Else Richthofen-Jaffé Letters
Scope and Content Note
The Else Richthofen-Jaffé Correspondence primarily consists of the family correspondence of this social scientist. By far the bulk of the collection consists of Else Richthofen-Jaffé's correspondence with her children, although some correspondence with other family members or other close individuals is also present, along with parts of an unpublished work on the family and some genealogical notes.
Much of the collection is composed of Else Richthofen-Jaffé's letters to and from her sons in the United States: Friedel (Frederick Jeffrey) and Hans Jaffé, along with their families. Correspondence between Else Richthofen-Jaffé and them is present in the first three subseries of Series I. With her frequent letters, Else connected the [disparate] branches of the Jaffé family, providing news of herself and Alfred Weber along with news of their sister, Marianne von Eckhardt, and her children. Although the conveying of family news was the main purpose of the letters, Else's curiosity about her children's lives in the United States, and especially in news about her grandchildren, is clearly represented. Her own health and activities are another frequent subject, along with mentions of intellectuals who visited the house she shared with Alfred Weber. Other correspondence of Else Richthofen-Jaffé can be found in the final subseries of Series I, with letters that provide some information on her earlier years as well as on the family's history.
Series II consists of other correspondence of Friedel Jeffrey after Else Richthofen-Jaffé's death, mostly comprising letters to or about other family members. These include reflections on his early life and on his father's role in the Bavarian Revolution of 1918-1919.
Further information on the Jaffé family will be found in Series III. Such material includes letters of Edgar Jaffé from the late nineteenth century, notes on the Jaffé genealogy, and an unpublished draft with more details on the lives of Else Richthofen-Jaffé, Edgar Jaffé, and Alfred Weber.
Dates
- 1883-2011
- Majority of material found within 1935-1973
Creator
- Roth, Guenther (Person)
Language of Materials
The 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
Else von Richthofen was born on October 8, 1874, the daughter of Baron Friedrich von Richthofen and his wife Anna née Marquier. She had two younger sisters, Frieda and Johanna. Else became the first female factory inspector in the state of Baden, and was Max Weber's first female doctoral student. On November 18, 1902 Else married the economist Edgar Jaffé; born to an assimilated Jewish family, he converted to Protestantism in 1882. With Edgar she had three children: Friedrich (called Friedel, born 1903), Marianne (born 1905), and Hans (born 1909). In 1907 she had a son, Peter, with Otto Gross; Peter died in 1915 of diphtheria. After the death of Edgar Jaffé in 1921, Else lived with the sociologist Alfred Weber in Heidelberg until his death in 1958. Else Richthofen-Jaffé died in Heidelberg in 1973.
In 1933 Friedel, who had studied law and became a businessman, married Marianne (called Marandl) Riezler, with whom he had three children. The family emigrated to the United States in 1934, with the couple changing their names to Frederick and Marianne Jeffrey in 1940. Friedel's sister Marianne Jaffé, who became a psychologist, married Hans von Eckardt in 1931; they had three children. The Eckardts remained in Germany during the Second World War. Hans Jaffé, who had studied physics and later became a physicist, immigrated to the United States in 1935 and married Mary Crawford Schuster in 1947; they had two children.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Else Richthofen-Jaffé Correspondence primarily consists of the family correspondence of this social scientist. Much of the collection consists of Else Richthofen-Jaffé's correspondence with her adult children and their families, although some correspondence with other family members or other close individuals is also present. In addition the collection contains parts of an unpublished work on the family and some genealogical notes.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
- Series I: Else Richthofen-Jaffé Correspondence 1887-1973, 2010
- Subseries 1: Else Richthofen-Jaffé to Frederick Jeffrey (Friedel Jaffé) 1935-1973
- Subseries 2: Frederick and Marianne Jeffrey to Else Richthofen-Jaffé, 1934-1958
- Subseries 3: Else Richthofen-Jaffé to Hans Jaffé, 1926-1973
- Series II: Other Correspondence of Frederick and Marianne Jeffrey, 1914-1985, 2010
- Series III: Other Correspondence and Papers, 1887-1888, 2010-2011
Separated Material
An unmarked reprint, Bloch, I.S., Des k.k. Prof. Rohling neueste Faelschungen, Vienna, 1883, was removed to the LBI Library with a copy of its title page retained in the collection.
- Title
- Guide to the Letters of Else Richthofen-Jaffé 1883-2011 AR 25486
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Dianne Ritchey
- Date
- © 2015
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from ElseRichthofen-JaffeLetters.xml
Revision Statements
- November 2015:: dao links added by Emily Andresini.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
