Preliminary Inventory of the Hermann Borchardt Papers, 1918-1960s
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Borchardt, Hermann
Title
Hermann Borchardt Papers, 1918-1960s
Language of Material
Material in English,
German
Extent
4.2 Linear Feet
3200 Items
Abstract
3200 Items
German writer and intellect who escaped a Nazi concentration camp and immigrated to New York in 1937.
Collection consists of correspondence between Borchardt and several friends, including several news clippings and photographs. Subjects discussed include the emergence of Nazi Germany under Hitler and the origins and consequences of World War II. The remainder of the collection consists of literary manuscripts, drafts, and notes from Borchardt's writings, as well as some correspondence and newspaper clippings. Many of the materials are not in order and are in poor condition. Writings are in German and English.
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Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Hermann Borchardt Papers, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Hermann Borchardt Papers were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
gift in 2007.
Processing Information
Accessioned by Meghan Lyon, April 2009
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, April 2009
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Hermann Borchardt was a German intellectual with Marxist leanings who left Germany in 1933 following Hitler's rise to power. He moved to Russia to teach German, but his exposure to the oppression he found there led him to reverse his political leanings and become an outspoken critic of communism. His family was expelled from Russia in 1936, and returned to Germany. Borchardt spent 10 months in Nazi concentration camps before finally being allowed to leave Germany and immigrate to the United States, where his family later joined him. He continued to write books, short stories, and articles criticising communism. His best work is considered to be The Conspiracy of the Carpenters, published in 1943; other works include Philosophische Grundbegriffe (1927); The Bloody Deeds of Germersheim Before the Eternal Judge, Music of the Near Future, The Red Document (1929); The Brethren of Halberstadt (1938); and The Wife of the Police-Commissionaire (1946). He died of a heart attack in 1951.
Borchardt's youngest son, Frank, was born in New York City, and eventually became a professor of German Languages at Duke University.
[top]Collection Overview
The original collection consists of correspondence between Borchardt and several friends, including several news clippings and photographs. Subjects discussed include the emergence of Nazi Germany under Hitler and the origins and consequences of World War II. They despise Hitler's tactics, expressed dismay with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and criticized Hitler's deal with Russia's Stalin (i.e. the German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact of 1939). The collection also makes reference to German playwright Bertolt Brecht, whose views of war the correspondents agreed with.
The accession (2008-0158) appears to consist largely of literary manuscripts, drafts, and notes from Borchardt's writings, as well as some correspondence and newspaper clippings. Many of the materials are not in order and are in poor condition. Writings are in German and English. This addition is unprocessed.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Borchardt, Hermann.--b. 1888.
- Hitler, Adolf--1889-1945.
- Chamberlain, Neville--1869-1940.
- Brecht, Bertolt--1898-1956.
- Germany--Treaties, etc.--Soviet Union, 1939 Aug. 23.
- The brethren of Halberstadt.
- The conspiracy of carpenters.
- The smoke rose up forever.
- Germany--politics and government--1933-1945.
- Soviet Union--foreign relations--Germany.
- Drafts (documents)
- Translations (documents)
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Letters, 1934-1950 | ||||||
 | | Accession (2008-0158), 1918-1960s | ||||||
Preliminary Description of Collection
Letters, 1934-1950
(1 box)
This portion of the collection (55 items) includes correspondence between Borchardt and several friends, including several news clippings and photographs. Subjects discussed include the emergence of Nazi Germany under Hitler and the origins and consequences of World War II. They despise Hitler's tactics, expressed dismay with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and criticized Hitler's deal with Russia's Stalin (i.e. the German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact of 1939). The collection also makes reference to German playwright Bertolt Brecht, whose views of war the correspondents agreed with.
Box 1
Letters, 1934-1950
Accession (2008-0158), 1918-1960s
(7 boxes)
Accession (2008-0158) (3150 items; 4.2 lin. ft.; dated 1910s-1960s and no date) consists of literary manuscripts, drafts, and notes from Borchardt's writings, as well as some correspondence and newspaper clippings. Many of the materials are not in order and are in poor condition. Writings are in German and English.
The Brethren of Halberstadt, Acts I-II
The Smoke Rose Up Forever
Conspiracy of the Carpenters
Louise, Act I
Text, no label, pages 340-770
Printed materials
Griechische Bildwerke und Der Stille Garten
Captivity, by Fred Uhlman
Calendar, no year
Moritz von Schwind
Box 2
The Brethren of Halberstadt, Act III
Weinhold manuscripts
Geschichte eines bosen Gewissens
Loose pages, no label
Froanziger Jahre
Short story
Text, no label
Michael Schirmer, 1933
Antonia Wellhöhner, 1918
Tale of a Noblewoman
Box 3
Dritter Akt.
Rudolf K. Kommer: Hotel Ambassador (The Smoke Rose Up Forever, Acts I-IV)
1914 and 1918
Articles, clippings, correspondence.
Correspondence, 1945-1948
Newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials
Correspondence, to Mimi [Hermann's wife, Dorothy Redmer Borchardt] from Baby, 1960s
Box 4
Die Verschwörungder der Zimmerleüte
Text, no label, p. 5-138
Loose pages
Braunes (?)
Die Verschwörung der Zimmerleüte
Luise: Dritter Akt. Das Gericht
Loose drafts (in German)
Newspaper clippings
Nächte
Methodik-Minsk, 1935
I Akt: Die Razzia
Box 5
Der Verlorene Haufe (The Vanguard), 1939
The Conspiracy of the Carpenters
Tale of a Noblewoman I
Geschichte Einer Edelfrau
Club der Hamloser Angefaugener Roman (?)
Die Nacht der Versöhnung
Loose pages, no label
Box 6
Loose pages, no label
1923
A Thaler und A Pfenning und No Reich to the Germans
Loose pages, no label
Das Paradies des Kleinen Otto
Tale of a Noblewoman II
Der Kleine Engel in Österreich
The Smoke Rose Up Forever
Loose pages, no label
Austria newspaper, 1948
Box 7
Clippings on foreign alliances, domestic peace, and the Far East
Loose pages, no label
Drafts of chapters
Die Sünde des Erafen Gotter (II)
Mann und Frau (III)
Erste Begegnung (VII)
Diner bei Gotter (VIII)
Sofort zü Arbe Schreiben
Roman: Das jahr 1918
1918: Schwester Martha
Die Brüder von Halberstadt
Schluss Rapibel
Kapital (?)
Loose pages and manuscripts
Short stories
Eros Stark Wie der Tod
The Legend of the Gothamists
Tag der Befreiung
Der Schwarze Freitag
Verpöbelung der Gebildeten durch exakte Wissenschaft
Erstes Kapitel
German National Character (Part I)
Outside Education (Part II)
Make Them Forget (Part III)
Secondary Schools (Part IV)
Uprising of a Ruling Class (Part V)
