Constructing America A constructivist contemplation of the relationship between the Franco-German Americanization-debate and national identity, 1918-1933 De constructie van Amerika Een constructivistische reflectie op de relatie tussen het Frans-Duitse amerikaniseringsdebat en de nationale identiteit, 1918-1933 Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the rector magnificus Prof.dr. H.A.P. Pols and in accordance with the decision of the Doctorate Board. The public defence shall be held on Thursday 19 October 2017 at 15:30 hrs by Sebastian Ignatius Jacqué born in Bad Schwalbach, Germany 1 Doctoral Committee Supervisor: Prof.dr. H.A.M. Klemann Other Members: Prof.dr. M.C.R. Grever Prof.dr. C.R. Ribbens Prof.dr. C. van Minnen Cosupervisor: Dr. F.M.M. de Goey 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements …................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1. Introduction …......................................................................... 11 1.1. Topic Introduction and Research Questions …........................ 11 1.2. Social Relevance in Past and Present ….................................. 12 1.3. Scientific Relevance and Periodisation …............................... 17 1.4. Theory and Methodology ….................................................... 18 1.5. Source Selection ….................................................................. 21 1.6. Structure ….............................................................................. 25 Chapter 2. Historiographical Debate ….................................................... 27 2.1. Defining Americanization …................................................... 27 2.2. Pro-Americanism …................................................................ 32 2.3. Anti-Americanism …............................................................... 37 2.4. National Identity ….................................................................. 44 2.4.1. National Identity in Historical Research …................... 45 2.4.2. National Identity and the Americanization-debate ….... 51 2.5. Conclusion …........................................................................... 53 Chapter 3. Theory and Method …............................................................. 57 3.1. Constructivism ….................................................................... 57 3.1.1. Constructivist Theory …................................................ 57 3.1.2. Constructivist Methodology …...................................... 67 3.2. Research Methodology …........................................................ 71 3.2.1. Case Study …................................................................. 72 3 3.2.2. Comparative Research ….............................................. 77 Chapter 4. Historical Background …........................................................ 81 4.1. German-American Relations ….............................................. 81 4.2. Franco-American Relations …................................................ 91 4.3. Comparison …....................................................................... 101 Chapter 5. Pro-Americanism ….............................................................. 106 5.1. Case Study: German pro-Americanism 1918-1933…........... 106 5.1.1. General Perspective …................................................. 106 5.1.2. Julius Hirsch …............................................................ 112 5.1.3. “Das Amerikanische Wirtschaftswunder” …............... 120 5.1.4. Discussion and Implication of the Research …........... 133 5.2. Case Study: French pro-Americanism 1918-1933 …............ 134 5.2.1. General Perspective …................................................. 134 5.2.2. Lucien Romier …......................................................... 139 5.2.3. “Qui sera le Maître, Europe ou Amérique” & “Idées très simples pour les français” …................. 144 5.2.4. Discussion and Implication of the Research …........... 158 5.3. Comparison …....................................................................... 159 Chapter 6. Anti-Americanism …............................................................. 163 6.1. Case Study: German anti-Americanism 1918-1933 …......... 163 6.1.1. General Perspective …................................................. 163 6.1.2. Adolf Halfeld ….......................................................... 165 4 6.1.3. “America and Americanism” ….................................. 172 6.1.4. Discussion and Implication of the Research …........... 185 6.2. Case Study: French anti-Americanism 1918-1933 …........... 188 6.2.1. General Perspective …................................................. 188 6.2.2. Georges Duhamel ….................................................... 190 6.2.3. “Scènes de la vie future” …......................................... 198 6.2.4. Discussion and Implication of the Research …........... 210 6.3. Comparison …....................................................................... 211 Chapter 7. Conclusion …......................................................................... 217 7.1. Answering the Research Questions …................................... 217 7.2. Conclusion and Outlook ….................................................... 225 Chapter 8. Bibliography …...................................................................... 229 Summary in Dutch …................................................................................. 249 Curriculum Vitae …................................................................................... 250 5 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Ferry de Goey and Prof. Hein Klemann for their invaluable academic guidance and support over the course of this Ph.D. project. Without their critical and constructive input this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Meg Leonard for the linguistic revision of this dissertation in its final stages. 7 8 Dedicated to my parents, in gratitude. 9 10 1. Introduction “Amerika, das Land der Träume, Du Wunderwelt so lang und breit, Wie schön sind Deine Kokosbäume, und Deine rege Einsamkeit!” [...] Friederike Kempner, 19031 “America, the land of dreams, you magical world so long and wide, how beautiful are your coconut trees, and your vivid solitude!”2 [...] Friederike Kempner, 1903 1.1. Topic Introduction and Research Questions As early as 1903 the German writer Friederike Kempner grasped an ambivalence which would become the nucleus of the literary America-reception for the following decades. In the first few lines of her poem Amerika3 (see above) Kempner depicts the United States of America4 as shimmering land of boundless possibilities, but simultaneously raises awareness for its potential risks: the solitude of the individual in the midst of a mass-society. This dichotomy between admiring and admonishing the United States from a distance, became the centre of a lively America-debate that reached its preliminary highpoint during the 1920s. This debate was in no way a German peculiarity, but was rather part of a shared canon that extended beyond the German border and was similarly prominent in France. The America-debate was however not limited to the simple perception of the USA as a model, be it in 1 Friederike Kempner, Gedichte (Berlin: Siegismund, 1903). 2 All English translation which follow in this thesis will have been made by myself. 3 Kempner, Gedichte. 4 Hereinafter also referred to as USA and United States. 11 economic, political or social terms, it was just as much a reflection about American influences in France and Germany, subsumed under the term Americanization. Debating America at the beginning of the twentieth century went hand in hand with a profound contemplation about its influences on other parts of the world. Similar to the America-perception of the time, the Americanization-debate was just as much divided into admiration on the one hand and rejection on the other. Two opposing camps would be at the heart of this debate and were embedded into older historic narratives: pro- or philo-Americans and anti-Americans. Pro-Americans would welcome American developments and accomplishments and demand the adoption of the American model in Europe. Contrastingly anti-Americans would reject American influences and preach caution regarding the negative effects of Americanization on society. Americanization as a technical term could thereby include economic, political, social and cultural influences, originally American and directed towards other countries such as Germany and France.5 It was essentially a discourse regarding a value transfer from the New World to the Old, negotiated in relation to the own nation state. This oscillating debate of American influences will serve as a framework for the research on hand, which, in essence, will investigate the Americanization discourse in Germany and France between 1918 and 1933. Thereby the study on hand will investigate the following main research questions: What is the relation between the Americanization-debate (i.e. pro- and anti-Americanism) and national identity in Germany and France in the 1920s? What are the main differences and similarities between the pro- and anti-American authors in France and Germany? How can we explain these differences and similarities? The research will thus primarily explore the construction of national identity in Germany and France through investigating the perception of the USA in primary