http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8vq33pv No online items Finding Aid for Paul Kiess papers 6032 Finding aid prepared by Michaela Ullmann, Lisa Ebiner Gavit USC Libraries Special Collections Doheny Memorial Library 206 3550 Trousdale Parkway Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189 213-740-5900 [email protected] 2013 Finding Aid for Paul Kiess papers 6032 1 6032 Title: Paul Kiess papers Collection number: 6032 Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections Language of Material: English Physical Description: 3.25 linear ft.5 boxes Date (bulk): Bulk, 1939-1941 Date (inclusive): 1915-1941 Abstract: This collection contains the personal papers of Dr. Paul Kiess. The collection contains personal correspondence and correspondence with Christian organizations in the US, photographs, newspaper clippings, outlines for Dr. Kiess' speeches, and ephemera. Dr. Paul Kiess, a Protestant, was a legal adviser, a lector of the Thüringische Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, and Urania Verlagsbuchhandlung in Jena, Thuringia, and a member of the Thuringian parliament. Paul and his wife Edith, a half Jew, left Germany in 1935 and went into exile in Prague, Czechoslovakia, France, and London, before emigrating to the United States where Edith studied for her professional qualifying examinations in New York, and Paul went to Princeton where he lectured at various Christian organizations, and studied for his American bar exam. creator: Kiess, Edith creator: Kiess, Paul Scope and Content The collection contains Paul Kiess' personal and business correspondence during the years of exile and the first years after his emigration to the United States, correspondence with various Christian rescue organizations, texts and manuscripts by himself and others, newspaper clippings from American newspapers about the war and politics in Germany, and a few photographs and ephemera. The bulk of the collection dates from 1939-1941 though a few earlier materials are present as well. Biographical/Historical note Paul Kiess was born on January 10, 1894 in Berlin, Germany. He worked as a legal adviser, and as lector of the Thüringische Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, and Urania Verlagsbuchhandlung in Jena, Thuringia. From 1920 to 1933, Paul Kiess was a member of the Thuringian parliament. In autumn 1926, Paul Kiess married Edith Kiess, nee Kramer, a half Jew. Edith was born in Riga on January 19, 1900 to her parents Julius Israel Kramer, a merchant, and her mother Sara Kramer nee Jakobsohn. Through her marriage with Paul, Edith became a German citizen. Edith had taken courses with Albert Einstein at Berlin University (Ausländerkurse; an institution founded by Albert Einstein to enable Jewish students to study if refused by German universities). She received a diploma as Bacteriologist. She then finished her medical studies at Jena University, receiving a diploma as a German physician on September 12, 1930. Edith worked as a physician at the university hospital of Jena until the first anti-Jewish boycott of the Nazis, April 1, 1933. On April 6, 1933 she had to leave the hospital. After the Nazis came to power, Paul Kiess, a Protestant, defended Dr. Kuno Fiedler in court. Fiedler, a philosopher and Protestant minister, had declined to publicly present a hate prayer on the order of the Nazis. In 1935, it became impossible for Paul Kiess to remain a lawyer in Jena due to his defense work for many Jews. In addition, his marriage to a half Jew put him in danger of being sent to a concentration camp. Edith and Paul Kiess left Germany on December 24, 1935. They went to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where Edith took courses in medical massage while Paul explored various business opportunities. Via France (Paul) and London (Edith), the couple emigrated to the United States. They arrived in New York in January 1939. The emigration was made possible through the written intervention of Thomas Mann, who was a close friend of Fiedler. While Edith Kiess stayed in New York, where she studied for her professional qualifying examinations, Paul went to Princeton where he lectured at various Christian organizations, and studied for his bar exam. Conditions Governing Use The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. Conditions Governing Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access. Processing Information The collection was rehoused and described by Michaela Ullmann and Lisa Ebiner Gavet in 2013. Finding Aid for Paul Kiess papers 6032 2 6032 Preferred Citation [Box/folder# or item name], Paul Kiess papers, Collection no. 6032, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California Subjects and Indexing Terms American Committee for Christian German Refugees. -- Archives Kiess, Edith -- Archives Kiess, Paul -- Archives Clippings Correspondence Ephemera Exiles--Germany--20th century--Archival resources Germany--Emigration and immigration--History--1933-1945--Archival resources Germany--Politics and government--20th century--Archival resources New York (N.Y.)