Ernst Marcus Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains Ernst Marcus's correspondence, notes and articles by him and about him.
Series I preserves his correspondence with Salomo Friedlaender and Rebecca Hanf. This correspondence discusses philosophical ideas in general and the interpretation of Kant's theories as well as Einstein's theory of relativity. This series also includes two of Marcus' manuscripts typed by Salomo Friedlaender. It also contains single letters to philosophy professors Hans Vaihinger, Hugo Dingler and Walter Riese.
Series II contains Ernst Marcus's notes and (concepts, his diary, as well as articles and notes about him. Topics include interpretations of theories by Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and other philosophers, and other topics like morality, religion, etc. This series also contains original clippings of newspaper articles by Ernst Marcus and some pictures of him.
Dates
- Creation: 1899-1976
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1900-1928
Creator
- Marcus, Ernst, 1856-1928 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Collection is digitized.
Collection is microfilmed; use MF 1019.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
Ernst Marcus was born September 3, 1856, in Kamen in Westphalia. He studied law in Bonn and Berlin. In 1889 he started becoming engaged in philosophical questions. At this time he worked professionally as an assessor. In 1890 he became a judge in Essen. He married Berta Auerbach in 1893, and they had three children. In 1899 he started meeting with the philosopher Salomo Friedlaender. Very early, Friedlaender became aware of Ernst Marcus's potential and the relevance of his ideas. He supported him and admired his theses. When Friedlaender published under the pseudonym Mynona he even used Marcus as a figure called "Sucram". In 1904 Ernst Marcus met Rebecca Hanf, who was interested in philosophy as well. They became friends and corresponded until Marcus’s death. Due to the discussions they had, Rebecca Hanf regarded their relationship later as a friendship between a willing teacher and an open-minded student. Ernst Marcus wrote many books that are also preserved in the LBI library.
Philosophically, Ernst Marcus dealt with Immanuel Kant's and Albert Einstein's theories. Ernst Marcus regarded himself as the "one who resurrected Kant from death and who understood Kant utterly." He emphasized that all his knowledge about philosophy and its analysis he taught himself and in a university. Ernst Marcus died in Essen on October 29, 1928.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains manuscripts by Ernst Marcus, as well as notes and diaries in which he recorded his philosophical ideas. There is also correspondence of a philosophical nature with Rebecca Hanf and Salomo Friedlaender, and original clippings of newspaper articles written by Ernst Marcus.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series as the following manner:
Other Finding Aid
An older paper item-level inventory is available for part of the collection.
Microfilm
Collection is available on 1 reel of microfilm (MF 1019).
Processing Information
The collection was organized in folders, and lists of contents were made. Apparently, some material was added later and it made sense to separate the folders into series. The original folder of material donated, however (Folder 1), was kept in its original order.
Subject
- Marcus, Ernst, 1856-1928 (Person)
- Friedlaender, Salomo, 1871-1946 (Person)
- Marcus, Robert (Person)
- Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 (Person)
- Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804 (Person)
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Ernst Marcus (1856-1928) 1898-1976 AR 4322 / MF 1019
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Katharina Hoffmann
- Date
- © 2009
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from ErnstMarcus.xml
Revision Statements
- September 2010:: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
- 2010-09-20 : encoding of linking to digital objects from finding aid was changed from <extref> to <dao> through dao_conv.xsl
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
