Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) was founded by American friends of Albert Schweitzer in 1939 to support his hospital and medical work at Lambarene in Gabon (then French Equatorial West Africa), and to disseminate his philosophical and ethical principles, characterized by the phrase "reverence for life."

The ASF was involved in direct support of the hospital through fund-raising and material gifts until operation of the hospital was assumed by the Gabonese government, two years after Schweitzer's death in 1965. Presently, the ASF continues to support the work of the hospital through lobbying for U.S. government aid and raising funds for capital improvements. In 1979, it instituted an internship program at the hospital for visiting Harvard Medical School students.

ASF leaders helped to organize Albert Schweitzer's only visit to the U.S., in 1949, to deliver a lecture on Goethe. The ASF has been active in publishing and disseminating writings, recordings, and films by and about Schweitzer. ASF records include a great volume of both published and unpublished materials. A major project was the compilation of a Schweitzer Bibliography, published in 1981.

The ASF organized two American conferences on Schweitzer, in 1966 and 1977, as well as celebrations of his centenary in 1975. In pursuit of Schweitzer's ethics, it remains active in numerous humanitarian and peace projects, particularly nuclear disarmament.

The ASF has been in constant communication with other Schweitzer-related organizations: (1) the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene, (2) the numerous European organizations also dedicated to Schweitzer's work and ethics, under the umbrella of the Association internationale de l'Hopital Albert Schweitzer a Lambarenê et de son Oeuvre (A.I.S.L.) in which ASF itself is active, and (3) the Albert Schweitzer Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, founded in 1966 by Schweitzer's friend and filmmaker, Erica Anderson. The ASF records include a great deal of correspondence, reports, and publications from these organizations.

Due to its dedication to Schweitzer, to the personal friendship of early leaders with him, and to ongoing participation in the ASF by Schweitzer's daughter, Rhena Schweitzer Miller, the records include a substantial amount of memorabilia from Schweitzer, his wife Helene Schweitzer, and extensive publications and clippings files.

From the guide to the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Records, 1905-1993, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)