Max Kade Institute Friends Newsletter VOLUME 12 NUMBER 1 • SPRING 2003 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON, 901 UNIVERSITY BAY DR., MADISON, WI 53705 WHAT’S INSIDE: A scene from the Two new books forthcoming Holyland from MKI monograph series. region in Page 2 east-central Wisconsin. Fitchburg, home to “Karl of Germany,” sought-after Photo courtesy of Beth Schlemper Plattner. Page 3 Building identity in the Holyland Decorative book bindings on By Prof. Beth Schlemper has always had the greatest propor- display at UW–Madison. German immigration has had a tion of Germans in its population, Page 4 profound and lasting impact on the but also because of the ubiquity of Friends announce fall United States. Indeed, more people their presence. heritage trip to Germany. in this country claimed German Among the most distinctive Page 6 ancestry in the 1990 census than any German settlements in Wisconsin is Friends Profile of Mary and other. Of all the states of the Union, one that since at least 1898 has William Seeger. the German legacy is perhaps most been known as the Holyland. The Page 6 evident in Wisconsin. This is in large district, which is primarily in Fond Book Review: The Blessed part a result of the fact that the state Continued on page 10 Place of Freedom: Euro- peans in Civil War America. Page 7 Remembering MKI Friend Sue Stoddard Collection By Fran Luebke joined the Board in the Feature: The Friends of the Max spring of 2000 and served Health and Kade Institute lost not only as secretary of the Board medical a member of the Board of for the past two years. advice Directors but a dear friend Our association with Sue books. began through a serendipi- Pages 8–9 with the death of Susan Stoddard on January 13, tous discovery in her 2003. Sue died of breast Sue Stoddard parents’ home. A number of cancer at age 59. She 1943–2003 Continued on page 4 2 ANNUAL MEETING MKI set to release May 8, 2003 two more books This year’s Friends annual meeting and By Eric Platt dinner will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2003 The Max Kade Institute’s monograph series is in the Pyle Center’s Alumni Lounge, pleased to announce the release of two books this 702 Langdon Street, Madison. spring: German-Jewish Identities in America edited 4 p.m. Annual Meeting, Room 320 by Christof Mauch and Joseph Salmons and The 5–8 p.m.: Reception, Dinner, and Speaker Dictionary of Mennonite Low German by Jack The after-dinner featured talk will be on Thiessen. “Wisconsin’s German Population and the German-Jewish Identities in America examines Civil War,” by Dr. Richard Zeitlin. the changing political, social, and cultural contexts that Dr. Zeitlin is director of the Wisconsin led German Jews to take on many different identities Veterans Museum and is an adjunct teacher of in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. It U.S. military history at the University of covers topics ranging from the relationship between Wisconsin–Madison. He is the author of German and Eastern European Jews in America to the Germans in Wisconsin and a number of other development of B’nai B’rith and German Jews’ role in books and articles, mostly on state and local the building of modern American show business. history as well as military affairs. The contributors to this volume are as diverse as To register, contact Antje Petty by email the topics they cover. Although most of the chapters ([email protected]) or by phone (608) 262- are by historians, there are also ones from a linguist, 7546. theater and literature professors, and even an award- We look forward to seeing you ... and bring winning documentary filmmaker. a friend! German-Jewish Identities in America is co- published with the German Historical Institute in Wash- ington, DC, and is available in hardcover for $29.95. Those Friends more interested in language than history might want to check out the monograph series’ other new book, The Dictionary of Mennonite Low The Newsletter of the Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German. This dictionary, which will be the most German-American Studies is published quarterly at the detailed one available for Mennonite Low German University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Newsletter is edited available, contains entries for over 25,000 words and produced by Nicole Saylor with the assistance of the Newsletter Committee of the Board of Directors and is ranging from Äajdatjs (lizard) to Resse’rieta (prank- printed by Great Graphics, Inc. The Newsletter appears ster) and Zyreen (siren). Many include colorful quarterly in March, June, September, and December. examples taken from popular sayings and poetry that Submissions are invited and should be sent directly to: illustrate how native speakers in areas as far-flung as Max Kade Institute Russia, Canada, and Latin America continue to use for German-American Studies the language today. 