America 1939–42

The following is an excerpt from the autobiography of George Mosse, co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary History from its foundation in 1966 to his death in January 1999. It covers his early experiences in the USA. Born in Germany in 1918, George was educated in Berlin, and later at Schloss Salem. He crossed the border to Switzerland in 1933, probably just in time to evade arrest as a member of a well-known family held in particular disfavour by the nazis. After a short stay in Zurich and later in Paris, George settled in Britain, where he went to school at Bootham. An earlier chapter in his autobiography deals with these English school years and studying history at Cambridge. In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the war in Europe, George went on a visit to America. The account of his early experiences there was written by George during the summer of 1998, shortly before his death. The autobiography, Confronting History: A Memoir, will be published in December 1999 by the University of Wisconsin Press

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