Jim Wald
@citizenwald.bsky.social
Historian, Hampshire College, Amherst MA
Europe C18-20, book history, historic preservation
Past service: SHARP sharpweb.org, Massachusetts Center for the Book https://www.massbook.org/
Co-editor, Routledge History of Antisemitism
http://tiny.cc/pb7xzz
Europe C18-20, book history, historic preservation
Past service: SHARP sharpweb.org, Massachusetts Center for the Book https://www.massbook.org/
Co-editor, Routledge History of Antisemitism
http://tiny.cc/pb7xzz
Reposted by Jim Wald
Can confirm
Just as a group, #earlymodern scholars are pretty great.
February 20, 2026 at 5:23 AM
Can confirm
Reposted by Jim Wald
Heatbreaking letters that Paul Kusuda wrote from Manzanar in 1942:
"Time and time again, I have argued that America is not a democracy for white people only. Was I wrong? God help us all if I am or was because what a future is in store for everyone in a false #democracy!"
5/5
"Time and time again, I have argued that America is not a democracy for white people only. Was I wrong? God help us all if I am or was because what a future is in store for everyone in a false #democracy!"
5/5
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Heatbreaking letters that Paul Kusuda wrote from Manzanar in 1942:
"Time and time again, I have argued that America is not a democracy for white people only. Was I wrong? God help us all if I am or was because what a future is in store for everyone in a false #democracy!"
5/5
"Time and time again, I have argued that America is not a democracy for white people only. Was I wrong? God help us all if I am or was because what a future is in store for everyone in a false #democracy!"
5/5
Reposted by Jim Wald
I ask students what they associate with FDR, many will say: the internment of Japanese Americans (not the New Deal or victory in #WWII).
I was unusual in that I learned about the internment before it was taught in the schools: among my parents' closest friends were internees
4/5
I was unusual in that I learned about the internment before it was taught in the schools: among my parents' closest friends were internees
4/5
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I ask students what they associate with FDR, many will say: the internment of Japanese Americans (not the New Deal or victory in #WWII).
I was unusual in that I learned about the internment before it was taught in the schools: among my parents' closest friends were internees
4/5
I was unusual in that I learned about the internment before it was taught in the schools: among my parents' closest friends were internees
4/5
Reposted by Jim Wald
Amherst College alumnus John McCloy, the embodiment of the WASP élite, defended the internment of Japanese Americans ("the Constitution is just a scrap of paper") and, as High Commissioner for Germany, released many #Nazis
www.nytimes.com/1992...
encyclopedia.densho....
3/5
www.nytimes.com/1992...
encyclopedia.densho....
3/5
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Amherst College alumnus John McCloy, the embodiment of the WASP élite, defended the internment of Japanese Americans ("the Constitution is just a scrap of paper") and, as High Commissioner for Germany, released many #Nazis
www.nytimes.com/1992...
encyclopedia.densho....
3/5
www.nytimes.com/1992...
encyclopedia.densho....
3/5
Reposted by Jim Wald
On Japanese American Day of Remembrance, we should not forget those responsible. Amherst College removed the name of Lord Jeffery Amherst from sports teams & hotel but continues to honor odious alumnus John McCloy, who was instrumental in carrying out the internment
2/5
2/5
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
On Japanese American Day of Remembrance, we should not forget those responsible. Amherst College removed the name of Lord Jeffery Amherst from sports teams & hotel but continues to honor odious alumnus John McCloy, who was instrumental in carrying out the internment
2/5
2/5
Reposted by Jim Wald
Today is the anniversary of Pres. Roosevelt's notorious & shameful Executive Order 9066, resulting in the incarceration of Japanese-American citizens
www.archives.gov/mil...
For that reason, we today mark it as Japanese American Day of Remembrance
jacl.org/day-of-reme...
1/5
www.archives.gov/mil...
For that reason, we today mark it as Japanese American Day of Remembrance
jacl.org/day-of-reme...
1/5
Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942) | National Archives
EnlargeDownload Link Citation: Executive Order 9066, February 19, 1942; General Records of the Unites States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View Transcript Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from
www.archives.gov
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Today is the anniversary of Pres. Roosevelt's notorious & shameful Executive Order 9066, resulting in the incarceration of Japanese-American citizens
www.archives.gov/mil...
For that reason, we today mark it as Japanese American Day of Remembrance
jacl.org/day-of-reme...