901 University Bay Drive The Dictionary of Mennonite Low German is Madison, WI 53705 Ph: (608) 262-7546 Fax: (608) 265-4640 available in hardcover for $39.95. For more informa- Any submissions via e-mail may be directed to tion about this and all our other publications, please [email protected]. visit the publications portion of our webpage: http:// Visit the Max Kade Institute on the csumc.wisc.edu/mki/Publications/ World Wide Web at: 1.PublicationsFrames.htm http://csumc.wisc.edu/mki To order by phone call (773) 568-1550. On-line orders: http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/order.html 3 ‘Karl of Germany’: Plattner Kunst in Wisconsin By Antje Petty To his friends and customers, he is known as “Karl of Germany,” which leaves no doubt about his country of origin. Karl Lechten, who grew up in Bremen/ Gröpelingen and came to the United States in 1966, has done many things in life, but it is for his most recent endeavor, his Plattner work, that he is now recognized around the world. A Plattner (from the German word Platte ‘plate’) is someone who makes steel plate armor suits, a craft of Photos courtesy of Karl Lechten great practical importance in Above: Karl works in his shop located in the basement of his Fitchburg home. Below: Peter and Lydia Moric, who were married in April 2002 in medieval Europe but of notably Strecno castle, Slovakia, hired Karl to design wedding-day armor. less significance in today’s society. This begs the question: What is a able demand for suits of armor for master Plattner doing in twenty- display purposes in this country. first century Fitchburg, Wisconsin? Upon researching the subject, The answer is intertwined with the Karl learned to his surprise that fascinating story of Karl’s life. very little quality armor was still While still living in Germany, made anywhere in the world. Items Karl had trained as a hairdresser were either rare and expensive with the intention of eventually originals from the Middle Ages, taking over the family business. sold only by specialty auction When he decided to migrate to the houses, or cheap mass produc- United States he initially planned on tions. Karl, recalling his father’s continuing to work in his trade. But motto, “What you don’t know, you only a few months after his arrival, can always learn,” decided to Karl — still a German citizen — acquire the knowledge to pursue was drafted into the U.S. military. the craft himself. He contacted one After three years of service, which of the very few Plattners in included a tour of duty in Vietnam, Germany and was able to appren- Karl came to Madison, where his tice with him — an apprenticeship wife had found a teaching job. in the old guild tradition, where the century, steel-plate armor had Here he opened a chain of four apprentice has to stay with the replaced chain armor, which had successful hair salons. However, master for two years and pay for become useless against the new after two decades in the hairstyling the privilege of learning the trade. weapons of the day: crossbows business, Karl was ready for In the years since his appren- and long bows. In those days, the something new. He had always ticeship, Karl has perfected his main centers of the craft were been fascinated by medieval armor skills and has become one of a Nuremberg, Landshut, Augsburg, and decided to go into the armor very few specialists worldwide in import business, sensing consider- Renaissance armor. In the fifteenth Continued on page 11 4 Stoddard from page 1 other people would find historical “treasures” in their more than one hundred letters written between 1848 homes, she never missed the opportunity to make and 1865 to Jacob Sternberger, her paternal great- appeals for donations to the Max Kade Institute. grandfather. Sternberger left German-speaking Whether in public programs or private meetings, her Bohemia after the failed 1848 Revolution and settled probing curiosity, creative suggestions or ideas, and in Wisconsin. The letters were written in the old enthusiasm for the mission of the Institute sparked German script,, which can no longer be deciphered by spirited discussions and imaginative solutions. most readers today. Sue was able to find a friend, Dr. Her greatest gifts to us were personal. When she Walter Lewinnik from Merrill, who could translate walked into a room, it came alive with her smile. She some of the letters. It soon became evident that they displayed personal warmth, seemingly boundless were of great historical significance and needed to be energy, and cheerfulness and fortitude in the face of preserved and made accessible to scholars.