History Commons^™

Panoramic View In Front Of And Behind My Façade: Perceptions Of A Viennese Palace, Anna-Maria Hubel

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Dogma: How A Convenient Narrative Led To The Holocaust, Morgan R. Schroeder

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Jewish Women As Subjects And Creators Of Holocaust Art, Digital Commons, Rebekah N. Kalmbach

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

There are pieces of Holocaust and post-Holocaust art that portray the Jewish woman as a symbol of victimhood and suffering, but do these depictions allow the narratives of Jewish women to be heard, or do they stifle them? Instead of focusing on the Jewish women as symbols of objectified self-sacrifice, there should be more focus on the art created by Jewish women who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust through their creations. By examining the art and experiences of Jewish women in concentration camps, space is made for their voices, and they are no longer representational, but intrinsically human.

Sonic Salvation: A Neuroscientific Exploration Of Music's Role In Cultural Preservation In The Wake Of The Holocaust, Regan K. Recklaus

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

As easy as it would be to begin this essay with a succinct “music is” statement (e.g. “music is life” or “music is power”), it would be akin to encapsulating the boundless expanse of the cosmos in a single photograph. It would fail to honor the immeasurable richness and complexity of the force which has transformed humanity from a group of disparate apes into a symphony of interconnected souls. For all of history, music has served as a means for humans to tap into and express the very things that make them human—their emotions, culture, and individual identities. Its profound …

Life And Health Concerns Of A European Monastic Scribe During The 14th Century, Jared Reiling, Christopher O'Neill, Nick Curatolo

2021 Festschrift: The Interpolated Roman de Fauvel in Context

Writing in a quiet, candle-lit room may sound hygge to some, but monks during the 14th century would describe their work on the scriptorium as cold, depressing, tedious, mundane, and exhausting. The copying of all texts, including biblical and musical, was done by hand with monks working around the clock copying, illuminating manuscripts, and binding books. With the regimented schedule of monastic life, the Church worked scribes till exhaustion which created health problems and aggravated underlying conditions. Though cataracts were a common problem, commoners performed surgery on each other to restore sight, but it only made the situation worse.

The Last Prisoners Of War: How Nazi-Looted Art Is Displayed In U.S. Museums, Monica May Thompson

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

How art museums approach NLA is important today because much of the public relies on museums for their education. NLA cases are especially controversial because they are not only legal battles, but ethical ones so museums have to be extra careful approaching them. Even if the museum has won the legal battle the public may not see them as winning the ethical one therefore they might want to avoid displaying this information to the public. However, as we can see with the previous websites, it actually looks worse for museums not to be open and honest about their NLA pieces …

Music Composition In The 17th And 18th Centuries: A Historical Analysis Of How Georg Frideric Handel Participated In “Borrowing”, Nicholas Mueller, Oscar Peterson-Veatch, Russell Schmidt

2020 Festschrift: Georg Frideric Handel's "Messiah"

The primary focus in this research paper is borrowing; this means borrowing from other composers, and self-borrowing from a previous composition. It is widely accepted in scholarship that Georg Frideric Handel participated in the action of borrowing. However, there is significantly more contention among scholars surrounding both the extent of Handel’s borrowing, as well as what the appropriate modern perspective is for these actions. In this research paper our primary focus will be on Handel’s borrowings, the benefits he received from these actions, and the historical lens of borrowing in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The National Socialists And How They Ostracized An Entire Population, Kathryn Weber

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

In this paper, I analyze how the National Socialists ostracized the Jews before the start of World War II. I also discuss the importance of teaching students about this topic in US schools in a way that promotes historical inquiry, historical empathy, and critical thinking skills. There is an attached lesson plan that I did with 6th-grade students to provide an example of one way to teach students about the Holocaust. Here is my thesis for the paper:

"By examining laws passed by the Reichstag, the organization of the ghettos and the camps, the German education system, correspondence between …

From Leaflets To Tweets: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Propaganda Tools Used By The Nazi Party And Donald Trump, Tj Coleman

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

Since the day he announced his campaign for President, people have been comparing Donald Trump to a Nazi. I, like many of us, have long believed that comparison to be overly simplistic, though not completely without merit. In this essay I analyze that comparison through an examination of the rhetoric and tactics of exclusion used by both Donald Trump and his campaign and the Nazi Party. Though there are substantive differences in some rhetorical tactics, there are also some frightening similarities. It is my hope that an honest and even handed understanding of how our current political moment compares to …

