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GERMAN AND JEWISH INTELLECTUAL ÉMIGRÉ COLLECTION

Partial Finding Aid for the
PAUL LESER
PAPERS, 1920-1984
(GER-058)

VOLUME: 159 cubic feet

ACQUISITION: All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Walter Leser in 1985.

ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted.

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Paul Leser Papers
Biographical Sketch

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Paul Leser was born on February 23, 1899 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the youngest of Wilhelm and Helene (Rikoff) Leser's three children. He attended schools in Frankfurt and was graduated from the Goethe Gymnasium in 1917 with his Abitur. That year, Leser was inducted into the German Army and served in World War I; he later became ill and recuperated in the Army Hospital. During his hospitalization, he began taking classes at the University of Bonn. In 1919, he became a member of the Nerother-Bund, a part of the German youth movement which was founded by the brothers Karl and Robert Oelbermann. Also in that year, he returned to the University of Bonn to study under his mentor Fritz Graebner, one of the principal exponents of the cultural-historical approach to ethnology. He was graduated from the University of Bonn with his Ph.D. in 1925.

He held positions at the Frankfurter Bund fuer Volksbildung and at the Ethnological Museum in Frankfurt before becoming a Privatdozent for Ethnology at the Darmstadt Institute of Technology. During this time period he became involved in the case against Dr. Julius Lips of the Raustenstrauch-joest Museum, who was accused by Leser and others of plagiarizing from the works of Graebner, Schmidt, and Koppers. The case dragged on until 1933, when many of the participants were removed from their positions by the Nazi's. Though the case took up much of his time in the early 1930's, his main interest was his own work on the history of the plow. In 1931, his most renowned work Entstehunq und Verbreitung des Pfluges was published (it was eventually reprinted in Denmark in 1971).

In 1936, because of the increasingly hostile political climate in Germany, Leser was forced to emigrate to Sweden. He took a position as translator for Folk-Liv in Stockholm. In 1941, he emigrated to the United States. Leser served in the United States Army in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy from 1942-1945. After the war, and a brief stint as a civilian employee at the U.S. War Department, Leser returned to the world of academia. Beginning in 1947, he held positons as Professor of Anthropology at Olivet College in Michigan, Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and The Hartford Seminary Foundation in Connecticut. In 1967, he retired from his teaching position at the Hartford Seminary and became an Emeritus member of the faculty. At the time of his death in December of 1984, Leser was a Research Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hartford. Leser died in Hartford at the age of 85 and was buried in the family plot in a cemetery in Frankfurt am Main.[1]

Biography of Paul Leser

Feb. 23, 1899 - Born in Frankfurt to Wilhelm and Helene Leser

1908 - 1917 - Attended Goethe Gymnasium in Frankfurt

1917 - 1919 - Served in the German Army

1917 - 1918 - Attended the University of Bonn while in Army Hospital

1919 - 1924 - Attended the University of Frankfurt and the University of Bonn

1919 - 1936 - Member of the Nerother Wandervogel

1925 - Graduated with P.h.D from University of Bonn

1924 - 1933 - Lecturer in Ethnology, Frankfurter Bund fuer Volksbildung

1928 - 1933 - Junior Assistant Curator, Ethnological Museum, Frankfurt

1929 - 1933 - Privatdozent for Ethnology, Darmstadt Institute of Technology

1931 - Publication of major work Entstehung und Verbreitung des Pfluges

1936 - Emigrated to Sweden

1937 - 1941 - Translator for Folk-Liv, Stockholm, Sweden

1941 - Emigrated to the United States

1942 - 1945 - Served in U.S. Army in N. Africa, Sicily, and Italy

1945 - 1947 - civilian employee, U.S. War Dept.

1947 - 1949 - Professor of Anthropology, Olivet College, Olivet, Michigan

1949 - 1951 - Professor of Anthropology, Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, N.C.

1951 - 1952 - Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The Hartford Seminary Foundation, Hartford, CT

1952 - 1967 - Professor of Anthropology, The Hartford Seminary Foundation

1957 - Visiting Professor of Anthropology, New School For Social Research, NY

1958 - Visiting Professor of Ethnology, University of Cologne, Germany

1966 - 1967 - Visiting Professor (Fulbright scholar) University of Vienna, Austria

1967 - Emeritus, Hartford Seminary Foundation

1968 - 1984- - President of the Permanent International Committee for Research on the History of Agricultural Implements

1976 - 1984 - Research Professor of Anthropology, University of Hartford

December, 1984 - Died in Hartford, CT
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Notes

1. Biographical information obtained from: International Biographical Dictionary of Central European Emigres, 1933-1945. Muenchen: K.G. Saur, 1983, Bibliography: Paul Leser West Hartford: University of Hartford, 1978, and "About Paul Leser, Ethnologist", unpublished Manuscript by Jack Lucas (appended to the finding aid)

Paul Leser Papers
Scope and content note

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Fritz Graebner Series, 1.5 cubic feet

The Graebner series is of interest to researchers in the history of anthropology and ethnology, and specifically those concerned with the cultural-historical approach to ethnology which Graebner spearheaded. Graebner was Leser's mentor and perhaps the greatest influence on his academic career and scholarly interests; Leser remained loyal to Graebner's anthropological methodology even after it had fallen out of favor in academic circles.

