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Hermanns (William) Papers
MSS-2019-10-21
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: William Hermanns Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2019-10-21
Physical Description:
10 Box
(10.56 linear ft.)
Date (inclusive): 1900-2019
Date (bulk): 1970-1984
Abstract: This collection consists of correspondence, transcripts, publications, manuscripts, and photographs.
This collection is arranged into five series organized by subject and format: Series I. Personal Papers, 1917-1990; Series
II. Professional Papers, 1920-1989; Series III. Subject Files, 1921-1990; Series IV. Photographs, Negatives, and Film, 1900-1990;
Series V. Writings, 1920-2019.
William Hermanns (1895-1990) was born in Koblenz, Rhineland, Germany, to Michael and Bertha Hermanns, née Wolff, and was the
third child of four siblings (Hans, Gretel, William, and Hildegard). After he was orphaned at ten years old, Hermanns was
raised by his aunt, Veronika Hermanns. Hermanns was of Jewish ancestry, and later converted to Christian Science, then to
Catholicism. In 1914, he enlisted in the Kaiser's army at the beginning of World War I and became one of the longest-living
survivors of the Battle of Verdun in 1916. After Germany's loss, Hermanns was captured by the French and held prisoner for
forty months. Following his release, he returned to Germany to study at the Universities of Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt,
where he received a doctorate in Sociology by 1926.
Soon after, he met Albert Einstein, who would be the subject of some of Hermanns's most significant works. During the late
1920s and early 1930s, he became a prolific poet and activist, working with the League for Human Rights, Walter Rathenau Society,
and Alexander von Humboldt Club. He witnessed the rise of Hitler and was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1934, staying in Lisbon,
Paris, and London before being granted entrance into the United States. From 1937 to 1939, he worked for the New York Institute
for the Blind and lectured at Harvard University. When the US entered World War II, Hermanns briefly aided the Office of Strategic
Services (OSS) until 1945. After the war, he moved to California and worked after learning of the death of his sister, niece,
and thirty-five other relatives.
By 1946, Hermanns was teaching again, appointed as a Professor of German Language and Literature at San Jose State College,
where he remained until his retirement in 1965. Post-retirement, he continued to write German and English works while increasing
his political contributions by creating the Einstein-Hermanns Foundation, which was incorporated in 1983 and inaugurated in
1988 in Sweden.
Hermanns had written many manuscripts, poems, radio broadcasts, plays, and songs over his nearly seventy-year career. Of his
published works, his book
The Holocaust - from a Survivor of Verdun has significant critical acclaim. This collection was donated by his son, Ken Norton, a Trustee of the William Hermanns Trust,
and includes the correspondence, photographs, and original writings that serve as a testament to his prolific scholarship
and lifelong dedication as an anti-war activist.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives 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 by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
William Hermanns Papers, MSS-2019-10-21, San José Sate University Library, Special Collections & Archives.
Eilene Lueck, May 2023. Initial processing by Michael Lara(2022) and Monica Keane (2019).
This collection consists of ten boxes of materials pertaining to the life and work of William Hermanns (1895-1990). Series
I. Personal Papers, 1917-1990 (Bulk 1945-1984) consists of correspondence with Hermann's friends and family, as well as legal
and financial documents relevant to his life. Series II. Professional Papers, 1920-1989 (bulk 1950-1981), contains a variety
of correspondence recipients relating to his professional career in academia, governmental organizations, and non-governmental
organizations. Publication materials, including correspondence, reviews, public relations documents, and publication agreements,
are also a part of this series. Series III. Subject Files, 1921-1990 (bulk 1954-1964), consist of research materials such
as newspaper clippings, journals, and booklets regarding subjects he would later use in his publications. Series IV. Photographs,
Negatives, and Film, 1900-1990, are photographs, negatives, film reels, and duplicates of photographs of friends, family,
and significant letters from Hermanns' life. Series V. Writings, 1920-2019 (bulk 1971-1984), is the most comprehensive series
in the collection, containing numerous paper manuscripts of published and unpublished articles, books, plays, poems, songs,
and musical notations. This is a multilingual collections, with manuscripts and correspondence written in English, German,
French, Swedish, and Italian.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Religious poetry.
German Americans -- California -- History.
Plays.
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.
Hermanns, William.
Verdun, Battle of, Verdun, France, 1916