Hermann Lewin Collection

The collection consists of the papers of Hermann Lewin and his family as well as materials about the Schocken family, especially their publishing enterprise in the United States and Salman Schocken’s book collection. The materials span a century with several gaps. They were probably gathered by Hortense Lewin, who was likely Hermann Lewin’s wife.

Folder 1 houses the papers of Hermann Lewin and his immediate family. These include letters, various cards, photographs, recommendation letters, newspaper clippings, Hermann Lewin’s passport, and copies of Karl Lewin’s World War I military papers bound in a small booklet. There is also a memory book that Charlotte Lewin kept from the time Hermann was born through his early childhood. In addition to her entries, it contains poetry printed on the pages, photographs, stamps, dried flowers, a lock of hair, and a piece of cloth in very good condition. Folder 2 holds a photo album of the Schocken family. It includes also a detailed list of the family members throughout five generations. In folder 3, there are materials (mainly newspaper clippings) relating to the Schocken Publishing House and Salman Schocken’s book collection that was sold in 2005. Folder 4 houses a typed letter from Thomas Mann written in Zürich, Switzerland, in which he requested the extension of his German passport and also claimed his property left behind in Germany. The letter is undated, but was most certainly written after 1933; its connection to this collection is unclear. In folder 5 there are newspaper clippings pertaining to a broad variety of topics including the lives of Julius Schocken and Albert Reitmann. Also included are a brochure from the Moses Mendelssohn Center in Dessau, Germany, and short publications pertaining to various topics in Jewish history, such as Scottish Jews, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Franz Werfel, the Wannsee Protokoll, and the Dessau Jewish community.