Finding aid for the Walter A. Klinger papers 6044

Emily Hodgkins

USC Libraries Special Collections

Doheny Memorial Library 206

3550 Trousdale Parkway

Los Angeles, California 90089-0189

213-740-5900

specol@usc.edu

Language of Material: German

Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections

Title: Walter A. Klinger papers

creator: Klinger, Walter A.

creator: Klinger, Hertha Bley

Identifier/Call Number: 6044

Physical Description: 6.67 Linear Feet 13 boxes

Date (inclusive): c. 1631-2002

Date (bulk): bulk

Abstract: The Walter A. Klinger (1912-2003) papers consists of photographs, correspondence, clippings, and typescripts that document the pre-war Austrian lives of Walter, his wife Hertha, and father Adolf; their emigration via Trinidad in the early 1940’s; and from their lives in the United States. Walter A. Klinger was born May 12, 1912 in Vienna, Austria. In 1929, he began working for Warner Bros. in Vienna, and subsequently spent his entire career working in some aspect of the film industry. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1940, settling in Los Angeles. He died on March 15, 2003 in Camarillo, California.

Biographical note

Walter A. Klinger was born May 12, 1912 in Vienna, Austria to Adolf Klinger and his wife Julia Bellak Klinger. He attended the Academy of Commerce, followed by business school. From school age, he worked toward fluency in French and English in addition to his native German, skills that would proved to be useful to him in his later work. Beginning in 1929, Klinger moved from his job for Warner Bros. in Vienna to Berlin and worked for the American Film Industry, and later Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. On 1935 September 22, Klinger married Hertha Bley, daughter of Paul Bley and Josefine Koffler Bley, in Vienna. Hertha had attended the Wiener Handelsakademie fuer Maedchen and graduated in 1930.

In about 1933, Klinger fled Berlin, which by then was under Nazi control. In a later short essay he composed about his life, he claimed that a threatening phone call from a Nazi official caused him to leave; he traveled first to Switzerland and then to Nice, France, where he was began writing anti-Nazi propaganda for the Ligue Contre L'Antisemitism. But because he worked for M.G.M., they were able to transfer him to Vienna, where he worked until about 1937. At this time, he moved to a similar position at Warner Bros., also in Vienna.

In 1938 March, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, and the Klingers fled in June, taking with them their only living relatives, Walter's father (Adolf Klinger) and Hertha's mother (Josefine [Josephine] Bley). Stopping first in Amsterdam, the group eventually made it to Trinidad, then a part of the British West Indies. While in Trinidad, Klinger used the time to continue to work for Warner Bros. as well as to establish his own screen advertising company. He also began to learn Spanish, eventually becoming nearly fluent. Walter and Hertha remained in Trinidad until about 1940; after the fall of France in 1940, they were declared enemy aliens and placed in internment camps. Hertha and Walter were able to emigrate to the United States in 1941 and eventually became citizens. Adolf and Josephine remained in Trinidad. Adolf was not able to emigrate to the U.S. until 1947.

Going by way of St. Louis, Missouri and Portland, Oregon, Walter and Hertha made it to Los Angeles by 1941 May 27. He soon after found a position within the Foreign Department of Warner Bros. Studios. Walter worked there until 1943, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. A member of the 4th Armored Division Artillery, he started as a Private and rose to the rank of Master Sergeant (Grade 1). He was also a part of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) headed by Dwight Eisenhower. Within SHAEF, Walter worked under the Psychological Warfare Division, particularly in the Film Control and Distribution Sections, serving in England, France and Germany. He was a part of the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) and Office of War Information (O.W.I.), the former of which eventually became the peacetime C.I.A.

After the German surrender, Walter was placed in charge of Arts in Bavaria. When his military service ended in 1946, Walter was honorably discharged and returned again to Warner Bros. to work on pro-American propaganda being sent to Latin American countries. After leaving Warner Bros. in 1949, he sold motion picture production equipment for twenty years before retiring. He continued to be involved in the motion picture industry in some way or another before retiring in 1972; he was highly involved in negotiations to bring the story of Austrian family singers the Von Trapps to the stage in 1963, in a production eventually known as "The Sound of Music." Walter Klinger died on March 15, 2003 in Camarillo, California.

[Information about Walter Klinger's life was compiled partially through his own testimony in a short essay he wrote to account for his immigrant status upon being drafted into the U.S. Army. Other sources for information were his official army file, his resumes, and other documents, including birth and death certificates.]

