems. Put very simply, she found mother complained that her little peared in German in the New-Yorker it impossible to be good (“Gut zu son had died “in the service of such Belletristisches Journal the same sein”), while also continuing to sur- a reptile!” But he threw them all out, month it was first published; a Swed- vive (“und doch zu leben”). stating: “‘I was beguiled by the books, ish translation by August Strindberg There is surprising congruity be- but shall never be beguiled again….’ was included in an 1878 collection of tween the second scene in Brecht’s And turning to William he shouted, American humor; it was published play and Twain’s third anecdote. Like ‘Yes, you did save my wife’s life, and in somewhat abbreviated form in the generous but exploited Mr. Mc- the next man that does it shall die in September of that year in the Quean- Spadden, who finds himself support- his tracks.’” Incidentally, Twain insists beyan Age in New South Wales; and ing fully twenty-two members of the that this episode is based upon a real it was quickly anthologized in Eng- Ferguson family, Shen Te, who lives incident. lish-language collections of Twain’s in a small tobacco shop, finds herself The fourth anecdote is a paragraph short stories. At least five additional burdened with several named guests, directly quoted from an article by translations into German can be in addition to innumerable others, Noah Brooks, friend, close associate, found; and we must conclude that it including a family of eight, in-laws, and biographer of Abraham Lincoln, was familiar to German readers. cousins, and their friends, until her which appeared in the March 1878 I argue that Bertolt Brecht was one place of business is full of people issue of Scribner’s Monthly. Here one of the German readers who paid sleeping everywhere. She unhesitat- reads of an actor named J. H. Hack- attention to Twain’s essay. Though ingly provides rice for Mrs. Shin and ett, whose performance as Falstaff scholars have not investigated a pos- her children, even though hunger is Lincoln praised, thanking him in a sible connection between Twain and the only basis for their claim to as- personal letter. The actor responded Brecht, there is evidence that Brecht sistance. She offers an elderly couple

13 and their nephew a place to stay, even like to be good of course, but how considered the problems of applying though they had turned her out in am I to pay my rent? … Even when such ethical precepts on the societal the past. An unemployed man re- I break only a few of the command- level or in the realm of interna- ceives cigarettes, and relatives of the ments, I can hardly survive.” She has tional business and economic policy. first guests are taken into her house, assessed her situation correctly: Shen Twain’s short essay seems to have mi- and then more relatives, though none Te, the “good person,” quickly reach- grated across national and linguistic of them have any legitimate right to es the point where she must send borders to take root, find expression, her kindness. Instead of expressing for her “cousin,” the hard-hearted and spawn further developments far gratitude, the recipients of her gener- businessman Shui Ta, who appears from its original milieu. osity begin to complain that the place to prevent further damage and set is becoming crowded. As in Twain’s things on the right course again. NOTE anecdotes, Shen Te’s first act of kind- In the posthumously published Me- A different version of this essay appeared ness results in additional demands ti aphorisms that carry the heading in the Brecht Yearbook, vol. 40 (2016); being made, until the situation gets “Condemnation of Ethical Codes,” and still another version was given as a out of hand. One of Shen Te’s ben- Brecht returns to this discussion, lecture at the Philadelphia symposium of eficiaries advises: “Never recognize a suggesting an alternative to the tradi- the Society for German-American Stud- claim, justified or not, or in two min- tional teachings. Specifically, acts of ies (April 2017). utes you’ll be swamped with claims, generosity should be judged by their justified or not.” The benevolent -fig usefulness, and people should think ures in Twain’s four anecdotes would of their own well-being. The fourth agree with this recommendation, as aphorism is a contorted, double- their generosity had also led to abuse. negative statement that reads like a Variations on this theme appear commentary to the problems of both more than once in the writings of Mr. McSpadden and Shen Te: both Twain and Brecht. In two of Concerning the famous Twain’s earlier pieces, “The Story maxim “love your neigh- of the Bad Little Boy that Bore a bor as yourself,” Me-ti Charmed Life” and “The Story of once said: If the workers the Good Little Boy Who Did Not do that, they will never Prosper,” he had already pointed out get rid of the situation that there is no cause-and-effect con- where they can only love nection between good or bad deeds their neighbor if they do and the rewards or punishments they not love themselves. reap. In “About Magnanimous-Inci- dent Literature,” he attacks the time- As both Twain and Brecht have honored ethical and moral teachings shown, one cannot live by “the we have long believed in and tried books,” the commandments, and the to follow, arguing that they fool and Golden Rule, and these traditional deceive us, that things do not work moral precepts are not viable as a this way. Similarly, Brecht is arguing mandate for our behavior. The moral against the biblical commandments, teachings prescribed by traditional stating that though we would like to stories of magnanimity and altru- be guided by principles of hospitality, ism are neither as simple nor as generosity, and altruism, this results straightforward as we have been led in being exploited and driven to fi- to believe. Taking the discussion even nancial ruin. As Shen Te protests: “I’d further, some recent thinkers have

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