Eugen Kullmann Estate Collection

Much of this collection documents the personal and professional life of Eugen Kullmann, including his scholarly interests. The collection primarily consists of his official, personal, and professional documents; correspondence sent to him while he lived in Basel, Brooklyn, and Gambier; his extensive notes used in teaching and research; a few translations and manuscripts; and papers of the philosopher Karl Joël.

Papers that pertain to Eugen Kullmann's professional and academic work are prevalent throughout the collection. Series I includes documents from his time studying at the University of Basel, in addition to those that relate to his teaching at the New School for Social Research, Bard College, and Kenyon College. Such documentation includes correspondence regarding his position, administrative notes such as staff meeting notes and other documentation of these institutions. Further material on Eugen Kullmann's professional work will primarily be found in Series III, which holds manuscripts from his translations and writings as well as numerous notes, including lecture notes. Many of his notes focus on research topics of interest to him, such as ancient Greek philosophy, especially Plato and Aristotle; modern philosophy including the works of Friedrich Nietzsche; the relation between philosophy and religion; and Judaism and Jewish history, among very many other topics. In addition to his knowledge of philosophy Eugen Kullmann was also familiar with many languages and frequently wrote notes in several languages, or shifted between languages within the same page or sentence. His notes are most frequently written in German, Greek, Hebrew, or English, but notes in other languages will also be found here.

Series I also holds various official documents used for identification, ration stamps, family poetry, material relating to his work for Congregation Machane Chodesh in Brooklyn, and other documents that pertain to his life in New York City.

Series II, which is the largest series of the collection, contains correspondence sent to Eugen Kullmann, although a very small amount of his own letters to others is also present. The bulk of the correspondence in Series II is from others, including close friends, with many details of their lives and experiences; correspondence from Kullmann family members is also included here. Correspondence from friends and family in postwar Germany or in Israel are encountered fairly often in Series II. Many correspondents were friends with Eugen Kullmann since the time of his studies in Basel and they update him with their activities and news. This series also contains correspondence to the Kullmann family, especially to Eugen Kullmann's parents and sister. Most of these letters are from friends, including from former neighbors in Erlenbach as well as New York. Among this correspondence are many letters from Walter and Helen Kullmann and their family, who went to Palestine in the 1930s.

Series IV holds the papers of the philosopher Karl Joël. Although his exact connection with Eugen Kullmann is unclear, Karl Joël taught philosophy at the University of Basel and the two men may have known each other. Series IV includes his notebooks and many loose pages of notes. It also contains some articles, including some about him, and two folders of his correspondence.