Franz Rosenzweig Papers
Scope and Contents
The Rosenzweig collection contains over a thousand items dating from 1896 to Rosenzweig’s death in 1929, as well as correspondence up to the 1960s. A major focus of the collection is manuscript drafts, notes, proofs with corrections, drafts, and paralipomena to Rosenzweig’s works such as "Der Stern der Erlösung," "Tischdank," "Schechina," "Jehuda Halevi," "Zeit ist’s," and essays such as "Judentum und Deutschtum," as well as letters and commemorative publications from Rosenzweig’s circle.
There are handwritten originals, typed documents, and copies of private correspondence, family memoirs, and diaries, including letters with Nahum Glatzer, Martin Buber, Hermann Badt, Hermann Cohen, Victor and Richard Ehrenberg, Rudi Hallo, Mawrik Kahn, Ernst Simon, Hermann Schalit, and his mother Adele Rosenzweig. Among the unique items are numerous letters, photographs, and other documents, as well as Franz Rosenzweig’s original school reports and various university study books from the years 1896 to 1912, his record of immunizations from around 1914, and Rosenzweig’s religious tallit.
Glatzer was engaged in translating and interpreting Rosenzweig’s works and authored a biography, titled “Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought" (1962).
The Rosenzweig papers of the Glatzer Collection are an important addition to the Rosenzweig Collection of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York and, since 2006, to the “Franz Rosenzweig” holdings of the University Library of Kassel in Germany.
Series one, subseries 1.1 includes manuscript pages (originals and revised drafts) of Rosenzweig’s definitive work, Der Stern der Erlösung (The Star of Redemption), as well as several pages of corrections. All of these items are in the author’s handwriting and are written on a variety of sizes and styles of paper, which may be single or double sided and are sometimes numbered by sheet and sometimes by page; chapter manuscripts may also be dated by the author at the end. Each folder herein contains the manuscript of one of the sections (the Introduction or a chapter). In several cases, Glatzer has indicated corresponding page numbers to the first German edition or written marginal notes concerning the text. Item numbers indicate the actual number of pieces in the folder (which may be single sheets of paper, folded sheets, or stapled notebooks). Chapter titles are noted only when they differ from the published edition. Arrangement is by section and chapter.
Subseries 1.2 comprises original manuscript pages from a wide variety of Rosenzweig’s shorter writings (several unpublished). A number of these are handwritten (predating his illness). Several of these manuscripts are typewritten, perhaps by Rosenzweig himself (during the early days of his illness) or by an aide at his dictation. Subseries 1.2 also includes typewritten copies (many with hand-written corrections) of a number of Rosenzweig’s works, presumably readying them for publication. Finally, Subseries 1.2 includes a small number of papers of a personal nature: an essay written by FR for two friends on their wedding day, transcripts from FR’s notebook containing stories and details concerning his family tree. Most of this material is undated. Arrangement: alphabetically by title of the work.
Series two comprises correspondence (short notes, memos, postcards, telegraphs, and letters) written by and to FR. These letters take four forms:
- the original, handwritten autograph or a carbon copy of the original, made at the time of composition;
- the original, typed autograph of the letter;
- a typed copy prepared for publication;
- or a Photostat or photocopy of any of the above forms.
Subseries 2.1 contains the letters of FR written to various individuals. Of these, the original, handwritten autographs written prior to 1923 are in his handwriting; after December, 1923, original autographs are in the handwriting of the person transcribing the letter as dictated by FR. Typed copies of original autographs by FR prior to 1923 were made on a normal typewriter; letters from early March until early December, 1923, were typed by FR on a special typewriter after he had been diagnosed with MLS (and as a result, show the progression of his illness). Subseries 2.2 contains letters written by various individuals to FR. Subseries 2.3 contains correspondence written about FR among various individuals. Many of these letters relate to Glatzer’s attempts to collect and collate FR’s correspondence between the years 1942–1970.
