UMaine, Bangor Public Library to Present Historic German Correspondence
The Bangor Public Library will host an event to introduce letters and photos related to a German politician and diplomat from 5–7:30 p.m. Monday, May 4.
At the end of World War II, an American soldier found a box of letters and photos belonging to the family of Franz von Papen. In 2013, the box was donated to the Bangor Public Library. Among the collection of letters are those written by von Papen to his wife while he was German military attaché to America in 1914–1915, and others to his son during the 1930s and 1940s.
At the presentation, UMaine professor emeritus of history Richard Blanke will place the material in the letters as well as von Papen’s importance into historic context. German instructor Anette Ruppel Rodrigues will comment on the relationship between the couple gleaned from the letters. She also will speak about the multilingual ability of the von Papens. Justus Hillebrand, a UMaine Ph.D. student in history and research team volunteer, will speak on the difficulties of reading old manuscripts, as well as provide insight into German daily life during World War II based on the letters from the early 1940s.
The event is free and open to the public.
The research project, “Historic Franz von Papen Correspondence,” was funded by the University of Maine Humanities Center through the Public Humanities Grant. The Bangor Public Library is a partnering institution with the grant.