Scope and Content

The Walter A. Klinger (c. 1631-2002) papers consists of photographs, correspondence, clippings, and typescripts that document the pre-war Austrian lives of Walter, his wife Hertha, and father Adolf; their emigration via Trinidad in the early 1940’s; and from their lives in the United States. The majority of the papers are personal, and are predominantly composed of photos of the Klingers with family and friends from the 1920s through the early 2000s. These photos range in subject from Walter and Hertha's travels, to documentation of their personal lives from their childhood to retirement, to distant relatives sending snapshots to keep in touch. There are also photo slide versions of many of these photo prints. For the most part, they were found completely mixed and loose in a flatbox, and have since been organized by year in envelopes. While some photos are unidentified, many of them have captions written on the back, often by Hertha. There are also a few professional photos and portraits from important points in the Klingers' lives, such as upon Walter's army enlistment and their marriage. A small number of photos are from Warner Bros. Pictures and have been organized together; they were taken professionally by a photographer working for the company, and those retained by Klinger are related to him or his work there.

The papers also include personal correspondence between the Klingers and their family and friends and some business correspondence. Much of the personal correspondence that has been saved is from their time in America, starting from about World War II and on. The business correspondence also dates from this same era, and briefly tracks Walter Klinger's own entrepreneurial work in the United States. Much of the correspondence is regarding the political and social causes of the Klingers, which includes the WWII movement for an independent Austria and membership in an anti-slavery society.

The papers include some typescripts written by Klinger for a class he took in the 1960s regarding adult education. They range in subject but are often creative and brief. In addition, there are articles from and full copies of publications Klinger worked on, often about the entertainment industry in the 1940s-1960s written in English, German and Spanish. As someone with international film experience and fluency in a number of languages, his role in these publications was often that of representative advocate for Warner Brothers while abroad.

Within the papers, there are also a number of artifacts, starting with Walter's army insignia and other such materials from his army service. Also in this section is a series of cassette audio tapes sent as correspondence between Walter and Hertha Klinger and their friends Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Wittler; this seems to have been a substitution for written correspondence. On the other hand, there is also a series of 17th century original prints of assorted French scenic and architectural landscapes by Israel Silvestre, an artist whose work the Klingers appear to have collected.

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder no. or item name], Walter A. Klinger papers, Collection no. 6044, [Repository], Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Germany -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 1933-1945 -- Archival resources

Immigrants -- America -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Immigrants -- Trinidad and Tobago -- History -- Archival resources

Motion pictures, American -- Germany -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Motion pictures and globalization -- Argentina -- Archival resources

Motion pictures -- Argentina -- Periodicals

Motion pictures -- Germany -- Periodicals

Motion pictures -- United States -- Periodicals

United States -- Armed Forces -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Clippings

Correspondence

Legal documents

Typescripts

Klinger, Walter A.

Klinger, Hertha Bley

Klinger, Walter A. -- Archives

Klinger, Hertha Bley -- Archives

Warner Bros. Pictures (1923-1967) -- Archives

Typescripts ca. 1944-1969

Scope and Contents

The typescripts series contains the variety of writing that Walter Klinger did either in his free time or for a class. The compositions range from being fictional narratives to analyses of the place of film in Europe in the post-WWII era, and there are even a few poems that he wrote. Most of the writing is undated, but a number of the pieces may have been assigned as homework compositions as part of the adult education class he took at the California State College L.A. (today's CSULA) in 1969.

Box 1, Folder 1

[Short story and essay typescripts] undated

Box 1, Folder 2

A Yankee Who Did Not Go Home [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 3

The Hero Problem [typescript]

Box 1, Folder 4

Deception [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 5

A Nest of Chinese Boxes [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 6

Virtue [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 7

The Expatriate [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 8

The Expatriate [typescript] undated

Box 1, Folder 9

[Outline for The Expatriate] undated

Box 2, Folder 1

[Untitled story by Walter Klinger, typescript] undated

Box 2, Folder 2

Haydn [typescript] undated

Box 2, Folder 3

The Return of Americus [typescript] undated

Box 2, Folder 4

The Magnificent Drop-Out [typescript] undated

Box 2, Folder 5

The Pied Piper of Chicago [typescript] undated

Box 2, Folder 6

[Essays on Film in World War II and post-war Germany and Switzerland] ca. 1944-1946

Box 2, Folder 7

Hollywood Nachrichtendienst [typescripts] ca. 1948

Scope and Contents

Transcripts, written in German but from Burbank, CA, include: "Schauspieler-Sorgen" about Helen Westcott and Don Gordon, "Lebenswahr," "12-A" about superstitions in Hollywood, "Kein Eisberg - Kein Mann" about Alexis Smith, "Man Nehme...", "Lieber Hausfrau als Star" about Doris Day, "Von Botenjungen zum Tanzstar" about Ray Bolger, "Profil eines Schauspielers" about Douglas Kennedy, and "Einzelschicksaal" about I.G. Goldsmith.

