A Hero of Two Worlds: The 1910/11 Steuben Statues in Washington and Potsdam and German American Memory Politics

American friendship, which is frequently invoked by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to this day.Perhaps even more importantly, Steuben also emerged as the preeminent historical patron of German Americans.The Steuben Society of America, founded in 1919, has served as an advocacy group of German American interests for decades.Since 1957, German Americans have held the famous Steuben Parade in New York City, which draws thousands of visitors every year. 2 However, in contrast to the extensive scholarship dedicated to Steuben and his role in the Revolutionary War, historians have largely neglected the history of this Steuben commemoration. 3 Jrgen Brstle has recently called attention to this gap in historiography. 4 Apart from an older overview article by Hartmut Lehmann, little has been written on the commemoration, heroization, mythification, and political use of Steuben after his death in 1794. 5y investigating the history of the two bronze statues of Steuben erected in Washington, D.C. and Potsdam, this article seeks to broaden our understanding of Steuben's public afterlife and its intersection with German American demands for political recognition and inclusion.The statue in Washington, unveiled on December 7, 1910, in close proximity to the White House, arguably represents the most visible and prestigious manifestation of German Americans' admiration for Steuben.The unveiling ceremony was among the largest German American political gatherings of the early twentieth century.The original idea went back to a German American congressional initiative from 1902.An exact replica of the Washington statue was later erected in Potsdam and unveiled on September 2, 1911, with the German Emperor Wilhelm II in attendance.It was the first public monument to Steuben in Germany and was presented as an