Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Speier (Hermine) papers
6078
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
Italian
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Hermine Speier papers
creator:
Speier, Hermine
Identifier/Call Number: 6078
Physical Description:
2.26 Linear Feet
3 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1937-1941
Abstract: Correspondence of German Jewish archaeologist Dr. Hermine Speier (1898-1989), the first woman employed by the Vatican, who
converted to Catholicism and worked under Church protection. The majority of the correspondence is with Speier's lover, Italian
airship navigator General Umberto Nobile, who lived in America in exile due to personal conflicts with Mussolini. The collection
includes many photographs of Nobile and some of Speier, and a photograph album of Nobile, compiled and dedicated by Ulrich
Mundt, an officer in the German Air Force. Speier was an archaeologist who was hired by Pope Pius XI to work in the Vatican
Museum's photographic archive after she was fired from her position with the German Archaeological Institute in Rome for being
a Jew. Speier converted to Catholicism in 1939. She continued to work for the Vatican Museum until her retirement in 1967.
General Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) was an Italian general, airship designer and navigator, and professor of aeronautical science.
He is best remembered for his two Arctic expeditions in 1926 and 1928.
Language of Material: Italian.
Container: 1
Container: 2
Container: 3
Dr. Hermine Speier (1898-1989) worked as a director in the German Archaeological Institute in Rome. She was fired from this
position in 1934 for being a Jew. Her supervisor and mentor, Ludwig Curtius, recommended her to the Vatican Museum for a
job. Although there was no job, Pope Pius XI created a position for her within the Vatican Museum's photographic archives.
Speier converted to Catholicism in 1939, and thus severed all ties with her family in Germany. When the Germans accelerated
their persecution of Jews in Rome in 1943, Speier was moved to the convent of St. Priscilla, along with other Jewish families.
Speier continued to work for the Vatican Museum until her retirement in 1967. She continued her work in the photographic archive,
and also worked with archaeologists on Etruscan, Roman, and Greek exhibitions; she also published a number of scholarly works
on antiquities.
General Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) was an Italian general, airship designer and navigator, and professor of aeronautical science.
He is best remembered for his two Arctic expeditions. In the first, the Norge in 1926, Nobile was sought out by Norwegian
explorer Roald Amundsen who asked him to pilot one of Nobile's airships over the polar ice cap from Europe to America. Disagreement
erupted between Amundsen and Nobile after the flight as to who deserved greater credit. The controversy was exacerbated by
Mussolini's government, which publicly endorsed Nobile's role, thus further alienating Amundsen and Nobile. In the second,
the Italia, Nobile, who served as both pilot and expedition leader, flew his airship to the Pole and on the way back ran into
a storm. The ship crashed onto the ice pack and and 7 crew members died. Six nations got involved in the search and rescue
efforts, and after the rescue was completed, Nobile became outspoken in his complaints about the lack of efforts on the part
of the Italian government. He eventually resigned from the Air Force in protest (1929). In 1931 he left Italy to work in
the Soviet Union, but returned to Italy in 1936 to teach aeronautics. In 1939 he went to the United States to teach at Lewis
University in Illinois. He was offered American citizenship when the war broke out, but declined and returned to Rome. After
the war, Nobile taught at the University of Naples until his death.
Correspondence (1937-1941) of German Jewish archaeologist Hermine Speier, the first woman employed by the Vatican, who converted
to Catholicism, and worked under church protection. The majority of the correspondence is with Speier's lover, Italian airship
navigator General Umberto Nobile, who lived in America in exile due to personal conflicts with Mussolini. Speier's letters,
in draft form, were all penned while she lived in Geneva and Rome. Also included is a letter from Robert Boehringer, a German
industrialist and poet who denounced his German citizenship and became a Swiss citizen at the beginning of the war. The collection
includes many photographs of Nobile and some of Speier, as well as a photograph album of Nobile, compiled and dedicated by
Ulrich Mundt, an officer in the German Air Force.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
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.
[Box/folder# or item name], Hermine Speier papers, Collection no. 6078, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California
Purchased from The Bookshop, May 7, 2014.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Jews -- Persecutions -- Italy -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Jews, German -- Vatican City -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Vatican City -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Photographs
Speier, Hermine
Speier, Hermine -- Archives
Nobile, Umberto -- Archives
Pius, Pope, XI -- Archives