Box 2, Folder 8

[Production notes for The Arch of Triumph] 1948

Box 2, Folder 9

The Count of Nowhere [typescript] ca. 1956

Box 2, Folder 10

Der abenteuerliche Graf Rumford, oder Rumford, der Graf von Nirgendwo [typescript] 1956 April

Box 2, Folder 11

[Poetry by Walter Klinger] ca. 1966

Box 2, Folder 12

What It Means for Me to Learn ca. 1969

Box 2, Folder 13

[Notes from "Principles of Adult Education," a class at California State College L.A.] 1969

Newspapers and Magazines 1942-1967 1947-1949

Scope and Contents

The newspapers and magazines series is made up of both clippings and full issues/editions that were selectively compiled by the Klingers. Most of the magazines are film related, and the newspapers are those with mentions of Walter's work or important projects he had ties to. The division is mostly between American, German-speaking, and Argentinian publications, representing the three different areas of interest for Walter's work at Warner Bros. Studio. The majority of the publications date from the immediate post-WWII period (around 1947-1949), when Klinger would have been involved in the rebuilding of film culture both in South America, where he had worked as a correspondent, but also in Germany/Switzerland/Austria, where he was stationed directly after the war as a part of the United States forces as they brought American-influenced culture back to German-speaking Europe.

Box 3, Folder 1

Cinelandia 1942 February-April

Box 3, Folder 2

Picturegoer Magazine 1942 July 25

Box 3, Folder 3

[Spanish- and Italian-language cinema news clippings] 1943-1947

Box 3, Folder 4

[Clippings and articles by Walter Klinger] 1943-1948

Box 3, Folder 5

[German and Swiss film publications] 1943-1951

Box 3, Folder 6

Variety 1943-1955

Box 3, Folder 7

Cinelandia 1943 June and November

Box 3, Folder 8

The Evening Star: "Text of International Agreements Reached in Moscow Conference" 1943 November 1

Box 3, Folder 9

Cinelandia 1944 January and February

Box 3, Folder 10

Daily News, Los Angeles: "30-60 day wait for veteran pay banks" 1946 August 16

Box 3, Folder 11

Daily News, Los Angeles: "Concentration camp pictures being exhibited to Germans" 1946 August 21

Box 3, Folder 12

USA-Switzerland: Review of Trade, Industry, and Culture 1946-1948

Box 3, Folder 13

Schweizer Film 1947 July 15

Box 3, Folder 14

Schweizer Familien Wochenblatt 1947 July 19

Box 3, Folder 15

Schweizer Film Zeitung 1947 August-1948 January

Box 3, Folder 16

"Holidays in Switzerland (Vacances en Suisse)" by Richar Schlessinger [Sheet music and article] ca. 1947

