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Table of contents What's This?
  • Biographical/Historical note
  • Scope and Content
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition
  • Processing Information

  • Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
    Title: Lion Feuchtwanger papers
    Creator: Feuchtwanger, Lion
    Identifier/Call Number: 0204
    Identifier/Call Number: 1220
    Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/203
    Physical Description: 302.5 Linear Feet 321 boxes
    Date (inclusive): 1906-2006
    Date (bulk): 1940-1958
    Abstract: Lion Feuchtwanger (1884-1958) was a celebrated German-Jewish novelist and outspoken enemy of the Nazis. He began his literary career as a theater critic and turned his talent to writing plays in the 1910s and 1920s. He first became internationally known for his historical novel Jud Süss published in 1925. In 1933, he went into exile in Southern France and in 1941 he emigrated to the United States. He was an important figure in intellectual and artistic circles in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. During the McCarthy era he was under observation by the FBI. Feuchtwanger passed away in 1958. He died stateless as he was never returned his German citizenship and was denied American citizenship during the McCarthy era. The collection includes Feuchtwanger's personal and business correspondence; manuscripts for plays, poetry, short stories, and historical novels; manuscripts by other writers such as Charles Chaplin's manuscript for Limelight; correspondence with publishers; newspaper clippings mentioning Feuchtwanger and other exiles; photographs from Feuchtwanger's life in Germany, his exile in France, and in the United States; copyright agreements and reviews of his works; ephemera; art works; audio and video recordings; and his speeches and open letters about Judaism, politics, and literature. The papers also contain Feuchtwanger's extensive collection of autograph letters and the bookseller's catalogs used by Feuchtwanger to acquire his vast personal library. Furthermore, the collection includes materials on the establishment of the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at USC, the International Feuchtwanger Society, and the artists' residence Villa Aurora, the former Feuchtwanger residence.
    Language of Material: The majority of the materials in the Lion Feuchtwanger papers are in German and English. There are a few letters and articles in French, as well as reviews of adaptations of Feuchtwanger's works in various other languages.

    Biographical/Historical note

    Lion Feuchtwanger (1884-1958) began his literary career as a theater critic and turned his talent to writing plays in the 1910s and 1920s. He first became internationally known for his historical novel Jud Süss published in 1925.
    An outspoken enemy of the Nazis, Feuchtwanger went into exile in Southern France in 1933 and emigrated to the United States with his wife Marta in 1941.
    During his seventeen years in Southern California, he wrote primarily historical fiction including: Waffen für Amerika also called Die Füchse im Weinberg (1947-48; Proud Destiny), Goya oder Der arge Weg der Erkenntnis (1951; This is the Hour, a Novel about Goya), Spanische Ballade also called Die Jüdin von Toledo (1955; Raquel, the Jewess of Toledo), and Jefta und seine Tochter (1957; Jephta and his Daughter).
    He was an important figure in the intellectual and artistic circles in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. During the McCarthy era he was under observation by the FBI.
    An avid book collector, Feuchtwanger acquired a personal library reflecting his interests in different historical periods and containing several noteworthy smaller collections of primary and secondary sources focusing on such subjects as Greek and Latin classics, Jewish and biblical history, the Enlightenment, French Revolution, German literature, and exile literature.

    Scope and Content

    The Lion Feuchtwanger papers consist of the German-Jewish novelist's personal and business correspondence; manuscripts for plays, poetry, short stories, and historical novels; manuscripts by other writers including Marie Luise Fleisser, Luzi Korngold, and Alan Marcus as well as Charles Chaplin's manuscript for Limelight; correspondence with publishers; newspaper clippings mentioning Feuchtwanger and other exiles; photographs from Feuchtwanger's life in Germany, his exile in France, and in the United States; copyright agreements and reviews of his works; ephemera; art works; audio and video recordings; and his speeches and open letters about Judaism, politics, and literature.
    Even though the majority of materials in this collection dates to the 1940s and 1950s when Feuchtwanger lived in Los Angeles, the collection includes important holdings from his exile in Southern France and a few materials from his life in Germany. Noteworthy among the materials from Feuchtwanger's life in Germany are the original manuscripts for his novels Jud Süss and Die hässliche Herzogin, as well as newspaper clippings containing Nazi propaganda and lists of people who were stripped of their German citizenship. The papers also contain Feuchtwanger's vast collection of autograph letters. Amongst these are original letters by historical figures such as Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Charles Darwin, Alexandre Dumas, Eleonora Duse, and many more. The collection also holds the bookseller's catalogs used by Feuchtwanger to acquire his vast personal library. Furthermore, the collection includes materials on the establishment of the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at USC, the International Feuchtwanger Society, and the artists' residence Villa Aurora, the former Feuchtwanger residence.

    Conditions Governing Access

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

    Conditions Governing Use

    The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

    Preferred Citation

    [Box/folder# or item name], Lion Feuchtwanger papers, Collection no. 0204, Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

    Acquisition

    Gift of Marta Feuchtwanger, 1987.

    Processing Information

    The collection was rehoused and described by Marje Schuetze-Coburn and Michaela Ullmann. Additional data transfer and rehousing was done by Adi Ben-Michael, Lauren Weindling, Matthew Gehm, Anno Hoeller, Christopher Robinson, Melia Albrecht, and Lisa Ebiner Gavet.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Actors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
    Actresses -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Anti-communist movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
    Authors, German -- 20th century -- Biography -- Archival resources
    Authors, German -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Authors, German -- California, Southern -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Authors, German -- Germany -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Autobiography -- Jewish authors -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Celebrities -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
    Charities -- California -- Archival resources
    Composers -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Concentration camps -- France -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Conductors (Music) -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Exiled Jewish authors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
    Exiles' writings, German -- California -- Archival resources
    Exiles -- Austria -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Exiles -- Germany -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Exiles -- Southern France -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Exiles -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    German literature -- Archival resources
    Germany -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 1933-1945 -- Archival resources
    Historical fiction, German -- Archival resources
    International relations -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Jews, German -- California, Southern -- Archival resources
    Jews -- California, Southern -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Jews -- Persecutions -- Germany -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Jewish refugees -- California, Southern -- Archival resources
    Musicians -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
    Nonprofit organizations -- United States -- Archival resources
    Political campaigns -- California -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Theater -- Austria -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Theater -- Germany -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    California, Southern -- Emigration and immigration -- Archival resources
    Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Emigration and immigration -- Archival resources
    Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
    Autographs (manuscripts)
    Clippings (information artifacts)
    Correspondence
    Ephemera
    Manuscripts
    Photographs
    Marcuse, Ludwig -- Correspondence
    Massary, Fritzi -- Correspondence
    Doblin, Alfred -- Correspondence
    Dieterle, William, 1893-1972 -- Correspondence
    Baum, Vicki, 1888-1960 -- Correspondence
    Brecht, Bertolt -- Correspondence
    Walter, Bruno -- Correspondence
    Chaplin, Charles -- Correspondence
    Feuchtwanger, Marta -- Archives
    Zweig, Arnold -- Correspondence
    Eisler, Hanns -- Correspondence
    Emergency Rescue Committee -- Correspondence
    Feuchtwanger, Lion -- Archives
    Mann, Heinrich -- Correspondence
    Mann, Thomas, 1875-1955 -- Correspondence