Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Germany
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-1-2012 Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Germany. A Transnational History. Julia Simone Stetler University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, and the United States History Commons Repository Citation Stetler, Julia Simone, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Germany. A Transnational History." (2012). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1634. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/4332615 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BUFFALO BILL’S WILD WEST IN GERMANY A TRANSNATIONAL HISTORY By Julia Simone Stetler Erstes Staatsexamen für das gymnasiale Lehramt, History and English Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany 2006 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in History History Department College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2012 Copyright by Julia S. Stetler, 2012 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Julia Simone Stetler entitled Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Germany A Transnational History be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History David Wrobel, Ph.D., Committee Chair David Holland, Ph.D., Committee Member Andy Kirk, Ph.D., Committee Member Colin Loader, Ph.D., Committee Member P. Jane Hafen, Ph.D., Graduate College Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College May 2012 ii ABSTRACT Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Germany A Transnational History By Julia S. Stetler This dissertation examines European and especially German responses to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show during its two European tours in 1890-1891 and 1906. It argues that the different European countries creatively adapted the content and message of the show according to their own specific cultural values and needs. By considering Buffalo Bill’s Wild West within the specific cultural contexts of the nations it toured, we are able to better explain reactions to it, including Germany’s astoundingly positive response. The show was an entertaining event for American and European audiences alike with its exoticized figures, spectacular stunts, and colorful drama; however, this study contends that it had quite a different meaning for Europeans and Germans in particular than it did for Americans. “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Germany” contributes new scholarly perspectives on the German reception of the American West and Buffalo Bill’s version of it by providing a transnational comparison. Instead of superimposing the current American assumptions about the show onto Europe, this study offers a detailed analysis of the specifically German reactions to the Wild West and argues that Germans responded much more to the ethnographic and romantic elements of the show than to the struggle and appeals of Manifest Destiny that secured its success in the U.S. By including a vast array of German secondary literature, the Wild West show is put into a larger national context that has not iii previously been made available for an English readership before. Similarly, the large volume of German newspaper articles that drive the argument in the later chapters comprise a research base that has never before been translated into English and analyzed by American scholars. Through the utilization of these primary and secondary sources, this study reshapes our understanding both of Buffalo Bill’s show and, more broadly, of the image of the American West in Germany. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of this dissertation was made possible by many individuals who have provided me with various kinds of support throughout the last six years. I am indebted to my committee members who have guided me with wisdom and patience through this process. Andy Kirk, David Holland, Colin Loader, and Jane Hafen have offered valuable criticism that greatly improved the outcome, enthusiastic reassurance that I was on the right path, and indispensable editorial remarks that enabled me to produce a manuscript in a foreign language. In addition, my committee chair David Wrobel unfailingly guided me towards my goal and always cheered me on with his remarkable ability to instill motivation and confidence while at the same time increasing the work load and moving the deadlines closer. Thank you for your dedication, your enthusiasm, your guidance, and your humor. I would also like to thank my colleagues of the William F. Cody Papers at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for adopting me into their family and allowing me to work with them as an associate editor. Linda, Jeremy, Gary, and Deb, along with the editorial staff, have not only allowed me to bounce off ideas but also made me a part of a community in the spirit of Buffalo Bill. Due to their generous moral, intellectual, and financial support, I was able to conduct significant research in Europe, present papers at conferences, and produce a manuscript. I would also like to thank Mary Robinson for her invaluable help and knowledge of the McCracken Library holdings as well as for providing me with electronic copies of the scrapbooks and itineraries of the Wild West . Thanks also to John Rumm for his comments. v The archivists at the American Heritage Center and the many libraries and archives in Europe that I visited have my gratitude for their patience, knowledge, and guidance. I am especially indebted to Karl Markus Kreis for his support, informative emails, and the long conversations about Buffalo Bill, the image of Native Americans in Germany, the cultural impact of the show, and the many myths that surround it. He and his wife also provided me with food and lodging while I was researching in Germany. Furthermore, while in France, I had an interesting conversation with Jacques Portes about the way the French received the Wild West . I am thankful for my family and their never-ceasing support. My mother Karin and grandmother Karla have not only given moral and emotional support but also paid for flights, train tickets, hotel rooms, and food. My mom accompanied me to archives in Rome and Germany, babysat my daughter while I was presenting papers and gathering data, endured my every complaint, and always let me know that I was supported in every way possible. Thanks are also due to Hendrik, Uwe, Willi, Gudrun, Ann-Katrin, and Isabell for cheerful visits and care packages full of chocolate. My parents-in-law Joan and Zieb have provided countless hours of babysitting so that I could write. Thank you. I am most indebted to my husband Robert for his enthusiastic reaction, from the deserts of Iraq, to my idea of moving to Las Vegas and pursuing a PhD, his unyielding encouragement, caring advice, admirable patience, and amazing faith in my capability to finish. He has worked hard so that I could have it all. Lastly, I am thankful for my children Katharina and Bennett, who were both born in the midst of the production of this dissertation. They have been the utmost distraction during research and writing, and the greatest joy the rest of the time. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v LIST OF FIGURES viii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 William Cody, America, and the Beginnings of the Wild West 19 CHAPTER 2 Exotic Entertainment and Völkerschauen in Germany 47 CHAPTER 3 Indians and the American West in the German Imagination and on Stage 90 CHAPTER 4 Taking the Wild West Abroad 142 CHAPTER 5 The Mechanics of the Wild West 185 CHAPTER 6 Cultural Impact and Significance 218 CHAPTER 7 Return and Aftermath 267 BIBLIOGRAPHY 290 VITA 312 vii LIST OF FIGURES Image 1 Robert Ottokar Lindneux, painting, oil on canvas, First Scalp for Custer, 1928.........................................................................................45 Image 2 Show poster, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in the Madison Square Garden, 1886.............................................................................................45 Image 3 Photograph, William F. Cody with eight Native Americans, ca. 1875.....................................................................................................46 Image 4 William F. Cody, 1846-1917....................................................................46 Image 5 Karl Hagenbeck........................................................................................89 Image 6 German postcard, Hagenbeck’s Singhalese Exhibit.................................89 Image 7 George Catlin. Portrayal of Se-non-ti-yah, an Iowa medicine man, speaking to a London audience (1844-1845).................................141 Image 8 Bella