Graebner was born in 1877 in Berlin. He received his P.h.D. in history at the University of Berlin in 1901; his dissertation was on a topic in medieval history. He went on to become a research assistant on the staff of the Royal Museum of Ethnology in Berlin, where he classified South Seas materials. In 1907, he became an assistant at the Raustenstrauch-Joest Museum. During this time, he, along with Bernhard Ankermann, developed the method of Kulturkreis, which examined the geographical diffusion of clusters of cultural traits. This development represented a break from the biological-evolutionary concepts which dominated anthropology at the time. Graebner thus remained true to his historical training and became one of the principal exponents of the cultural-historical approach to ethnology.

Though this methodological approach was later abandoned by ethnologists, Graebner did exert lasting influence on ethnology in central and northern Europe, particularly on the Vienna school of Kulturkreislebre. In the later years of his life, he became the director of the Raustenstrauch-Joest Museum; he was forced to resign this position due to illness in 1928. In 1934, he returned to Berlin, where he died.[2]

The series contains important published and unpublished manuscripts, photographs, and some correspondence (1920-1937) of both Graebner and his wife Paula. It also contains materials related to the articles written by Joseph Henninger and Leser in honor of the 100th anniversary of Graebner's birth in 1977. Above all, the series helps illuminate the importance of Fritz Graebner, the man and the ethnologist, in the life and work of his student Paul Leser.The Graebner series is divided into two subseries and arranged alphabetically within the subseries. The series is divided into materials by Graebner and materials about Graebner. Materials by Graebner include: correspondence, photographs/negatives, book reviews, offprints, notebooks, and published and unpublished manuscripts. Materials about Graebner include: correspondence between Leser and Henninger, notes for Leser's writings on Graebner, newspaper articles by Leser about Graebner, and writings by both Leser and Henninger.

Julius Lips Series, 1926-1940, 2 cubic feet

The Lips series is of interest not only because of the plagiarism case itself, but also because of the way the case reflects the academic and political climate of Germany in the early 1930's. The case began in 1928, when Martin Block, Lips' assistant at the Raustenstrauch-Joest Museum, complained to Johannes Lehmann, director of the Frankfurt Museum and head of the Association of German Ethnological Museums. Among other grievances, he charged Lips with plagiarizing the anthropologists Fritz Graebner, Wilhelm Schmidt, and Wilhelm Koppers in his work Einleitung in die vergleichende Voelkerkunde. Lehmann and his assistants, Vatter and Leser, documented the plagiarism and quickly became embroiled in the controversy. The case (or cases, as many different charges and countercharges were filed), eventually reached the courts and involved many prominent German and Austrian academics. It also became a political conflict, played out in the newspapers, as Lips was a member of the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic newspaper supported him, while the more conservative papers used the charges as an excuse to attack Lips' character. The case, for all intents and purposes, ended when the Nazi's came to power in 1933. Beyond the political and academic aspects, the case is also of note as it helps to illuminate Leser's continuing interest in academic honesty, plagiarism, and the critique of sources.

Most of the material in the series dates from 1930 - 1933. The case is well represented by voluminous correspondence (1926 1940) between most of the individuals involved, newspapers (1927 1939), manuscripts, reviews, reports, legal papers, and professional opinions on the charges. There is little material on the final disposition of the case(s) and there are no transcripts of actual court hearings.

The Lips series is arranged alphabetically. It contains materials relating to the charges of plagiarism filed against Dr. Julius Lips by Paul Leser, et al. The series includes correspondence among many individuals involved in the case and the correspondence of the Deutscher Museum Bund relating to the case. Contains drafts of manuscripts about the case, Leser's critically annotated copies of Lips' publications, reviews of Lips' Einleituna in die veraleichende Voelkerkunde, and professional opinions regarding the merits of the plagiarism charge. The series contains newspapers with articles about Lips and copies of newspaper clippings about the case. The series also includes subject files on cases related to the original plagiarism charges.

Paul Leser Papers
Box and Folder List

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Book reviews by Graebner
Correspondence - 1920 - 1933
Correspondence - 1934 - 1937
Manuscripts - "Nachlass I"
Manuscripts - "Nachlass I" continued
Manuscripts - "Nachlass II"
Manuscripts - "Nachlass II continued
Manuscripts - "Nachlass III"
Manuscripts - "Nachlass IV"
Manuscripts - "Ethnologie"
Notebook (unknown contents)
Offprints by Graebner
Photographs/Negatives

According to a letter from Leser to Graebner's publisher, the Carl Winters Universitaetsbuchandlung in Heidelberg, the contents of the "Nachlass" is:
1) Graebner"s last unfinished, untitled work,
2) "Die Urvoelker in ihrer Bedeutung fuer die Menschheitsgeschichte",
3) "Die Wirtschaftsformen der Erdell - text of a lecture,
4) "Schiller als Geschichtsphilosoph" - an early work, and
5) "Geschichte der Kunst auf den aelteren Kulturstufen". The letter from Leser to Carl Winters Universitaetsbuchhandlung is in the first "Nachlass I" folder

