Moved-Out Individual's Perspective...
Konrad H. Jarausch, a renowned historian, self-identifies primarily as German-American, reflecting his deep bi-national connections through biography and scholarship. Born on August 14, 1941, in Magdeburg, Germany, Jarausch's life and work embody both German and American identities.
Jarausch's roots can be traced back to his paternal ancestors who ran a small grocery store in a Silesian farming village. His family, influenced by Prussia and North Germany, held a strong sense of personal discipline and national duty. Despite this, Jarausch's father was not a member of the NSDAP, but he did participate in the Nazi Russia campaign and fell during the war.
Jarausch's mother, a teacher, had a significant impact on his life due to frequent moves during his childhood. Through her lineage, Jarausch is connected to the civil service and educated bourgeoisie with a touch of nobility.
Jarausch's academic journey led him to study at Princeton and receive his PhD at the University of Wisconsin. His scholarly focus has been on German history, particularly the 20th century, indicating his German roots and his commitment to understanding his homeland's past.
In addition to his work on German history, Jarausch has extensively engaged with German-American relations and identity. His writings, such as "Huns, Krauts, or Good Germans? The German Image in America, 1800-1980," foreground German-American cultural interactions and identity constructs.
Jarausch's academic career has been primarily in American universities, and he has become a naturalized citizen. While sources do not explicitly quote Jarausch stating "I am American" or "I am German," his biography, career, and engagement with German history strongly suggest a self-identification that encompasses both nationalities, typical of German-born scholars who have built careers in the U.S.
In December 1989, Jarausch organized a conference in Berlin for East and West German and US historians, marking a significant moment in his career. On November 9, 1989, he was drawn to the site of the fallen Berlin Wall, a symbolic event that underscored his commitment to understanding German history.
Jarausch's research focus is on the different development paths of the two German post-war states. He found it advantageous to study German history from a spatial distance in the USA, allowing for objectivity, emotional detachment, and scientific neutrality.
Jarausch was sympathetic to his DDR colleagues despite their Marxist reduction of German history. He developed friendships with notable figures like Joachim Petzold. In 1998, he led the Center for Contemporary Historical Research in Potsdam, initially with Christoph Kleßmann from Bielefeld and then Martin Sabrow from Kiel.
Jarausch's book explores the political involvement of historians and the debate that erupted at the 1998 Frankfurt Historian Conference about the involvement of leading German historians in the NS dictatorship and their subsequent silence about this unsavory collaboration.
Through his work, Jarausch has been part of the "Bielefeld School," a new methodological approach in historical science initiated by Reinhart Koselleck, Hans-Ulrich Wehler, and Jürgen Kocka. The "Bielefeld School" had to fight against conservative apologists to assert itself.
Jarausch, along with Ivan Kovalchenko, presided over the committee "Interquant" as presidents, founded in 1980. This committee aimed to promote international cooperation in historical research.
In summary, Konrad H. Jarausch, born in Germany but with a career primarily in the United States, embodies a unique German-American identity. His work on German history, engagement with German-American relations, and self-identification as both German and American make him a significant figure in the field of history.
- Konrad H. Jarausch's academic focus on German history, particularly the 20th century, and his extensive work on German-American relations indicate a commitment to both personal growth and education-and-self-development, as he seeks to understand and share the complexities of German and German-American identities.
- Despite his strong German roots, Jarausch's academic career has been primarily in American universities, a testament to the intersection of war-and-conflicts, politics, and general news, which have shaped the global academic landscape and the mobility of scholars.
- Jarausch's research on the political involvement of historians and his role in the "Bielefeld School" demonstrate his contribution to personal-growth and education-and-self-development, as he challenges conventional narratives and advocates for a more objective approach to historical research.
