The Undoing of an Encyclopedia: Knowledge Practices within German Folklore Studies after World War II

Encyclopedias are special "knowledge formats" ( Wissensformate ). They follow a particular method and form of defining, arranging, and representing knowledge. They claim to be all-embracing, objective, systematic, and valid over a long period of time. This essay argues that encyclopedias are, like every other knowledge format, "cultural snapshots" that mirror the conditions of their time and production. Based on archival studies and oral history interviews, this article presents the "knowledge story" of the Handwörterbuch der Sage (Encyclopedia of legends). Analyzing its failure offers deep insights into the practices of knowledge production and representation within the discipline of German Volkskunde in the 1950s and 1960s.