»Eine offene Beleidigung«  Jantzen 83 The work of publishing a journal for the college was authorized by the board of directors, which at its November meeting in 1895 made Goerz the editor of the new bilingual School and College Journal with the first issue appear­ing in January 1896. In 1903 the paper was split into separate English and German versions, with Gustav Haury editing the English and Goerz the Ger­man, named Monatsblätter aus Bethel College. The German-language publi­cations of Goerz kept Bethel College and its Mennonite community connect­ed to Prussian and Russian communities, with reporting and letters going back and forth both ways. For example, in March 1882 a letter was sent by Pastor Leonhard Stobbe in Montau, Prussia, asking for assistance for a poor Mennonite family from his congregation who wanted to emigrate to Kan­sas. The May 1903 issue of Monatsblätter, in which the first portion of Wedel’s review appeared, reprinted portions of letters from readers in Prussia and Russia. Even this cursory look at Goerz’s publications shows the key role he played in keeping a transnational Mennonite community connected that Fontane then was able to tap into and use as a transnational German com­munity for his purposes in Quitt. 13 Obadja Hornbostel – ein schlimmes Zerrbild Wedel opened the first segment of his review by noting that Mennonites had been used to illustrate facets of German culture before, citing the play Der Menonit by Ernst von Wildenbruch, which, he added, fortunately was not well known in America since it painted Mennonites is such a negative light. For Wedel Fontane’s portrayal, however, was even worse, especially con­cerning Obadja. As an ordained minister and church leader, Wedel may well have been particularly sensitive to Fontane’s representations here. Mennon­ites in North America, who for the most part maintained their absolute re­fusal to serve in the military at this time, were used to being branded as traitors by patriots as von Wildenbruch had done. Thus, the location and theological positioning of Mennonites themselves at the time mattered a great deal in how Quitt was received among them. Ernst Correll, writing a decade after Wedel for the Mennonitisches Lexikon in Germany where Men­nonites had now all accepted military service, found Fontane’s image of Mennonites to be»echt und wahrhaftig« in contrast to von Wildenbruch’s. 14 Wedel’s review began with a brief summary of the second part of the novel set in Indian territory. In listing the missionaries, he corrected the spelling for Anthony Shelly, instead of Shelley, since he knew the man per­sonally. Shelly was originally from Pennsylvania but taught at the Halstead school 1884-1886. Wedel recorded spending time with him in 1896 at a na­tional church meeting. Fontane, however, referred in Ein Sommer in London