1/5
www.archives.gov/mil...
For that reason, we today mark it as Japanese American Day of Remembrance
jacl.org/day-of-reme...
1/5
Reposted by Jim Wald
OTD 1919 USS George Washington carried President Wilson back to the US after postwar peace negotiations in France.
The shipboard newspaper called itself "The Hatchet," promised to tell no lies.
Back then, no one refused to grant presidential access to Associated Press ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The shipboard newspaper called itself "The Hatchet," promised to tell no lies.
Back then, no one refused to grant presidential access to Associated Press ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
February 19, 2025 at 5:27 AM
OTD 1919 USS George Washington carried President Wilson back to the US after postwar peace negotiations in France.
The shipboard newspaper called itself "The Hatchet," promised to tell no lies.
Back then, no one refused to grant presidential access to Associated Press ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The shipboard newspaper called itself "The Hatchet," promised to tell no lies.
Back then, no one refused to grant presidential access to Associated Press ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Reposted by Jim Wald
18 February 1919: A bit of book history: rare shipboard periodical: The Hatchet, produced on board the USS George Washington (get it? the cherry tree story), a former German liner that carried US troops during #WWI and here: President Wilson to and from postwar peace negotiations
February 19, 2025 at 5:19 AM
18 February 1919: A bit of book history: rare shipboard periodical: The Hatchet, produced on board the USS George Washington (get it? the cherry tree story), a former German liner that carried US troops during #WWI and here: President Wilson to and from postwar peace negotiations
Taking page from Adams, Mamdani proposes NYC #library cuts
“If you're just going to say, ‘Oh, I love the library,’ but you’re not actually supporting them, then that’s a real disappointment &, frankly, bulls---” Abby Emerson, Public Library Action Network
“If you're just going to say, ‘Oh, I love the library,’ but you’re not actually supporting them, then that’s a real disappointment &, frankly, bulls---” Abby Emerson, Public Library Action Network
Taking page from Adams, Mayor Mamdani proposes NYC library cuts
Library advocates called the mayor’s proposed budget “terrible.”
gothamist.com
February 20, 2026 at 4:04 AM
Taking page from Adams, Mamdani proposes NYC #library cuts
“If you're just going to say, ‘Oh, I love the library,’ but you’re not actually supporting them, then that’s a real disappointment &, frankly, bulls---” Abby Emerson, Public Library Action Network
“If you're just going to say, ‘Oh, I love the library,’ but you’re not actually supporting them, then that’s a real disappointment &, frankly, bulls---” Abby Emerson, Public Library Action Network
Shocker!
Commission, packed with Trump allies, unanimously approves White House ballroom project
https://wapo.st/3OlZPRC
This is a facility that is desperately needed for over 150 years, and it’s beautiful--Chair Rodney Mims Cook Jr
Two untrue statements in 1 sentence 🤦♂️
February 19, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Shocker!
Commission, packed with Trump allies, unanimously approves White House ballroom project
https://wapo.st/3OlZPRC
This is a facility that is desperately needed for over 150 years, and it’s beautiful--Chair Rodney Mims Cook Jr
Two untrue statements in 1 sentence 🤦♂️
18 February 1948: postal souvenir card from the Soviet zone of #Germany marks the centennial of the publication by #Marx & #Engels of #Communist Manifesto (in London, but in German: 21 February)
The 1947 stamp is one of the Allied Control Council definitives for use in all zones
The 1947 stamp is one of the Allied Control Council definitives for use in all zones
February 18, 2026 at 11:43 PM
18 February 1948: postal souvenir card from the Soviet zone of #Germany marks the centennial of the publication by #Marx & #Engels of #Communist Manifesto (in London, but in German: 21 February)
The 1947 stamp is one of the Allied Control Council definitives for use in all zones
The 1947 stamp is one of the Allied Control Council definitives for use in all zones
Reposted by Jim Wald
The sanitarium in Scottsboro, Ga., opened during the 1918 influenza epidemic, was the first hospital in town that would treat Black people. It’s a house that operated as a hospital until 1964. It was heavily damaged by fire in 2021. www.wsav.com/news/histori...
Historical marker for Van Buren Sanitarium to be dedicated in Statesboro
Dr. Harvey Van Buren opened Van Buren Sanitarium in December 1918 during the influenza epidemic.
www.wsav.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:49 AM
The sanitarium in Scottsboro, Ga., opened during the 1918 influenza epidemic, was the first hospital in town that would treat Black people. It’s a house that operated as a hospital until 1964. It was heavily damaged by fire in 2021. www.wsav.com/news/histori...
