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Otto Grüters Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 6543

Scope and Content Note

The material is a comprehensive collection of letters written by Otto Grüters, teacher, to his former pupil, the political scientist and author, John H. Herz between 1946-1970. The contents of the letters covers the political situation in Germany, the United States, and the world, with a focus on denazification themes and other post-World War II matters in Germany.

Dates

  • Creation: 1946-1971

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German and English.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

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

Otto Grüters was born 1880 and died in 1971. Prior to World War II, Otto and his brother, Fritz, were teachers at the Gymnasium where Herz was one of their pupils. Grüters' family was partially Jewish, but though he and his brother were removed from their teaching positions, they were not deported. Frieda, sister of the Grüters brothers, married the violinist Adolf Busch, and their daughter, Irene, married the pianist Rudolf Serkin. Following the war Grüters became a high official in the local school district administration. He died in 1971. One of his neices Veronika (who became a nun), upon discovery of her Jewish roots, began to work with the Theresienstadt children's opera Brundibar, and performed with with her students around Germany and Israel.

John Herz was born in 1908 in Düsseldorf. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Cologne and a diploma in 1938 from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Also in 1938 he published a book warning of Nazi objectives, The national socialist doctrine of international law , under a pseudonym and shortly afterwards emigrated to the United States. After a brief stint teaching at Princeton (1939-1941), he began teaching at Howard University, where he eventually became chair of the political science department. From 1952 until his retirement in 1979 he was on the faculty of the City College of New York. During his career he also worked for the State Department as a political analyst, participated in the U.S. legal delegation at the Nuremberg trials, and contributed to plans for the democratization of West Germany. Over the course of his life, he authored many books including Political Realism and Political Idealism, which won the Woodrow Wilson Prize in 1951.

Extent

4 Folders

Abstract

The material is a comprehensive collection of letters written by Otto Grüters, teacher, to his former pupil, the political scientist and author, John H. Herz between 1946-1970. The contents of the letters covers the political situation in Germany, the United States, and the world, with a focus on denazification themes and other post-World War II matters in Germany.

Other Finding Aid

A letter from John Herz explaining their relationship and providing some contextual background is in the front of folder 1.

Title
Guide to the Otto Grüters Collection, 1946-1971  AR 6543
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Julie Dawson
Date
© 2012
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • December 11, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States