Box 3, Folder 17

Filmpost Magazin 1948 November-1949 January

Box 3, Folder 18

Filmpost Magazin 1949 February-May

Box 3, Folder 19

Das Magazin 1949 July-August

Box 3, Folder 20

Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung 1949 June 29

Box 3, Folder 21

The Hollywood Reporter and The TV Reporter 1950-1954

Box 3, Folder 22

[Newspaper clippings, film and TV industry] 1950-1969

Box 3, Folder 23

Arts and Architecture, "Music" and "Cinema" sections (pages 13-14) 1951 May

Box 3, Folder 24

The Camarillo Star [newspaper profiles of Walter and Hertha Klinger] 1995-1997

Box 4, Folder 1

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1947 January 7

Box 4, Folder 2

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1947 March 17

Box 4, Folder 3

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1947 June 22

Box 4, Folder 4

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1947 July 11

Box 4, Folder 5

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1947 December 25

Box 4, Folder 6

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 4

Box 4, Folder 7

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 5

Box 4, Folder 8

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 6

Box 4, Folder 9

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 7

Box 4, Folder 10

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 9

Box 4, Folder 11

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 10

Box 4, Folder 12

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 11

Box 4, Folder 13

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 12

Box 4, Folder 14

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 13

Box 4, Folder 15

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 14

Box 4, Folder 16

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 15

Box 4, Folder 17

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 16

Box 4, Folder 18

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 21

Box 4, Folder 19

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 March 22

Box 4, Folder 20

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 April 15

Box 4, Folder 21

Argentinisches Tageblatt 1948 June 3

Box 4, Folder 22

Argentinisches Tageblatt [clippings] 1948 February 12-28

Box 4, Folder 23

Der Neue Film: Fachorgan fuer die Filmindustrie 1947 October-1948 May

Box 4, Folder 24

Song Magazin 1947-1948

Box 4, Folder 25

Elite Magazin 1949 July-August

Box 4, Folder 26

Music Picture Magazine 1948 May-June

Box 4, Folder 27

Gondel Magazin 1949 May

Box 4, Folder 28

Sie und Er Magazin undated

Box 4, Folder 29

Stern Magazin 1967 April 23

Box 4, Folder 30

Stern Magazin 1967 April 30

Correspondence 1941-2002

Scope and Contents

The correspondence series encompasses both business and personal letters, including continuing information on social issues such as modern-day slavery as well as personal and family concerns. This series is complimentary to the Official Documents series, as many of the items were found near each other originally.

Box 5, Folder 1

[Correspondence and materials regarding the Free Austrian Movement] 1941-1942

Box 5, Folder 2

[Correspondence, personal] 1941-1949

Scope and Contents

Includes, amongst other items of correspondence, letters to Walter Klinger from the United States Consulate in Brazil, music critic Dr. Julius Korngold, actress Ida Lupino, a translation of a letter from actor Errol Flynn, and a theater program from the Bayerische Staatstheater Muenchen with cards from music director Hans Knappertsbusch.

Box 5, Folder 3

[Correspondence, personal] 1943-1944

Scope and Contents

Letters from Walter to Hertha while he was in the Army and on his way to be drafted.

Box 5, Folder 4

[Concert programs] 1945 August-September

Scope and Contents

Programs include: 5. Ochester Konzert from the Salzberger Festspiele 1945, a concert from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra at the Prinzregenten Theater, and a concert from the Bavarian State Orchestra at the Prinzregentern Theater.

Box 5, Folder 5

[Correspondence, business and employment] 1947-1951

Box 5, Folder 6

[Letter to Adolf Klinger from Herma Schwarz, Trinidad] 1951 May 12

Box 5, Folder 7

[Correspondence, personal] 1951-1980

Box 5, Folder 8

[Correspondence, business] 1953-1986

Box 5, Folder 9

[Newspaper clippings, Paul Elbogen and his book "Der dunkle Stern"/"The Dark Star"] 1959-1987

Box 5, Folder 10

[Publications, Anti-Slavery Society] 1962-1971

Box 5, Folder 11

[Correspondence with Paul Elbogen about "The Dark Star"] 1964-1966

Box 5, Folder 12

[Correspondence, Anti-Slavery Society] 1966-1978

Box 5, Folder 13

[Newspaper clippings regarding race issues] ca. 1967

Box 5, Folder 14

The Annual Report of the Anti-Slavery Society 1967-1970

Box 5, Folder 18

[Postcard to Walter and Hertha] 1984 August 30

Box 5, Folder 15

[Correspondence, Application for German and Austrian funds] 1974-2002

Box 5, Folder 16

[Correspondence, University of Wyoming] 1981-1991

Box 5, Folder 17

[Correspondence, Hebrew Union College] 1984

Box 5, Folder 19

[Correspondence, personal] 1984-1987

Box 5, Folder 20

[Correspondence, personal] 1997-2002

Box 5, Folder 21

[Hallmark anniversary card] undated

Box 5, Folder 22

[Donation card in honor of Walter Klinger] undated

Box 5, Folder 23

[Correspondence between the Klingers and the University of Southern California] 1991-1992

Box 5, Folder 24

[Social security payment notice] 2003 May 27

Official Documents 1885-2002 1930-1952

Scope and Contents

The official documents series is broad, focusing mainly on items from the categories of state (passports, travel papers, marriage certificates, report cards) and business documentation (contracts, lawsuits, personnel lists). The most prominent parts of the collection are the identification papers and other state records for Walter, Hertha, and Adolf Klinger, encompassing the personal side, and the details of business deals that Walter was involved in for Warner Bros. and his own companies, on the business side.

