The Politics of Humor: Max Cohnheim's Columbia (1863–1873), A German Newspaper in the Nation's Capital

Abstract

�� ��� When a new German newspaper was launched in Washington, D.C. in 1863, the German-speaking community must have thought it barely worth a second glance. Too many previous attempts at permanently establishing a press organ for the German population in the nation’s capital had failed, too many dailies and weeklies had come and gone, to make this new Columbia seem the proverbial exception to the rule. 1 Max Cohnheim, the editor of this new weekly paper, was very much aware of the difficulties he would face in trying to convince potential subscribers to invest in what seemed to them a doomed venture. Instead of the usual editorial address to the readers and mission statement in the first issue of the Columbia, readers found “Washingtoner Plaudereien” (“Washington Conversations”), an imagined conversation between the editor and several German citizens of Washington: “Yet another new newspaper! I’m sure that’ll be around for a long time!” Says one; “what,” says the other, “he is bold enough to start a new paper here in Washington City, where so many unfortunate attempts have already been made!”— Never mind! Calm down, gentlemen! Buy our paper, or don’t buy it. Just as you will not succeed in halting the course of the Earth, you won’t stop us from sending our “Columbia” out into the world, “trotz alledem und alledem,” as Freiligrath says. 2