Despite powerful war resentments, German-American relations improved rapidly after World War I. The Weimar Republic and the United States even managed to forge a strong transatlantic partnership by 1929. How did this happen? Weimar Elisabeth Piller’s groundbreaking study upends the common assumption that Weimar was incapable of selling itself abroad, illustrating instead that it pursued an innovative public diplomacy campaign engaging German Americans, U.S. universities, and Selling American tourists abroad to normalize relations and build a politically advantageous friendship with the United States. In her deeply researched, vividly illustrated history of cultural-diplomatic relations between Weimar Germany and the United States, Elisabeth Piller charts a new course in the history of transatlantic interwar diplomacy. Victoria de Grazia, Columbia University Dr. Piller has achieved a masterful synthesis of diplomatic, intellectual, and cultural history. Michael Kimmage, Catholic University of America Elisabeth Piller Winner of the Franz Steiner Prize in Transatlantic History Selling Weimar German Public Diplomacy and the United States, www.steiner-verlag.de History 1918–1933 Franz Steiner Verlag Franz Steiner Verlag Piller ISBN 978-3-515-12847-6 GERMAN HISTORICAL INSTITUTE WASHINGTON TRANSATLANTISCHE HISTORISCHE STUDIEN Publications of the German Historical Institute Washington Edited by Elisabeth Engel, Axel Jansen, Jan C. Jansen, Simone Lässig and Claudia Roesch Volume 60 The German Historical Institute Washington is a center for the advanced study of history. Since 1992, the Institute’s book series Transatlantic Historical Studies (THS) has provided a venue for research on transatlantic history and American history from early modern times to the present. Books are pub- lished in English or German. Elisabeth Piller Selling Weimar German Public Diplomacy and the United States, 1918–1933 Franz Steiner Verlag Cover illustration: Technische Leistungen öffnen die Tore zur Welt. Luftschiff Zeppelin und Dampfschiff Bremen in New York. Farbdruck nach unbez. Original. Schulwandbild. Aus der Serie: Zeitgeschichte / 1918–1932; München (Lehrmittelanst. Köster & Co.) o. J. Dortmund, Westfälisches Schulmuseum. © akg-images This book is an open-access-publication. This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de Bibliographic information published by the German National Library: The German National Library lists this publication in the Deutsche National­ bibliografie; detailed bibliographic information is available at <http://dnb.d-nb.de>. This publication and all parts thereof are protected by copyright. Any usage beyond the narrow limits of the Copyright Act is not permissible and liable to prosecution. © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2021 Layout and production by Franz Steiner Verlag Typesetting: Fotosatz Buck, Kumhausen Print: Memminger MedienCentrum, Memmingen Printed on acid-free and age-resistant paper. Printed in Germany. ISBN 978-3-515-12847-6 (Print) ISBN 978-3-515-12851-3 (E-Book) Acknowledgements ver the course of writing this book I have incurred many personal and intellectual debts. It is with deep gratitude that I acknowledge them. The book could not have been written without the help of the many Oarchivists and librarians at the Library of Congress, the American Philosophi- cal Society, the University Archives in Heidelberg, Berlin, Marburg, Princeton, Columbia and Cornell, the Bundesarchiv in Berlin and Koblenz, the Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the New York Public Library, the Hoover Institution Archives, the Bayerisches Haupt- staatsarchiv, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, the Krupp and Bayer Company Archives, the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Rockefeller Archive Center, the Na- tional Archives at College Park, MD, and above all the Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amts. All of them have been unfailingly helpful and courteous in the face of even the most exasperating Friday afternoon request. My research has also benefited greatly from the financial support of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Horner Memorial Library, the Rock- efeller Archives Center, the German Historical Institute Washington, and es- pecially the Faculty of Humanities at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). I would also like to thank my colleagues at NTNU, and since 2018 at the University College Dublin, the University of Oslo, and the University of Manchester for their kindness and intellectual fellowship. Fi- nally, I would like to convey my gratitude to the German Historical Institute Washington and the Franz Steiner Verlag for awarding my