The Friends of the German Historical Institute recently awarded history teacher Adam Bisno the 2018 Fritz Stern Dissertation Prize for his work "Hotel Berlin: The Politics of Commercial Hospitality in the German Metropolis, 1875-1945." Each year, the award recognizes what the committee deems the best doctoral dissertation on a topic in German history written at a North American university.
Dr. Bisno's dissertation follows the grand hotels of Berlin through the 70 years between the rise of the German Empire and Allied occupation. Drawing on a vast array of sources, he explores every aspect of the hotels, from architecture to staff organization, to examine Berlin hoteliers' shift from liberalism to authoritarianism during this period. "Partly because of their gamble on Nazism," Dr. Bisno explains, "another world war erupted and aerial bombardment burned every one of Berlin's grand hotels to the ground. I think that ultimately, this isn't just a German history of bad decision-making; it might also be a cautionary tale."
In their press release, the Friends of the German Historical Institute describe the dissertation as "a deeply researched and elegantly written exploration...noteworthy for its broad temporal scope and its tight focus on a largely forgotten story.... Bisno crosses the lines between urban history, social history, and political history in a unique and exemplary way...[offering] fresh perspective to reinvigorate several longstanding debates in German history."
The group presented Dr. Bisno with his award during a ceremony at the German Historical Institute in DC on Nov. 9. Before an audience of primarily historians, he delivered a lecture about his work, then answered questions. He had also invited his classes and was thrilled to see one of his students, Lily Muhlbaum '22, and her mother, Elizabeth Muhlbaum, in the crowd.
Dr. Bisno joined the Holton community this fall and brings a decade of wide-ranging teaching experiences at the high-school and college levels, including at the all-girls Ellis School in Pittsburgh and at Johns Hopkins University, where he obtained his doctorate. He earned a master's in history from Cambridge University and a bachelor's in history and German studies from Swarthmore College.
At Holton, Dr. Bisno teaches ninth- and tenth-grade history and co-advises the Upper School Model UN. He strives to share his skills with students and inspire them to delve deeply into topics that interest them. "I really practice what I preach," he says. "I try to teach all of my students the same strategies and skills that got me through writing this dissertation: research, writing, historical analysis, critical thinking."
He loves when a student is conducting research and says, "Wait a minute, this is weird." If you find a part of a historical source that doesn't make sense, he says, "that's what you seize on and investigate.... That's when you know you have a topic worth studying."
Dr. Bisno looks forward to the rest of the year at Holton and, in his downtime, is planning to rework his dissertation into a book.
