Max Busyn Collection
Scope and Content Note
The Max Busyn Collection centers on material about the German-Jewish philosopher Constantin Brunner, his life and work as well as his followers.
The first series consists of notes and letter by and to the creator of this collection: Max Busyn. Busyn was a member of several Constantin Brunner groups in Germany and he founded a new circle in Tel Aviv. The second series holds essays, letters and aphorisms by Constantin Brunner as well as records, diary entries and correspondence by Brunner's stepdaughters Leonie and Lotte Brunner. The third series contains notes and correspondence of Magadalena Kasch and other Brunner followers such as the executor of his estate Lothar Bickel. The last series of this collection includes pictures, copies and a photography of Max Busyn. The artist portrayed Constantin Brunner himself and his stepdaughter Lotte.
Dates
- 1903-1975
- Majority of material found within 1930-1960
Creator
- Busyn, Max, 1899-1976 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German, English, Hebrew, French and Dutch.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
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 "Reserve" 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 Notes
In 1933 Brunner had to leave Berlin after the Nazis burned his books. He moved to the Netherlands where he died in Den Haag on August 27th, 1937.
In 1948 Magdalena Kasch, one of Brunner's students and closest confidants, founded the Internationaal Constantin Brunner Instituut in Den Haag to publish the work of this philosopher again.
Sources: Bickel, Lothar: Constantin Brunner 1862 – 1937. (in: Philosophia, Belgrad 1937) Bucharest, page 292 – 299.
Biographical Note
The artist, Max Busyn, a Constantin-Brunner-friend was born in Łodz, Poland on November, 12th 1899. He died in Wiesbaden, Germany on August, 12th 1976. Max Busyn immigrated to Tel Aviv in 1934 but he returned to Germany two decades later in the 1950s.
Historical Note
The German-Jewish philosopher Constantin Brunner (originally Leo Wertheimer) was born in Altona near Hamburg on August, 27th 1862. His work was primarily inspired by Spinoza, Kant and Plato. Brunner was a follower of holism. His major paper was called Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volk and it was published in 1908. Some of his followers were famous persons in Germany, for example the politician Walter Rathenau and the poet Rose Auslaender. Nevertheless his ideas never became very popular.
In 1933 Brunner had to leave Berlin after the Nazis burned his books. He moved to the Netherlands where he died in Den Haag on August 27th, 1937.
In 1948 Magdalena Kasch, one of Brunner's students and closest confidants, founded the Internationaal Constantin Brunner Instituut in Den Haag to publish the work of this philosopher again.
Sources: Bickel, Lothar: Constantin Brunner 1862 – 1937. (in: Philosophia, Belgrad 1937) Bucharest, page 292 – 299.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Max Busyn collection centers on material about the German-Jewish philosopher Constantin Brunner and the circle of devotes around him. The collection consists primarily of essays and correspondence between several followers of Brunner, who tried to reactivate the circle and to republish Brunner's work in the 1950s and 1960s after the Nazis had destroyed it.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series:
- Series I: Masx Busyn, 1926-1975
- Subseries 1: Letters and notes by Max Busyn, 1932-1973
- Subseries 2: Letters to Max Busyn, 1926-1975
- Subseries 3: Constantin Brunner Group in Tel Aviv, 1942-1967
- Series II: Constantin Brunner and his family, 1903-1971
- Subseries 1: Essays, letters and notes by Constantin Brunner, 1907-1969
- Subseries 2: Brunner family members, 1903-1971
- Series III: Followers of Constantin Brunner, 1936-1975
- Subseries 1: Magdalena Kasch, 1936-1965
- Subseries 2: Brunner followers, 1936-1975
- Series IV: Photography and Pictures, 1931-1956
Separated Material
Photo album on Constantin Brunner removed to Photograph collection.
Processing Information
The collection was previously arranged in several folders. Series adjustments and descriptions were added during processing in 2011.
- Aphorisms
- Bickel, Lothar, 1902-1951
- Brunner, Constantin, 1862-1937
- Brunner, Lotte, 1883-1943
- Busyn, Max, 1899-1976
- Constantin-Brunner-Stiftung
- Correspondence
- Essays
- Germany
- Holism
- Internationaal-Constantin-Brunner-Instituut
- Israel
- Jewish artists
- Jewish philosophers
- Kasch, Magdalena
- Netherlands
- Photographs
- Portraits
- Rathenau, Walther, 1867-1922
- Reviews (documents)
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Max Busyn (1899-1976) 1903-1975 AR 7093
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Maria Neumann
- Date
- © 2011
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from MaxBusyn.xml
Revision Statements
- March 27, 2012: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