book manuscript the Franz Steiner Prize and supporting its publication in the Transatlantic His- 6 Acknowledgements torical Studies series. I am especially indebted to the series’ editors, particularly Axel Jansen and Jan C. Jansen, for their great help in preparing the manuscript for publication. I was also extremely fortunate to have the support of one of the GHI’s editors, the fabulous Patricia (Casey) Sutcliffe, who greatly improved this book. Finally, I would like to thank GHI interns Sandra Kastenberger und Hanna Bosse, who took several trips to the National Archives to secure scans of crucial images. This is also the time to convey my gratitude to my two doctoral advisors. Professor Manfred Berg at the University of Heidelberg supported this pro- ject from its very beginning and continued to do so after I moved to Norway. He generously shared his expertise on Weimar foreign policy and the United States and commented carefully on this manuscript, always asking the right questions at the right time. At NTNU, Professor Tore Petersen brought his rich knowledge of international and diplomatic history to bear. Throughout, he maintained his very own “open (office) door” policy, readily listening to my concerns and giving freely of his time even when all I needed was an intellec- tual “pat on the back.” I am also grateful to my parents, Gerhard and Christiane Piller, who have always nurtured my curiosity through travel, reading, and detective-themed birthday parties. Very special thanks are in order for my aunt and uncle, Ange- lika and Fritz Stahlberg, whose extraordinary hospitality tremendously sweet- ened my many archival visits to Berlin. The single greatest debt, however, I owe to Jonas Scherner, who was with me every step of the way, who shared all my moments of excitement and exasperation, and who gracefully traded his (never entirely serious) aspiration to become a “golf professor,” i. e., having real weekends and vacations, for spending Saturdays and summers in the library. It is often said that writing a book is a lonely undertaking; Jonas made sure it never was. Finally, I want to thank my grandparents, Ludwig and Charlotte Piller, whose sharp wit, story-telling talents, and abundant humor are an inspira- tion to me. They still remember the end of World War I, the election of von Hindenburg, the death of Stresemann, the flight of the zeppelin, and the 1936 Olympics – and many other events that this book touches on. They are my per- sonal connection to the early days of the twentieth century and my role models for the twenty-first. At 99 and 106 years old, they eagerly await the publication of this book (even as they would clearly prefer a great-grandchild), and it is to them that I dedicate it. Meinen Großeltern Contents Figures . 11 Abbreviations . 13 Introduction . 15 Part I Breaking the Cultural Blockade, 1919–1924 . 33 Backdrop: The Cultural Blockade . 35 1 Isolation, Revision, and Amerika, 1919–1921 . 39 2 Culture, Propaganda, and Transatlantic Relations, 1902–1921 . 57 3 Obstacles and New Beginnings, 1921–1924 . 117 Part II Peaceful Revision: Winning American Hearts and Minds, 1924–1929 . 161 Backdrop: Peaceful Revision and Peaceful Revisionists, 1924–1929 . 163 4 German Cultural Diplomacy Between German Americans and Anglo- Americans . 171 5 “The Best German Politics”: Academic Diplomacy and the United States 211 6 “Germany Invites You!”: Tourism Promotion as Public Diplomacy . 275 Reflections: German Cultural Diplomacy and the Transatlantic Rapprochement, 1924–1929 . 319 10 Contents Part III Maintaining Transatlantic “Friendship”?, 1930–1937 . 327 7 Public Diplomacy, the Great Depression, and the Intrusion of German Politics, 1930–1932 . 329 8 “Submerged Under a Nazi Wave”? Continuity and Change in German Public Diplomacy, 1933–1937 . 353 Conclusions: German Public Diplomacy and the United States . 379 Bibliography . 393 Index . 423 Figures 1: J. N. Darling, “Outcasts,” editorial cartoon, October 1918 © “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society 2: Hans-Maria Lindloff, “German Hope in America: The German Michel Dreams of the Fair Towers of Gold,” Literary Digest, Jan. 5, 1924 3: “The Latest Suitor,” Puck, Feb. 19, 1902 4: “As the World Sees It,” Literary Digest, May 22, 1915 5: Zeppelin over New York City, 1928, Bundesarchiv, Georg Pahl, Bild 102–06709 6: Erich Schilling, “Kunstraubzug des Dollars [The Dollar’s Art Pillage],” Simplicissimus, 1922 7: The Steuben Club from New York touring Berlin, 1929, Bundesarchiv, Georg Pahl, Bild 102–08179 8: Willi Dzubas, “German Universities,” German Tourism Promotion Office, ca. 1930 9: German Exchange Students at the Arrival Camp at Storm King, 1930, Rock- efeller Archive Center, Collection: