|
|
|
|
The Hine Collection on the Website of Florida State University
Assembling the Collection
In 1973, after the death of her mother Mia (Maria Hasterlik, divorced from Weiss, widow of Koritshoner, married Heller), and again in 1984, after the passing of her aunt, Heimito von Doderer's first wife Gusti (Auguste Leopoldine Hasterlik, divorced from Doderer, married Kalmus), Giulia Hine came into possession of their extensive collection of letters, documents, diaries, essays, and photographs. It was later possible to expand these holdings through letters held by other members of the family. As now merged, these collections encompass over 5000 letters and documents, some of which go as far back as the eighteenth century. A significant part of the collection consists of letters to and from members of the Hasterlik family from the beginning of the twentieth century until the time after the Second World War.
Processing and Release
Giulia Hine rediscovered these documents in the 1990s and, with the support of a former librarian, Barbara Hass, began sorting and dating them, as well as assigning key words to them and translating most of the letters written in German into English. In 2003, all the original documents in the collection, ranging over dates from 1777 to 1969, as well as additional letters from the Hine and Wolff families, were given as a gift to Florida State University, specifically to the University's Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, led by Professor William O. Oldson. The Hine Collection comprises 4626 written documents, mainly letters. Since December 2004 the English translations of the letters prepared by Giulia Hine have been available on the website of Florida State University (http://www.fsu.edu/~ww2/Hine/hine_collection.htm), and additionally through Database of Letters (currently up to 1949). Thus the Hine Collection, dedicated to the memory of Paul Karl Hasterlik, documents the eventful and—in the twentieth century—partly tragic history of a Viennese family of Jewish origin in the context of the members' personal fates in a time of historical disaster and effort to come to terms with them.
Indexing and Access
The Hine Collection can be accessed through a table of contents, one that is both chronological and thematic (genealogy, history, and chronological overview of the collection, selected key words, name indices, and picture indices). A more specifically focused search through the holdings is also possible.
If, as an example, a user enters under the heading “Search” on the website of FSU the search term “Heimo” (or “?Heimo*”), he or she will find 24 entries between 1922 and 1949; for “Heimito” there are 62 entries. Entering “Doderer*” yields 185 results, not all of which refer to Heimito, however, but some to Gusti, since she bore the family name Doderer from 1930 until her marriage to Ernst Kalmus in 1949.
Specific letters can be targeted by researchers by entering one of more search terms (item number; date written according to the manner customary in the U. S. [YYYY/MM/DD]; name of the letter writer and/or that of the addressee, for instance). Before starting any research, however, it is recommended that interested persons read the “Tips for Researchers”:
Questions
The letters of the Hine Collection are housed at FSU, although not all of them can be found on the website, which at this time ends with the year 1949. Any questions about particular letters, questions about copyright or about quoting letters contained in the Hine Collection should be addressed directly to Florida State University. The persons in charge are Professor William O. Oldson, director; Joan Denman, senior archivist and historian; and, as primary contact person, Anne Marsh (senior computer specialist). One more helpful hint for understanding: clarifications inserted by Giulia Hine appear in parentheses, while notations in brackets originate with the writer of the letter.
Contents Specific to Doderer
Persons interested in the life and work of Heimito von Doderer will find in the Hine Collection numerous letters from the members of the Hasterlik family, but in addition letters from common friends and acquaintances (as just a few examples Paul Elbogen, Heinrich Kopetz, Ernst Pentlarz, and Marie-Louise Wydler-Reiter) in which reference mention is made to Doderer and his friends and acquaintances. For the most part, the author is mentioned only briefly in the letters from the time before the Second World War, but after the war the information about Doderer is often much more extensive. Friends who had either stayed in Austria or had returned give information about Doderer's development—his departure from National Socialism, his conversion to Catholicism, his second marriage, his work, his success, and his death.
Paul Elbogen speaks repeatedly in his letters about Doderer's brilliance and offers analyses of the author's works. Heinrich Kopetz describes Doderer in the years after the war as a man grown old, with his finances in bad shape, and later—despite undeniable quality—as an overrated author. The main concern of Marie-Louise Wydler (or Wydler-Reiter), on the other hand, is to defend Doderer, with whom she was friends, and his work against her friend Gusti.
Society - Updates
| Membership |
Publications |
Forum
| Contact
Doderer - Introduction
| Brief Bio |
Work | Research
Prize - Reviews
- Downloads -
Search - Help
- Credits