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Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Taru Spiegel, reference specialist, European Division.) Printing with movable metal type was first introduced to Europe in the mid-15th-century Germany by a visionary goldsmith and businessman, Johann Gutenberg (d. 1468). Prior to that time, books were written and copied manually, a labor which took many months. Gutenberg anticipated sound …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Helen Fedor, together with Taru Spiegel. Both are reference specialist in the European Division.) The Reformation, set in motion by Martin Luther’s “Ninety-five Theses” of 1517, advocated that individuals read the Bible and other religious works for themselves, in their own language, rather than rely on others to interpret …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Taru Spiegel, Reference Specialist, European Division.) National Poetry Month in the United States is surely presided over by the Muses, the Greco-Roman patron goddesses of poets. The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress features many murals depicting poetry from the lyrical to the epic, but it is …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Helen Fedor, Reference Specialist in the European Division.) The most famous work by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek (1883-1923), and probably the best known work of Czech literature, is “Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války” (The adventures of the good soldier Švejk during the world war), or as it …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Taru Spiegel, Reference Specialist, European Division.) Building on the 19th-century nationalist flowering of literature in the various Baltic languages, authors in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania created a significant body of writing during the first period of Baltic independence, between World War I and World War II—1918 to 1940. During …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a cross-post by Zachary Maiorana. It originally appeared on the In the Muse Blog.) Zachary Maiorana interned in the European Division this summer updating lists of e-resources that are especially valuable for European studies. He alternated with interning at the Smithsonian, as well. Zach graduated in May from Ohio State University with a B.A. in …
Posted in: European Reading Room, World War I
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Taru Spiegel, Reference Specialist in the European Division.) The Russian Revolution of 1917 provided a chance for a number of peoples to separate from a collapsing empire. After more than a century of tsarist rule, Finland seized this opportunity. Following intense deliberations, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, head of the majority …
Posted in: European Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Regina Frackowiak; Reference Specialist, European Division.) Maria Sklodowska was born 150 years ago, on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. Both of her parents were teachers who deeply believed in the importance of education. Maria was given her first lessons in physics and chemistry by her father. She showed …
Posted in: European Reading Room, Women's History Month
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by David B. Morris, German Area Specialist, European Division.) Note: The items in this post are included in an exhibit of the same title in the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Building of the Library of Congress, October 3, 2017–January 1, 2018. This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. On October …
Posted in: European Reading Room, Exhibitions