--Emigration and immigration--20th century--Archival resources Newspapers Notes Persecution--Germany--20th century--Archival resources Photographs World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Archival resources Correspondence Box 1, Folder 1 Misc. correspondence and other documents found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 2 Misc. notes and correcpondence found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 3 Misc. correspondence found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 4 Misc. correspondence addressed to or signed by Paul Kiess...1 1913- March 1939 Box 1, Folder 5 Misc. correspondence addressed to or signed by Paul Kiess...2 April 1939- 1942 Box 1, Folder 6 Correspondence and documents found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 7 Misc. correspondence and other documents 1937-1941 Box 1, Folder 8 Misc. correspondence 1911-1941 Box 1, Folder 9 Misc. correspondence and documents Box 1, Folder 10 Misc. correspondence and memos found together in a folder labeled "NO-H" Box 1, Folder 11 Correspondence and notes found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 12 Misc. correspondence and memos found together in a folder Box 1, Folder 15 German-American Writers Association Box 4, Folder 1 Postcards to Mr. Paul Kiess 1919, 1921, 1939-1942 Box 4, Folder 2 Postcards to Edith Kiess 1937-1939 Box 4, Folder 3 Postcards from Edith Kiess to Paul Kiess 1939-1942 Box 4, Folder 4 Correspondence to Paul from Edith 1939-1941 Box 4, Folder 5 Correspondence to Edith from Paul 1939-1941 Box 4, Folder 6 Letter: Edith Kiess to Professor Lanzerson, Tel Aviv 1939 Box 4, Folder 7 Letter: Edith Kiess to Dr. Erwin Hirsch, Prague 1939 Box 4, Folder 8 Correspondence: Paul and Edith Kiess with H. Lubecki after arrival in N.Y. 1939 Box 4, Folder 9 Correspondence: Dr. Edith Kiess with her sister Anne 1939 Box 4, Folder 10 Letter: Dr. Paul Kiess to Madame and Dino Lowenstein Nov. 11, 1939 Box 4, Folder 11 Letter from Fia (?) to Edith Kiess 1939 Box 4, Folder 12 Correspondence between Paul and Hazel and Morrie 1939-1940 (?) Box 4, Folder 13 Correspondence: Paul Kiess with N.V. Revisa regarding consultation for Herbert Altmann Box 4, Folder 14 Correspondence: Kurt Grossmann 1938-1939 Box 4, Folder 15 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Anna Weitzmann-Kramer 1939 Box 4, Folder 16 Correspondence to Fraulein von Krolekiewitz 1940 Finding Aid for Paul Kiess papers 6032 3 6032 Correspondence Box 4, Folder 17 Correspondence to Dr. Robinson 1941 Box 4, Folder 18 Correspondence with Mr. Villard 1941 Box 4, Folder 19 Correspondence to/from Arnold and Ernst Meyer 1939-1941 Box 4, Folder 20 Dr. Fritz Kohn to Paul Kiess regarding Affidavit Box 4, Folder 21 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Kurt Doberer regarding new weapons and technology 1940 Box 4, Folder 22 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Paulette Mezieres 1938-1939 Box 4, Folder 23 Paul Kiess to American Committee for Christian German Refugees Box 4, Folder 24 Biographical essay about Paul Kiess, mentioning his accomplishments for Jews at Jena University and his persecution under Hitler Box 4, Folder 25 Recommendation of Paul Kiess, to Councils of Churches Box 4, Folder 26 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Mrs. Bradford Young 1939 Box 4, Folder 27 The American Committee for Christian German Refugees 1939 Box 4, Folder 28 French Line: Notice about unclaimed suitcase of Edith Kiess 1939 Box 4, Folder 29 The Hungry Club "Pittsburgh's Down-Town Meeting" documents March 1940 Box 4, Folder 30 New York Public Library Box 2, Folder 1 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Mr. Estrin Box 2, Folder 2 Folder labeled "Pittsburgh"- Correspondence and outlines for talks on the Nazis and Christians, for various Christian organizations in Pittsburgh Box 2, Folder 17 Postcards to Paul Kiess from Mr. Farber from folder labeled "Liga" Box 2, Folder 18 Correspondence: Paul Kiess with Ruth and Leo Friedmann from folder labeled "Friedmann" Box 2, Folder 19 Correspondence re: shipment of Paul Kiess' belongings to the U.S.; from folder labeled "Gondrand Freres" Box 2, Folder 21 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Rudolph Pichler, from folder labeled "Pichler" Box 2, Folder 22 Notes and correspondence found in folder labeled "Sopache" (?) Box 2, Folder 25 Correspondence: Paul Kiess and Walter Foster and Clark M. Eichelberger, found in a folder labeled "Foster" Box 2, Folder 26 Correspondence and notes from folder labeled "West- Reise" Box 2, Folder 28 Correspondence: American Committee for Christian German Refugees, from folder labeled "Amer. Com. J. C. G. R." Box 2, Folder 29 Correspondence: Comite International pour le Placement des Intellectuels Refugies, from folder labeled "Union" Box 2, Folder 31 Correspondence: College and Specialist Bureau, from folder labeled "Bureau Memphis" Box 2, Folder 33 Correspondence: Paul Kiess with Fritz Tetens, found in folder labeled "Gaidies Gen" Box 2, Folder 34 Correspondence and notes found in folder labeled "Pol.