Joachim Schumacher was born in Berlin in 1904, and later obtained a Master's and Ph.D. degree from the University of Heidelberg . With the rise of Hitler, Schumacher left Germany for Switzerland in 1932, where he met and married his wife Sylvia, a concert pianist and teacher of piano. They left Switzerland for France in 1936 and came to the United States in 1937. Also in 1937, Schumacher published his most famous work, The Fear of Chaos, which warned that the rise of fascism would lead to world war.
From 1940 until his death in 1982, Schumacher and his family were residents of Woodbury, Connecticut . He taught at the Westover School from 1940 until his retirement in 1977. A scholar in multiple areas, Schumacher published books and articles on topics relating to philosophy and art history. He also worked with philosopher Ernst Bloch, who shared his Marxist world view. Unlike Bloch, however, Schumacher became jaded with Stalin and the Soviet Union, which he viewed as a tragic turn in the history of socialism.
A beloved teacher and scholar, Joachim Schumacher died in 1982.
From the guide to the Joachim Schumacher Papers, 1922-1982, (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries)
