George L. Mosse Program in History

About George Mosse

George Lachman Mosse (1918-1999) is considered one of the most influential intellectual historians of modern Europe. Born in Berlin to an upper-class Jewish family, George Mosse’s professional career spans multiple institutions and includes published works focused on Nazism, nationalism, fascism, masculinity, and sexuality/gender. In 1955, Mosse joined the UW-Madison faculty and later served as Bascom Professor of European History and as Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies. He also held the Koebner Professorship of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. George Mosse retired from UW-Madison in 1989 but his legacy continues on campus through his generous bequest to establish the George L. Mosse Program in History, currently housed in the Mosse Humanities building. The program also collaborates with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also left endowments for funding LGBT studies at UW-Madison and the University of Amsterdam. The George L. Mosse Program in History website and blog offer more information on Mosse’s life and the program’s history and offerings.

About the Mosse Papers

During his lifetime, George L. Mosse curated an extensive collection of papers from both his family history and his day to day life, creating a unique archive consisting of objects from his lifetime indicative of the cultural context he was living in. There are 16 boxes ranging from German and Dutch papers, LGBT history, and papers/photos from Mosse’s own life and history. The Papers’ finding aid will give a more detailed look, and the Papers themselves can be accessed through the UW-Madison Archives & Records Management.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge several individuals for making this collaborative project possible. Special thanks to John Tortorice and Skye Doney, and to the various students who worked on this project. This webpage was drafted by Rose Weihaus & updated and finalized by Rachel Reichard.

The Interviews

* No audio file, written material in Browning’s and Hutton’s Biographical Files at UW Archives.