German Philanthropy in Transatlantic Perspective

This volume examines philanthropic practices against the backdrop of the continuities, disruptions and changes in twentieth century German socio-political relations. It presents a differentiated understanding of the relationship between philanthropy and civil society that traces this connection from Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic, through the Nazi dictatorship and Soviet-style rule in Communist East Germany to the stable democracy of the Federal Republic of Germany. While concentrating on Germany, this volume places German philanthropy in a triangular relationship with the United States and the developing world, primarily through Africa. In particular, the contributions to the book demonstrate that despite many transatlantic exchanges between German and American philanthropic organizations, these relationships should not be reduced to bilateral exchanges but rather seen in the context of a globalizing world. More generally, this transnational study is a reminder that philanthropic activities need to be placed into their specific historical contexts. Such an analytical framework allows for more dynamic understanding of the meaning of philanthropy in society, illustrating both enduring and changing practices.

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This volume examines philanthropic practices against the backdrop of the continuities, disruptions and changes in twentieth century German socio-political relations. It presents a differentiated understanding of the relationship between philanthropy and civil society that traces this connection from Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic, through the Nazi dictatorship and Soviet-style rule in Communist East Germany to the stable democracy of the Federal Republic of Germany. While concentrating on Germany, this volume places German philanthropy in a triangular relationship with the United States and the developing world, primarily through Africa. In particular, the contributions to the book demonstrate that despite many transatlantic exchanges between German and American philanthropic organizations, these relationships should not be reduced to bilateral exchanges but rather seen in the context of a globalizing world. More generally, this transnational study is a reminder that philanthropic activities need to be placed into their specific historical contexts. Such an analytical framework allows for more dynamic understanding of the meaning of philanthropy in society, illustrating both enduring and changing practices.

Contenu
Introduction (Gregory Witkowski and Arnd Bauerkämper).- Philanthropy: Theory and Comparison.- Foundations in Germany and the United States: Comparative Observation (Stefan Toepler).- Philanthropic Giving: Reasons and Constellations (Frank Adloff).- German Philanthropy in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Dictatorship.- Philanthropy, Race, and Religion: The Gustav Adolf Association and National Socialism (Kevin Cramer).- Transnational Asymmetries. U.S. philanthropic foundations and the German School of Politics in the 1920s and 1930s (Peter Weber).- German Philanthropy in Transatlantic Perspective.- Reintegrating Germany into the Atlantic Community: The Role of the Big American Foundations(Volker Berghahn).- "America" as an Argument: References to U.S. Foundations in Debates about Scientific Funding in West-Germany from 1945 to the late 1960s (Arnd Bauerkämper).- Reinhold Schairer and the Revival of the German PhilanthropicTradition from Weimar to the Federal Republic (Malcolm Richardson).- Philanthropy in Divided Germany.- Charitable Giving between the State and the Market: West Germany from 1945 to the 1980s (Gabriele Lingelbach).- From Restructuring to Dissolution to Rebuilding? Foundations and Endowments in East Germany (Thomas Adam).- International and Transnational German Philanthropy.- "Germans against Germans in Africa" East German Philanthropic Aid in the Context of the Cold War (Gregory Witkowski).- The Biafra-Crisis and the Establishment of Humanitarian Aid in West Germany as a New Philanthropic Field (Florian Hannig).- Contemporary German MONGOs in Diani, Kenya: Two Approaches to Humanitarian Aid (Nina Berman).