US-amerikanische »Scientific Philanthropy« in Frankreich, Deutschland und Großbritannien zwischen den Weltkriegen

Abstract

From the early 20th century onwards, US-American foundations played an important role as exponents of worldwide philanthropic engagement. The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) gained special significance as it promoted research in Europe in general and sponsored the social sciences in Germany, France and Great Britain in particular. This paper first sets out central links of the topic with current research on international "scientific diplomacy", Americanization, Philanthropy and Cultural Transfer. Then it drafts major aspects of the concrete historical setting of the RF's philanthropic engagement in Europe in the interwar years. Finally it discusses main features of the academic infrastructure in Germany, France and Britain that shaped the Foundation's funding strategies. Thus it offers a rough comparative outline of - partly similar, partly peculiar - Western European preconditions of transatlantic knowledge transfer.