Arrangement: subseries 2.1 arranged alphabetically by recipient, chronologically within the folder (undated correspondence is placed at the end); subseries 2.2, arranged alphabetically by author, chronologically within the folder; subseries 2.3, arranged alphabetically by author and recipient, chronologically within the folder.
Series three contains diaries of FR, primarily from his university days. The majority of these diaries have been transcribed, are typewritten, and are divided into four parts. They contain numerous marginal notes by NNG. Folder xx contains several handwritten examples of FR’s diary pages, with typed transcriptons and English translation. Arranged chronologicaly
Series four contains offprints, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings of translations and articles by FR; several excerpts from Die Schrift, with Martin Buber; and one article that mentions FR. Arranged alphabetically by title.
Series five contains unbound galley proofs of Der Stern der Erlösung with hand-written corrections by FR.
Series six comprises personal records primarily from FR’s university years. Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
Series seven comprises ephemera, including postcards, newspaper clippings, posters, and miscellaneous items. Arranged alphabetically.
Series eight comprises photographs, most of which were used in publications of FR’s works. Arranged alphabetically.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1800s-1960s
Biographical / Historical
Franz Rosenzweig (December 25, 1886–December 10, 1929), one of most original German- Jewish theologians and philosophers of the 20th Century, was part of a small circle of Jewish scholars following the First World War that worked to develop a new synthesis of philosophy and theology and to shape the development of Jewish education.
Rosenzweig was raised in a well-to-do, non-practicing Jewish family, but he developed an interest in the Jewish faith under the influence of an uncle. He began his university studies in medicine in 1904 at Göttingen and then Munich, but he moved to Freiburg in 1906 to study history and philosophy. His PhD thesis, completed in 1912, became part of a two-volume work, Hegel und der Staat (published in 1920). In 1913, after nearly converting to Christianity, he instead rededicated himself to Judaism and began an intense study of Jewish classics. Although he served on the Balkan front in World War I, Rosenzweig saw no combat and spent his time studying, writing, and corresponding. In the fall of 1918, he began work on his magnum opus, Der Stern der Erlösung, which he wrote on army postcards and mailed to his mother. He completed the work after being discharged in 1919 and published it in 1921.
In the years after the war, Rosenzweig also joined with a group of Jewish scholars to found a Jewish school, the Freies Jüdisches Lehrhaus, in Frankfort, dedicated to reconnecting Jews to their past traditions without separating them from modern society. Rosenzweig became the first director, but less than a year later (in February 1922) he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis and resigned the post several months later (although he remained involved in developing the curriculum). The Rosenzweigs purchased a special typewriter in early 1922 that allowed him to continue writing, but as the symptoms of his illness progressed, he slowly lost this ability as well. By December 1923, he could no longer type or communicate orally. He was able, however, to communicate by pointing to keys on the keyboard.
As a result, in spite of his handicap he continued his research and writing, turning his attention primarily to translation, publishing Sixty Hymns and Poems of Judah Halevi in 1924 (and an expanded edition in 1927). The work contained not only translations of the poems but also commentary. In addition, Rosenzweig published a number of articles on the nature of translating itself. In 1925 he and Martin Buber began a translation of the Jewish Scriptures entitled Die Schrift. Rosenzweig died on December 19, 1929.
Full Extent
From the Collection: 54.78 Linear Feet (86 letter Hollingers, 33 legal Hollingers, 7 legal half-Hollingers, 1 letter half-Hollinger, 3 Paige boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Hebrew
From the Collection: Yiddish
Abstract
The Rosenzweig papers include manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and personal objects. The focal point of the Rosenzweig papers are the handwritten manuscripts of his masterwork, Der Stern der Erlösung. Also in the Rosenzweig papers are correspondence between Rosenzweig and Martin Buber regarding their collaborative work on Die Schrift, their translation of the Jewish scriptures into German.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Divinity Library acquired the Franz Rosenzweig Papers as part of the archives of Professor Nahum N. Glatzer in 1991 as a gift from the Zimmerman family.
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
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