Librarians as agents of German foreign policy and the cultural consequences of the First World War

Gusejnova, Dina ORCID: 0000-0003-1356-9530 (2023) Librarians as agents of German foreign policy and the cultural consequences of the First World War. Historical Journal, 66 (4). 864 - 886. ISSN 0018-246X

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Abstract

In this article I explore the cultural impact of the First World War by analysing the work of libraries and librarians in different settings, from German-occupied Belgium and prisoner-of-war camps to Germany’s own public and private libraries. By examining the work of German, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and American librarians, the article makes a case for applying the notion of a ‘long’ First World War to cultural and intellectual history. Considering ephemeral and established libraries, along with new types of collections generated by the war itself, the article sheds light on the changes to library work as a result of mobilization, censorship, and the growth of mass readership. While these changes concerned librarians in all belligerent states, German librarians were particularly affected after the burning of the Leuven library during the city’s occupation by German forces. This singular event damaged Germany’s national reputation and thereby laid the groundwork for a significant politicization of library work all the way to the Second World War. In addition to tracing the importance of librarians for German foreign policy, the article reconstructs how this professional community, whose intellectual formation was ultimately supranational, responded to the First World War.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author
Divisions:	International History
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D501 World War I Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z719 Libraries (General)
Date Deposited:	11 May 2023 08:36
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 17:48
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/118835

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