Wishing a happy Year of the Fire Horse to all who celebrate!
And look at the beautiful books that one of my Chinese students gave me
And look at the beautiful books that one of my Chinese students gave me
February 18, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Wishing a happy Year of the Fire Horse to all who celebrate!
And look at the beautiful books that one of my Chinese students gave me
And look at the beautiful books that one of my Chinese students gave me
Reposted by Jim Wald
I baked a pancake in my fireplace, the medieval way!
Nice excuse to also show off the trivet blacksmith Klaas Kloosterhuis made for me, and the medieval replica pan made by potter Aebele of Atelier Able.
Did I succeed?
Sort of... ahem...
youtu.be/r6j54DsdzbY?...
Nice excuse to also show off the trivet blacksmith Klaas Kloosterhuis made for me, and the medieval replica pan made by potter Aebele of Atelier Able.
Did I succeed?
Sort of... ahem...
youtu.be/r6j54DsdzbY?...
Baking a medieval pancake
YouTube video by Fake History Hunter
youtu.be
February 18, 2026 at 12:24 AM
I baked a pancake in my fireplace, the medieval way!
Nice excuse to also show off the trivet blacksmith Klaas Kloosterhuis made for me, and the medieval replica pan made by potter Aebele of Atelier Able.
Did I succeed?
Sort of... ahem...
youtu.be/r6j54DsdzbY?...
Nice excuse to also show off the trivet blacksmith Klaas Kloosterhuis made for me, and the medieval replica pan made by potter Aebele of Atelier Able.
Did I succeed?
Sort of... ahem...
youtu.be/r6j54DsdzbY?...
Speaking of vulgar
Trump picks his White House assistant for panel reviewing ballroom
https://wapo.st/4rhCfE5
"Former fine arts commissioners said they could not recall a commissioner in the panel’s history with as little prior arts experience as Harris"
😢 #architecture #art
Trump picks his White House assistant for panel reviewing ballroom
https://wapo.st/4rhCfE5
"Former fine arts commissioners said they could not recall a commissioner in the panel’s history with as little prior arts experience as Harris"
😢 #architecture #art
February 18, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Speaking of vulgar
Trump picks his White House assistant for panel reviewing ballroom
https://wapo.st/4rhCfE5
"Former fine arts commissioners said they could not recall a commissioner in the panel’s history with as little prior arts experience as Harris"
😢 #architecture #art
Trump picks his White House assistant for panel reviewing ballroom
https://wapo.st/4rhCfE5
"Former fine arts commissioners said they could not recall a commissioner in the panel’s history with as little prior arts experience as Harris"
😢 #architecture #art
Should We All Be ‘House Burping’? The German practice of “lüften” is gaining traction on social media. It may improve your home air quality | New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2026...
Leave it to Amis to take a German common-sense practice and a simple term and make it vulgar 🙄
www.nytimes.com/2026...
Leave it to Amis to take a German common-sense practice and a simple term and make it vulgar 🙄
Should We All Be ‘House Burping’?
The German practice of “lüften” is gaining traction on social media. It may improve your home air quality.
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Should We All Be ‘House Burping’? The German practice of “lüften” is gaining traction on social media. It may improve your home air quality | New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2026...
Leave it to Amis to take a German common-sense practice and a simple term and make it vulgar 🙄
www.nytimes.com/2026...
Leave it to Amis to take a German common-sense practice and a simple term and make it vulgar 🙄
Reposted by Jim Wald
Eine Tagung widmete sich dem Umgang mit Shoah-Überlebenden nach der Befreiuung. Über Traumata, die vererbt werden, und Fotos, die unbequeme Fragen stellen.
Fotos von Deportationen: Wie die Lörracher bei Deportationen gafften
Eine Tagung widmete sich dem Umgang mit Shoah-Überlebenden nach der Befreiuung. Über Traumata, die vererbt werden, und Fotos, die unbequeme Fragen stellen.
taz.de
February 17, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Eine Tagung widmete sich dem Umgang mit Shoah-Überlebenden nach der Befreiuung. Über Traumata, die vererbt werden, und Fotos, die unbequeme Fragen stellen.
