The original papers of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy a social and religious philosopher and former philosophy professor at the College and his wife, Margrit Rosenstock-Huessy, are now available to the public for the first time, Rauner Special Collections Librarian Jay Satterfield said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Among other social commentary, the letters document the love triangle between the couple and German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's best friend.
The collection which the College received Jan. 19 as a donation from Mariot Huessy, the couple's daughter-in-law includes the couple's correspondence with Rosenzweig and other leading intellectuals. Some of the documents which totals over 50,000 pages reveal important developments in the evolution of Dartmouth's academic standing and Jewish-Christian relations, Satterfield said.
The collection is an important tool in understanding the College as a leading intellectual center, Satterfield said.
"[Eugen] Rosenstock-Huessy was a very influential faculty member at Dartmouth he inspired a couple generations of students," said Satterfield. "His work and lectures are part of Dartmouth history."
Because everything in Rauner Special Collections is open to the public, the collection will be available to any student who requests to view it, Satterfield said.
"I'm excited by the fact that Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy was such an inspiring teacher 50 years ago, and now he's going to be in classrooms again," he said.
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy was a distinguished German philosopher who emigrated to the United States immediately after Hitler's rise to power. After a brief stint at Harvard University, he taught at Dartmouth until his retirement in 1957, according to a College press release.
As a convert from Judaism to Christianity, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy wrote extensively on Jewish-Christian relations, Mariot Huessy said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Mariot Huessy's late husband was Eugen Rosenstock-Huessey's son and heir.
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's efforts to convert Franz Rosenzweig, a leading Jewish philosopher, to Christianity led to a long and fruitful correspondence on interfaith relations, Raymond Huessy, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's grandson, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
"My grandfather expected to convert Rosenzweig to Christianity," he said. "It was a life-changing experience for my grandfather, that although Rosenweig agreed with him intellectually, he did not choose to convert. Ever after that, my grandfather spent his life looking for people who didn't agree with him, trying to make common cause anyway."
The collection provides a fascinating look into some of most influential minds of the post-war period, Satterfield said.
"Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy corresponded with a lot of the most important social, political and religious figures of the 20th century," he said. "The letters show a network of influences and people working out their ideas."
The collection will be of interest to scholars in a variety of disciplines, Satterfield said.
"Certainly the religion department will be interested because of the intersection of Christianity and Judaism in his work," he said.
Satterfield said he expects the collection to receive attention from philosophers, historians and anyone interested in the role of intellectuals in World War II and its aftermath.
The collection also includes over 1,000 letters between Margrit Rosentock-Huessy and Rosenzweig, Mariot Huessey said. The two fell passionately in love in 1917 and embarked upon a unique relationship, according to Mariot Huessey.
"It was a completely open love," Raymond Huessy said. "My grandmother always maintained faithfulness to her husband in spite of her love for his best friend, and he was always included in the correspondence."
Their correspondence known as the Gritly letters, which were named for Margrit Rosentock-Huessy's nickname also possesses scholarly appeal, Raymond Huessy said.
"From 1917 to 1920, Rosenzwieg wrote her every day, sometimes more," Raymond Huessy said. "They were not merely love letters Rosenwieg laid out his magnus opus, The Star of Redemption.'"
Mariot Huessey donated the letters to the College after the closure of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's house, she said. Rauner Library has been interested in acquiring the collection since 1970, Satterfield said.
The corpus contains about 50,000 pages of material, according to Raymond Huessey. The collection is currently available for viewing, but will not be available as a resource in serious scholarly work until the papers are organized and a catalogue is developed a process that will take about a month, Satterfield said.
"We're very selective about what comes in, because we want to make sure we can promote it, organize and make sure there's good solid access to it," he said. "We're committed to giving these things a new life."
