Heinz Bluhm Papers 1824-1998 BC.1996.078 http://hdl.handle.net/2345.2/BC1996-078 Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 library.bc.edu/burns/contact URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 4 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Biographical note ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Arrangement ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 7 I: Audiovisual .............................................................................................................................................. 7 II: Correspondence ...................................................................................................................................... 8 III: Course materials .................................................................................................................................. 12 IV: Diaries ................................................................................................................................................. 13 V: Fiction writings .................................................................................................................................... 14 VI: Manuscripts ......................................................................................................................................... 15 VII: Memorabilia ....................................................................................................................................... 17 VIII: Publications ...................................................................................................................................... 18 IX: Research .............................................................................................................................................. 26 X: Unpublished essays .............................................................................................................................. 28 Heinz Bluhm Papers BC.1996.078 - Page 2 - Summary Information Creator: Bluhm, Heinz, 1907- Title: Heinz Bluhm papers ID: BC.1996.078 Date [inclusive]: 1824-1998 Physical Description 20.25 Linear Feet (51 boxes) Language of the English, German Material: Abstract: Papers documenting the life and work of twentieth-century German scholar Heinz Bluhm, a Professor of Germanic Studies at Boston College. Includes correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, research notes, and teaching material. The bulk of the papers concern Martin Luther, Goethe, and related topics in German. Preferred Citation Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, Heinz Bluhm papers, BC.1996.078, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. Heinz Bluhm Papers BC.1996.078 - Page 3 - Administrative Information Publication Information Processed by Monika Schmatz in 1996. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace. Restrictions on access Collection is open for research. Audio materials in Series I may not be available immediately for use as they will require reformatting; please contact the Burns Library in advance for access to audio materials. Provenance Received as a distribution of the estate of Heinz Bluhm through William A. Essley, executor (1994). Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials. Related Materials Related Materials Ottilie von Goethe Papers (Modern.MS.Goethe), The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts, Chicago, Illinois. Heinz Bluhm Papers BC.1996.078 - Page 4 - Biographical note Heinz Bluhm was born in Halle, Germany on November 23, 1907, the only child of Fritz and Louise Bluhm. The first eighteen years of his life he lived in Halle and Magdeburg, Germany. In 1924 the family immigrated to Oshkosh, Wisconsin where relatives of Louise Bluhm had lived since 1882. Bluhm went to high school in Oshkosh and to Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin, graduating in 1928. He then went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to do graduate work in German and Classics. A University Fellowship in German made it possible for Bluhm to earn a master's degree in 1929 and a doctoral degree in 1932. While writing his dissertation on "The Reception of Goethe's Faust in England in the Second Half of the 19th Century," Yale University offered Bluhm an assistantship for one year (1930-1931). While at Yale he was able to do research in the Goethe collection. Back in Madison Bluhm worked as a full-time instructor in German until 1937, when Yale offered him a faculty position. Two years later he became an Assistant Professor. On August 15, 1938 Heinz Bluhm married Helen McClure Berrn. They had four children: Peter, Louise, Margaret, and Christopher. During his first years at Yale Bluhm's research was focused mainly on Nietzsche, and he published several articles. Soon after, however, Bluhm's interest shifted to Martin Luther and Goethe. His scholarly attention focused on these figures in later years, and made him famous within the academic world. While at Yale, Bluhm started to work on an "Index Verborum," a reference guide to the essential words in Martin Luther's writings from 1516 through 1525. In 1966 Heinz Bluhm was asked to teach two courses at Boston College. After thirty years at Yale, he accepted a professorship at Boston College in 1967. One year later Bluhm founded the Germanic Studies Department. In 1971 Germany honored Bluhm's contributions to German culture with the "Bundesverdienstkreuz." Between 1980 and 1993 Bluhm won several Newberry Library Fellowships and during the summer he often travelled to Chicago. At the Newberry Library he conducted research for the publication of the letters and diaries of Ottilie von Goethe, daughter-in-law of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the publisher of the nineteenth century magazine "Chaos." Although Heinz Bluhm retired in June, 1976, he continued to teach at Boston College and work on his Luther project until about a week before his death on November 21, 1993. Scope and Contents The Heinz Bluhm papers document the professor's personal life and academic work. They include his professional materials, such as correspondence with archives, universities, and other scholars; his publishers, Bergland Verlag and Peter Lang Verlag; and journals where Bluhm's reviews appeared. The bulk of Bluhm's correspondence dates from 1942 to 1993. This collection also features texts about Heinz Bluhm Papers BC.1996.078 - Page 5 - Goethe, Nietzsche, Herder, and Schiller, as well as speeches from 1929 to 1989. It contains a Biblical Quotation Index which lists New and Old Testament citations from the Bible and the Weimar Ausgabe. Bluhm's "fictional writings" consist of stories in which he describes parts of his life but with a fictional character as the central figure. Other materials includes Bluhm's diaries, notes from lectures he attended at the University of Wisconsin, class schedules, exams, and course evaluation reports of his own classes. The cassettes and reel-to-reel magnetic tapes are recordings of lectures and speeches. The photographs in the collection are of Heinz Bluhm and his family. Less information is available regarding Professor Bluhm's work as Chairman and professor of Germanic Studies at Boston College. Arrangement Arranged into ten series: I. Audiovisual; II. Correspondence; III. Course materials; IV. Diaries; V. Fiction writings; VI. Manuscripts; VII. Memorabilia; VIII. Publications; IX. Research; and X. Unpublished essays. Heinz Bluhm Papers BC.1996.078 - Page 6 - Collection Inventory Series I: Audiovisual, 1960-1990, undated Conditions Governing Access Cassettes and reel-to-reel audio tapes are not available for playback due to format impermanence and have not been reformatted. Arrangement Chronological within subseries. Scope and Contents The cassettes and reel-to-reel magnetic tapes are recordings of lectures and speeches given by Bluhm. The photographs show Heinz Bluhm at events or with his family. Some photographs are from newspaper articles. Subseries A: Cassettes, 1964-1990, undated Luther Quincentennial celebration Tape 3:"Luther and Bible box 41 folder 10 Exegesis", undated Nietzsche and the secularization of culture (Pennsylvania box 41 folder 2 speech), undated Watertown speech,