The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that poet and scholar Robert L. Kahn, who escaped Nazi Germany with a Kindertransport, became a professor of German at Rice University in Houston, Texas?
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Germany, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Germany on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GermanyWikipedia:WikiProject GermanyTemplate:WikiProject GermanyGermany
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
However, "The only apparent lacunae in the recordings are the readings of two literary scholars who were living in the United States and invited to take part, Robert Kahn (Houston) and Reinhard Paul Becker (New York)."
But it could be another confirmation of the invitation if anyone needs one. —Kusma (t·c) 17:25, 23 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Gustav was arrested...: A teacher once told me to avoid passive voicing as best you can, but especially when dealing with Nazis. Who in particular arrested him? The Gestapo? The SS?
...but was released in February 1939.: any info on why?
I don't know any details, but I think this was just typical of the mass arrests after Kristallnacht. Unlikely Gestapo, more likely SA/SS/regular police. Many Jews were arrested and later released again.
If the sources don't say who was doing the arresting then I guess we're out of luck. If the sources say that his arrest was in-line with the mass arrests, the sentence should be reworded to make this clear (avoid WP:EASTEREGG).
Be sure to introduce people, such as August von Kotzebue and Hermann Boeschenstein.
Did a little. Kotzebue is famous to the present day mostly because he was assassinated in 1819, but that's not what Kahn was interested in.
MOS:OVERSECTION mentions: "Very short sections and subsections clutter an article with headings and inhibit the flow of the prose. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheading." I think this section can be joined with the next (Research interests and students).
romanticism: probably ought to be capitalized and linked to Romanticism.
I linked Romantic Era to romanticism just before. A bit suboptimal to repeat this so quickly.
Whoops, I missed "Romantic Era" on my first reading. Disregard the linking.
...part of the Kritische Friedrich-Schlegel-Ausgabe.: that what?
Not sure I understand your question. Explained a bit. The edition is still unfinished (currently 35 volumes are planned), but then, neither is the Forster edition.
Sorry, this was supposed to have said "the what?"; I just meant the book needed to be introduced properly, which it now is.
Kahn's mother was deported to Auschwitz in February 1943[11] and was killed there...: Again, passive voicing. I presume it would be fine to write: The Nazis deported Kahn's mother to Auschwitz...
Passive voice is all I have in the sources, and no clear actors. I don't know whether all those involved in deporting her were indeed Nazis, but it is of course highly likely that most of them were (those ordering the deportation and death certainly were).
If we can't assign blame to specific actors, the sentence should at least put her deportation and murder in the context of Jewish deportations during the Holocaust.
Tried to expand this a bit; not sure how much I should write here. Sadly, a very common story.
Much better.
Kahn's suicide has been blamed...: blamed by whom?
I've used active voice to say who said what, and expanded a bit more with what his widow said many years later.
I made several fixes as I made my way through the article. Let me know if you disagree with anything.
Except for a change of "Robert" to "Kahn" that I'm not sure about, definitive improvements. Thanks.
I think it's preferred to use the family name of the article subject per MOS:SURNAME. MOS:SAMESURNAME mentions to use first names only where confusion may arise, so let me know if there are any instances where you think the use of "Khan" introduces confusion.
Don't think it is confusing. My personal preference (or what I write unreflectedly) probably isn't 100% aligned with the MOS, so let's follow the MOS.
I've dealt with Canadian and US image in the past and I think it is in the PD in both nations. The new template they have there makes things a lot easier to figure out. In any case, the fair use justification seems good.
I think when I originally uploaded the picture I wasn't sure whether I needed to know who the photographer was, and then just went for fair use. But if you think it should be PD, I'll make another effort to convince myself and then try to upload it to Commons in the highest resolution I can manage.
Thank you for your helpful comments! I'll get to them over the next few days. My Wikipedia availability is a bit unpredictable, but worst case I should be done by Thursday. JFK: entirely possible, as it was late in the year when he started, and I assume they returned from Germany before September. (The family also almost interacted with other presidents: Lisa Kahn taught German and Psychology at The Kinkaid School, but I'm pretty sure she didn't teach George W Bush and probably didn't teach his brother Jeb). —Kusma (talk) 10:34, 13 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Tkbrett thanks a lot for the comments, including the new ones. Please have a look at the new lead section and let me know whether I've messed up anything else in the meantime. —Kusma (talk) 15:01, 14 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]
On hold: Kusma, an interesting person. Given that he was at Rice University in 1962, I wonder if he made it to JFK's "We choose to go to the Moon" speech. Once the above comments are dealt with it should be an easy pass. Tkbrett (✉) 23:57, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