The Problem Of Jewish Agency In The Holocaust: 1939-1945, Joseph Knapik

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This paper discusses the nuance of Jewish agency during the Holocaust. It argues that full genocide was thwarted by individual efforts which can illustrate a picture of collective defiance. Utilizing Berger’s definition of agency as, “the capacity to exert control and even to transform to some extent ‘the social relations in which one is enmeshed.’” Focusing attention to after 1939 in ghettos and camps, it investigates period sources such as ghetto witness accounts, orders, and diary entries. It allows for a comprehensive depiction of Jewish agency as neither entirely heroic or lachrymose, as painted by popular depiction.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures: Anti-Semitism, Hopelessness, And The Rise Of The Nazi Party, Benjamin E. Bruster

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This paper explores the rise the Nazi Party (NSDAP) as a function of compounded poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation, and long-tenured anti-Semitism. In doing so, I aim to understand the Nazis and their supporters not as demons, but as products of their unique historical situation. This perspective offers a greater understanding of Nazism's rise, and it also offers helpful means of thinking about possible fascist regimes in the future.

A Transformative Tragedy, Cassandra Karn

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

This short essay examines the Irish potato famine's impact on the lives of Irish women, both those who stayed in Ireland and those who immigrated to the United States.

Revolution In The Divided City: The Plebeian Social Movement, Secessions, And Anti-Government In The Roman Republic During The 5th Century Struggle Of The Orders, Christopher Schley Saladin

Classics: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This paper examines the formation of the plebeian movement and government in the Roman Republic during the 5^th Century BC of the Struggle of the Orders. The Struggle of the Orders was a political conflict between the plebeian and patrician classes of Rome that lasted from the 5^th-3^rd Centuries BC of the Republic. Most of this period is shrouded in legend, but later Roman historians provide evidence that suggests a major social and political revolution occurred during the early years of this struggle. Using kernels of evidence from these histories, namely that of the 1^{st …}

Dvd Study Guide For "God’S Glory, Neighbor’S Good: The Story Of Pietism", Mark Safstrom

Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This study guide was written by Mark Safstrom and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom to accompany the documentary film, "God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good: The Story of Pietism" (2017). Pietisten Inc. is the publisher and Vision Video is the distributor for this DVD. This study guide is intended as a resource for teachers and pastors to facilitate post-viewing discussion of a 75-minute overview of the history of Pietism. This episode is divided into three main chapters, which have brief summaries. The questions for these chapters have been further divided into smaller sections, to allow flexibility for viewing in shorter installments and allow greater time …

S.S. Schatten Schmidt, Emma Albers-Lopez

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This poem attempts to display the horrors that prisoners in Auschwitz endured, but also the internal struggles of S.S. guards. It has a large focus on music in the camp.

This poem has a personal connection to my family. My great-grandmother did steal Nazi flags to make clothes for her six children. The seventh child was killed in the way that is explained in the poem. That seventh child is where I received my name "Emma". It was a privilege to honor my namesake through this poem.

The Scapegoat, Katherine Ludwig

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This essay responds to a claim made in the aftermath of an Anti-Semitic attack. It discusses the treatment of Jews in Europe around the time of the Holocaust and what may have motivated this treatment.

Wagner Contra Mundum: Wagner Versus The World, Caitlin A. Thom

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

An investigation of responses to Wagner in Nazi Germany and post-World War II Israel.

The Art Of Censorship, Mark Sieber

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This work seeks to show a similarity between censorship of Art in Nazi Germany and the censorship of John Adam’s The Death of Klinghoffer. By analyzing historical facts surrounding Nazi policy and comparing them against criticisms of Klinghoffer, a connection is found. Censoring a work of art, regardless of its message, is detrimental not only to the art itself, but also to the culture, voice, and ideas it represents.

Continued Remembrance, Abbigail Mehnert

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

I always found great interest in learning about the Holocaust and how it has affected society even to this day. Through my winter LSFY course “Ashes to Immortality” I got the opportunity to discover a greater empathy for those who suffered, lost their lives, and survived this historic event. I wanted to insure that my piece represented the importance of passing on experiences and knowledge of the Holocaust in hopes that a similar event will never happen again. In my piece, I painted the entrance of Auschwitz converted in red splatters to represent the lives lost. The concentration camp is …

Surviving The Holocaust: Catharsis Through Music, Amanda Hassler

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Swenson Center Report, Dr. Christopher Strunk

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

As a migration scholar, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend a week this summer conducting research in the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. During my three years at Augustana, my students and I have explored urban development and recent patterns of immigrant and refugee settlement in the Quad Cities. In places like the Floreciente neighborhood of Moline, located about a mile from Augustana’s campus on the west side of the city, the Mexican and Mexican American community is transforming a landscape that had already been influenced by a much earlier wave of migration from Sweden.