Reposted by Jim Wald
Ein Projektraum im Altonaer Museum zeigt 400 Jahre jüdische Geschichte der gesamten Hansestadt Hamburg.
Regionalmuseum Hamburg: Altona war schon immer toleranter
Ein Projektraum im Regionalmuseum zeigt 400 Jahre jüdische Geschichte der gesamten Hansestadt
buff.ly
February 17, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Ein Projektraum im Altonaer Museum zeigt 400 Jahre jüdische Geschichte der gesamten Hansestadt Hamburg.
Reposted by Jim Wald
German musicologist, composer and harpsichordist Richard Engländer was born #OTD in 1889. He was wounded in WWI and awarded the Iron Cross. From 1937 he was interrogated by the Nazis several times and arrested in 1939. He escaped to Sweden.
de.wikipedia.org/wik...
de.wikipedia.org/wik...
February 17, 2026 at 8:12 AM
German musicologist, composer and harpsichordist Richard Engländer was born #OTD in 1889. He was wounded in WWI and awarded the Iron Cross. From 1937 he was interrogated by the Nazis several times and arrested in 1939. He escaped to Sweden.
de.wikipedia.org/wik...
de.wikipedia.org/wik...
Reposted by Jim Wald
Happy 98th birthday to Margot Heuman! She was the first queer Jewish woman who bore testimony of surviving the Holocaust and loving a woman.
I had the great honor of interviewing her, and the pleasure of becoming her friend.
I had the great honor of interviewing her, and the pleasure of becoming her friend.
February 17, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Happy 98th birthday to Margot Heuman! She was the first queer Jewish woman who bore testimony of surviving the Holocaust and loving a woman.
I had the great honor of interviewing her, and the pleasure of becoming her friend.
I had the great honor of interviewing her, and the pleasure of becoming her friend.
Reposted by Jim Wald
I keep thinking I've sublimated the bad vibes of that job — but I'm reminded that this awesome class, which generated this 🎉 book, which required an additional three months of labor from me, and which we distributed FREELY to all students and around campus + city, yielded ZERO acknldgmt from Penn 🤷♀️
February 17, 2026 at 3:47 AM
I keep thinking I've sublimated the bad vibes of that job — but I'm reminded that this awesome class, which generated this 🎉 book, which required an additional three months of labor from me, and which we distributed FREELY to all students and around campus + city, yielded ZERO acknldgmt from Penn 🤷♀️
Bottoms up! Trump to be exposed at Carnival parade.
Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are all targets of satirical floats at this year's Rose Monday Parade in Cologne. But Vladimir Putin will be spared — and there is a reason for that
Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are all targets of satirical floats at this year's Rose Monday Parade in Cologne. But Vladimir Putin will be spared — and there is a reason for that
Bottoms up! Trump to be exposed at Carnival parade
Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are all targets of satirical floats at this year's Rose Monday Parade in Cologne. But Vladimir Putin will be spared — and there is a reason for that.
www.dw.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Bottoms up! Trump to be exposed at Carnival parade.
Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are all targets of satirical floats at this year's Rose Monday Parade in Cologne. But Vladimir Putin will be spared — and there is a reason for that
Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are all targets of satirical floats at this year's Rose Monday Parade in Cologne. But Vladimir Putin will be spared — and there is a reason for that
Reposted by Jim Wald
In a rare letter to Republican senators, four descendants of Teddy Roosevelt oppose mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters.
Teddy Roosevelt’s family urges GOP to protect Boundary Waters
In a rare letter to Republican senators, four descendants of the former president oppose mining near the Minnesota wilderness area.
www.startribune.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
In a rare letter to Republican senators, four descendants of Teddy Roosevelt oppose mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters.
Reposted by Jim Wald
Remember: Viktor Orban has built a corrupt, stagnant Hungary that is much poorer than it should be
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
America’s Future Is Hungary
MAGA conservatives love Viktor Orbán. But he’s left his country corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished.
www.theatlantic.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Remember: Viktor Orban has built a corrupt, stagnant Hungary that is much poorer than it should be
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Reposted by Jim Wald
Feb. 16, 1776: Britain's Lord Weymouth lays before the House of Lords the three treaties signed with German principalities (Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Hanau and Brunswick) to pay for troops in America.
February 16, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Feb. 16, 1776: Britain's Lord Weymouth lays before the House of Lords the three treaties signed with German principalities (Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Hanau and Brunswick) to pay for troops in America.