Correspondence with Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, 1914-1959.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Correspondence with Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, 1914-1959.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/155864683

The correspondence reflects the course of Unruh's friendship with both Franz Werfel and Alma Mahler, a friendship which also included Friederike Unruh, beginning around 1928. With respect to Werfel and Unruh, it is apparent that they shared a mutual regard and read each other's work; 1 item is a response to Werfel's play Spiegelmench. 1 item concerns the departure of Fritz and Friederike from Germany and their seeking a place to stay in Italy. After 1940 the correspondence often reflects the material and psychic struggles of Fritz and Friederike in the U.S. An appeal from Unruh to Alma Mahler on behalf of Yvan Goll (who was ill and in a dire financial situation) also implies some estrangement and occasions a response from Alma, which mainly concerns the friendship. The subsequent item expresses condolences upon the death of Werfel. Some items reflect efforts made by Franz or Alma to facilitate professional contacts for Unruh. Werfel apparently recommended him to Warner Brothers at the time that a screenplay writer was needed for the film version of Werfel's novel The Song of Bernadette. Later, the letter from Wolff is apparently a response to a letter from Alma inquiring about professional possibilities for Unruh; Wolff's letter comments on Unruh's situation as an émigré writer, as well as on his artwork and the lack of commercial prospects. The item from Bitsch is a generic communication to the members of the (apparently newly founded) Fritz von Unruh-Gesellschaft on the occasion of Unruh's 70th birthday; it conveys information about recent honors and expressions of support that Unruh had received, as well as reactions to Unruh's decision not to remain in Germany but to return to the U.S. Included is a photocopy of a photograph of Fritz von Unruhe in his later years, inscribed on the reverse with a message from Friederike to Alma (for the original item, see photographs). For a letter from Werfel concerning Fritz von Unruh, see under: Simon, Heinz.

53 items (55 leaves).

ger,

eng,

University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6888253

University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Unruh, Fritz ˜vonœ 1885-1970

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ms3wm9 (person)

Friederike von Unruh (née Schaffer) was an actress and Fritz's wife; they married in 1940. Fritz and Friederike left Germany together in 1932, lived for a time in Italy and in France, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1940, where they lived in New York City. They lived in Germany again from 1952 to 1955 and then returned to the U.S. Alma Mahler mentions Unruh several times in her memoir Mein Leben. While he was serving in the military in World War I, she wrote to him in praise of his play Ein Geschl...

Bitsch, Heinrich

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn5q60 (person)

Fritz von Unruh-Gesellschaft.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6326zbs (corporateBody)

Unruh, Friederike von, 1890-1971.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64c0gpm (person)

Wolff, Kurt, 1887-1963

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xg9s90 (person)

Kurt Wolff had been Franz Werfel's publisher from 1912 to 1923. Helen Wolff (née Mosel) was Kurt's second wife. Helen and Kurt were good friends of Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel. The Wolffs, together with their son, Christian, emigrated to the U.S. in 1940 or 1941. From the description of Correspondence to Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, ca. 1941-1963. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155864842 Kurt Wolff, publisher, was born in Germany; he established...