Anna Seghers’ American press pass (1946)
Anna Seghers had become a renowned author in the USA after her novel The Seventh Cross was chosen for the Book of the Month Club in 1942 and adapted for a Hollywood film by Fred Zinnemann.
Argentinian Passport of Carl Meffert
An identity document bearing his original nameFrom around 1932, the graphic designer Carl Meffert lived for some time in Switzerland. After the Nazis took power in Germany, he finally abandoned his life in Berlin.
Arno Kikoler: symphony orchestra of the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden [Cultural Federation of German Jews], photograph (c. 1934-36)
It is not known exactly when photographer Arno Kikoler took this photograph of the symphony orchestra of the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden [Cultural Federation of German Jews] in Berlin. The photograph shows 38 members of the ensemble with their conductor Josef Rosenstock, who was appointed the orchestra’s director when it was founded in 1933 and continued in this post until 1936.
Arnold Schönberg: address book (1936)
Notable on this double-page spread from the address book of composer Arnold Schönberg is the number 70 written by hand behind many names. This probably refers to invitations that Schönberg sent to various people for his 70th birthday on 13 September 1944.
Arnold Schönberg: Canon for Thomas Mann on his 70th birthday (1945)
Arnold Schönberg dedicated a canon bearing this inscription to the author Thomas Mann on his 70th birthday, which he celebrated on June 6, 1945. Schönberg and Mann probably met each other in Hollywood in 1938, although they had already been exchanging letters since 1930.
Arnold Schönberg: certificate of membership of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (1939)
The composer Arnold Schönberg regularly attended the membership meetings of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, or ASCAP for short. It was established in 1914 and still takes care of the financial interests of American musicians today.
Arnold Schönberg: Concert leaflet from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1934)
The concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was one of the first that composer Arnold Schönberg presented to the American public. He conducted the orchestra and the second half of the concert was dedicated purely to his own compositions.
Arnold Schönberg: Letter to Else Lasker-Schüler, October 3, 1937
The composer Arnold Schönberg lived in exile in the US from 1933, and established himself in California. Yet facing the fact that the American public showed only minor interest in his atonal music, he went so far as to compose “old-fashioned“ pieces.
Arnold Schönberg: Letter to the photographer Eric Schaal, 30 January 1941
Photographer Eric Schaal, who emigrated from Munich to New York in 1936, began work for the Pix agency in 1937, making portraits of numerous artists, including Arnold Schönberg. A busy man, after the shoot Schönberg let Schaal wait some time before deciding on a selection of shots that he wanted to use for himself.
Arnold Schönberg: one of his address cards (ca. 1938)
The composer Arnold Schönberg had two children from his first marriage: his daughter Gertrude (Trudi), born in 1902, and his son Georg, who was born in 1906. Gertrude married the composer Felix Greissle and their names are the main entries in this index card from Schönberg’s directory of addresses.