Box 6, Folder 1

Warner Brothers Studio Office Employees Guild Constitution and By-Laws ca. 1938-1948

Box 6, Folder 2

[Employment and business documentation, Walter Klinger] 1941-1976

Box 6, Folder 3

[Directory for the Flo Ball Pen Corporation] ca. 1945-1949

Box 6, Folder 4

Warner Brothers Directories and Personnel Lists 1947-1948

Box 6, Folder 5

[Budget plan and screenplay for "Cricket on the Hearth"] 1951

Box 6, Folder 6

Proposed Manual for the Operations of United Television Programs 1955

Box 6, Folder 7

[Documents certifying establishment of Cineco Ltd.] 1958-1962

Box 6, Folder 8

[Documents certifying the establishment of Studio Equipment Establishment, Vaduz] 1960

Box 6, Folder 9

[Correspondence, materials, and right concerning "The Sound of Music"] 1961-1972

Box 6, Folder 10

[Court case materials regarding Klinger vs. WTC Air Freight] 1970

Box 7, Folder 13

Adolf Klinger's Hungarian identification papers 1885-1909

Scope and Contents

Includes Adolf Klinger's Hungarian birth, school, and marriage certificates (with some photocopies/duplicates).

Box 7, Folder 14

Adolf Klinger's work certifications and union documents 1903-1937

Box 7, Folder 15

Adolf Klinger's identification papers 1903-1939

Box 7, Folder 16

Hertha Bley Klinger's school, marriage, and immunization records 1913-1938

Box 7, Folder 17

Walter Klinger's identification, school, and immunization records 1916-1938

Box 7, Folder 18

Heimatscheinen (Certificates of residence) 1930-1937

Box 7, Folder 19

Hebrew marriage certificates for Walter and Hertha Klinger 1935 September 22

Box 7, Folder 20

Trauungs-Zeugnis (marriage certificate, Walter and Hertha Klinger) 1935 September 22

Box 7, Folder 21

Gebet fuer das Seelenheil der teueren hingeschiedenen ca. 1936

Box 7, Folder 22

Totenschein (Death certificate) Julie Klinger 1936 July 3

Box 7, Folder 23

Quittungen, Julie Klinger 1936

Box 7, Folder 24

[Travel certificate (permission from Vienna to Trinidad), Adolf Klinger] 1939 January 31

Box 7, Folder 25

Hertha Klinger's Alien's Identification Card, Trinidad and Tobago 1939 September 5

Box 7, Folder 26

Walter Klinger business correspondence, Trinidad 1939-1941

Box 7, Folder 27

Adolf Klinger's identification and immigration documents 1939-1947

Box 7, Folder 28

Walter Klinger's United States identification and official documents 1941-2003

Box 7, Folder 29

Walter Klinger's U.S. Army World War II enlistment and service documentation 1943-1946

Box 7, Folder 30

United States Certificate of Naturalization, Josefine Bley 1951 April 13

Box 7, Folder 31

Viking certificate, Scandinavian Airlines System 1952 March 22

Box 7, Folder 32

Hertha Klinger's United States identification documents 1956-1985

Box 7, Folder 33

Pensionversicherungsanstalt der Angestellten 1967 August 22

Box 7, Folder 34

Arbitration Agreement (Schiedsspruch) 1968

Box 7, Folder 35

Stock certificates 1972-1974

Scope and Contents

Stock certificates include 200 shares of the Dumont Corporation (1974) and 3000 shares of the Electrospace Corporation (1972-73).

Box 7, Folder 36

[Materials from the National Reconnaissance Office Archives] 2002

Box 9, envelope 2

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Garmisch-Partenkirchen [brochures and postcards] 1945 July 8

Box 10, envelope 10

[Assorted business cards] undated

Photographs and Negatives ca. 1910-2000 1940-1960

Scope and Contents

Photographs and negatives are a very important and large part of the Klinger papers, and they are predominantly photos of family and friends coming from veritably the entirety of the 20th Century: the series goes from Walter and Hertha's childhoods, through their friendship and dating years, then their emigration from Germany and Austria, the war and their first years in America, to trips to Europe and then retirement, and every family photo sent to them in between. Originally found mostly in a flatbox and without organization, the photos have been organized according to date and those without dates have been grouped together.

Box 8, envelope 1