Farewell from Visiting Researcher Sandra Schell

I was very fortunate to have spent the Fall 2024 semester as a visiting researcher in the German Department at Georgetown University. Researching the U.S. ‘reeducation’s’ entanglements in the West German literary field, I couldn’t have asked for a better place in the U.S. to work on my PhD project. The initial idea to use literature for psychological warfare emerged in the early 1940s from the newly established Office of War Information in Washington, D.C., and in the following years, D.C. – alongside Frankfurt and Berlin – remained central to the efforts of ‘reeducation’ planners.

Thanks to the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst, which funded my semester abroad, I was given the chance to visit not only the National Archives and work with manuscripts in the Library of Congress in D.C., but also to travel across New York State to work with archival materials in Albany, New York City, Sleepy Hollow, and Syracuse. My project was further enriched by the discussions that followed the presentations I gave on my project both in the German Department and at the GSA conference.

I’m genuinely thankful to have been a part of the German Department’s vibrant community. The impact of the Department on my experience abroad went far beyond the office – everyone, in their own unique way, made my time in D.C. academically rewarding and unforgettable. I’m deeply grateful for all the amazing colleagues and friends I met along the way. I’ll miss the Department’s welcoming and intellectually stimulating atmosphere. As I return home to the University of Heidelberg, I look back on my Fall semester at Georgetown with gratitude and warmth, and I sincerely wish everyone all the best in their future work and projects. I hope our paths cross again, so that this is not just a goodbye, but a ‘see you soon.’