Forum: German Home Towns, Forty Years Later Introduction

THEidea of publicly recognizing an important milestone in the life of Mack Walker’s book German Home Towns, which appeared in 1971, goes back to January 2011 when David Luebke and Yair Mintzker put out a call for papers to discuss “German Home Towns—Forty Years Later” at the upcoming meeting of the German Studies Association (GSA) in Louisville, Kentucky.1 The robust response to their call confirmed the wide-ranging impact of Walker’s book and validated their hunch that the fortieth anniversary was the right time for a critical celebration of this influential text. After some sifting and paring, nine papers and three extensive comments appeared at three very well-attended sessions at the GSA meeting.2 The sessions and papers were so impressive in their range and quality that several participants immediately recognized the possibility of having some contributions appear in print so that the vibrant legacy of German Home Towns, clearly on display in Louisville, could find a more enduring form of recognition. Surprisingly no other commemorations of the book were brewing.3 Central European History (CEH) appeared as the most appropriate venue for a spotlight on Walker’s book, in part because of the very American character of Walker’s approach, unmistakably announced by the Americanism “Home Towns” in the title and noted, not always