Subseries 2: Materials about Graebner

Correspondence - Henninger/Leser - 1969
Correspondence - Henninger/Leser - 1977
Correspondence - Henninger/Leser - 1977

Box 2

Newspaper articles (and notes/correspondence about the articles)
Notebooks (Leser's) from coursework with Graebner
Notes for Leser's writings on Graebner
Notes for Leser's writings on Graebner (continued)
Offprints by Henninger
Publications about Graebner
"Seminar on P. Wilhelm Schmidt" - course outline (Henninger)
Writings on Graebner by Leser
Writings on Graebner by Henninger

Paul Leser Papers
Box and Folder List

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Bibliography of Lips' publications

Bills, invitations, advertisements, etc.

Correspondence

Ankermann
B.G. Teubner Verlag
Block
Buerger
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
Deutscher Museum Bund (1930)
Deutscher Museum Bund (Feb. - July, 1931)
Deutscher Museum Bund (Aug. - Dec., 1931)
Deutscher Museum Bund (1932 - 1933)
Freiherr v. Stein
Goldschmidt
Graebner
Heydrich
Hoffman
Honigsheim
Koelnische Volkszeitung
Koenig
Koppers
Krause
Krickeberg
Kroll
Lauscher
Leser, Albert
Libraries
Lingemann, Hans
Lips
Noelting
Quadflieg
Rheinische Zeitung
Rock
Schmidt
Sevenich
Sierp
Thilenius
Trimborn
Unidentified/Miscellaneous correspondence
Vatter
Wentscher
Zimmer

Manuscripts

"Ein Plagiat"
Notes/Drafts - "Ein Plagiat"
"Plagiat Lips"
Notes/Drafts - "Plagiat Lips"
Unidentified manuscript
Notes/Drafts - Unidentified manuscript

Newspaper Articles/Clippings

Copies of newspaper articles
Copies of newspaper clippings
Newspaper clippings
Transcripts of newspaper articles

Newspapers

Bergisch-Maerkische Zeitung - 3/15/33
Berliner Tageblatt - 5/21/29
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung - 3/18/31; 4/28/31
Deutsche Reichs-Zeitung - 5/2/32
Duesseldorfer Nachrichten - 8/2/30
Frankfurter Zeitung - 6/19/30; 4/3/31; 8/1/31; 11/8/31; 9/24/32
Koelner Tageblatt - 9/6/30; 10/1/30; 1/28/31; 2/4/31; 4/18-19/31; 11/12/31

Box 2

Newspapers

Koelner Universitaets-Zeitung - #12
Koelnische Volkszeitung, 7/31/30; 1/18/31; 1/27/31; 2/3/31; 8/4/31
Koelnische Zeitung - 10/6/27; 10/9/27; 5/22/29; 7/31/30; 10/24/31; 4/5/32; 5/3/33
Ludendorff's Volkswarte - 11/15/31
Neue Freie Presse - 7/29/31; 7/30/31
Neue Zuercher Zeitung - 4/11/33
Pariser Tageszeitung - 12/5/39
Rhein-Mainische Volkszeitung - 1/13/31
Rheinische-Westfaelische Zeitung - 10/16/31
Rheinische Zeitung- 8/1/30; 12/19/30
Rheinische Zeitung - 11/29/31; 2/5/31; 7/22/31; 11/13/31;
Der Samstag - 1/31/31
Stadt-Anzeiger - 4/2/31; 11/8/31
Stadt-Anzeiger fuer Koeln und Umgebung - 11/24/32
Stadt-Blatt der Frankfurter Zeitung - 6/11/31
Stridericus - 7/31
Das Unterhaltungsblatt 8/13/30
Volkischer Beobachter 3/18/33
Westdeutscher Beobachter - 12/19/33; 5/18/38; 5/19/38
Westfaelische Landeszeitung - 3/15/33

Notes/Drafts/Miscellaneous Notes/Drafts/Miscellaneous Notes/Drafts/Miscellaneous Offprints, periodicals, etc.

Professional opinions regarding the charges of plagiarism

Publications

Copies of Einleitung in die vergleichende Voelkerkunde
Copies of other Lips' publications

Report on Lips by der Vorsitzende des Verbandes der deutschen ethnographischen Museen

Report on Lips by der Vorsitzende des Verbandes der deutschen Museen fuer Volkerkunde

Reviews of Lips' Einleituncr in die vergleichende Voelkerkunde-

Leser (1931)

Trimborn (1930)

Subject files

Leser, et al. vs. Lips (general)
Leser, et al. vs. Lips (Nachlass Foy)
Leser, et al. vs. Lips (plagiarism)
Block vs. Lips (general)
Block vs. Lips (tampering with the mail)
Leser vs. Rock
Leser vs. Rock (undated material, notes, etc.)
Leser and Vatter vs. Thorbecke
Leser vs. Menghin