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Guide to the Papers of Salamon Dembitzer (1888-1964),
1908-1975

AR 4212

Processed by Ilse Turnheim

Leo Baeck Institute

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street

New York, NY 10011


Phone: (212) 744-6400

Fax: (212) 988-1305

Email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org


URL: http://www.lbi.org

© 2005 Leo Baeck Institute. All rights reserved.
Center for Jewish History, Publisher.
Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia in April 2005. Description is in English.

Descriptive summary
Creator: Salamon Dembitzer
Title: Salamon Dembitzer Collection
Dates 1908-1975
Dates bulk 1950-1960
Abstract: This collection describes the professional life of the writer Salamon Dembitzer, who is best known as a Yiddish poet and the author of Visas for America, a novel on the situation of Jewish refugees during World War II. Included in these papers are manuscripts of his poetry, newspaper articles, and novels as well as reviews of his work, correspondence, and biographical information on him.
Languages: The collection is in German, Yiddish, English, Dutch, and Italian.
Quantity: 2 linear feet
Identification: AR 4212
Repository: Leo Baeck Institute
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Biographical Note

Salamon Dembitzer, the son of Herschel and Amalia Dembitzer, was born in Cracow (now Kraków, Poland), at that time part of Austria-Hungary, on December 29, 1888. His grandfather Chajim Nathan Dembitzer was a Talmud scholar and a well-known historian.

Dembitzer spent his earliest years in a small village named Lancut. At 15 he left school and came to Germany, first to Frankfurt, then to Kassel, where he worked as an editor for the Kasseler Volksblatt. In 1910 he went to Berlin, returning there several times until he had to flee it in March 1933.

By the time he was 16 years old Dembitzer already had some of his poetry published. His earliest writings were written in Yiddish, not only with Hebrew letters but also with Latin. Some of his poetry was set to music. Prior to the first World War, Dembitzer lived in Antwerp, but had to return to Germany once the war broke out. Once more he went to Berlin, where his first work of prose Aus engen Gassen, a collection of essays, appeared in 1914.

At the end of 1915 Dembitzer had left Berlin once more and went to Holland where he wrote for two large Amsterdam newspapers, Algemeen Handolsblad and Het Volk. While in Amsterdam he also wrote some articles for the German newspaper Vorwärts, and became a literary writer for this paper when he returned to Berlin in 1920. He also authored articles for several other papers, including Die Welt am Montag, the Berliner Tagblatt, and the Viennese Arbeiter-Zeitung. His short stories especially were often published in German newspapers.

In 1930 Salamon Dembitzer's first novel, Bummler and Bettler, was published as well as a three-act play called Wohlfahrtsamt. In March 1933 Dembitzer fled Berlin for Holland, and would continue to travel through Europe over the next several years in his attempts to escape the Nazis. He stayed in the Netherlands and Belgium before landing in Portugal where he eventually received a visa to New York in 1941. Many of Dembitzer's novels, especially his later ones, contain autobiographical elements, and a description of this flight across Europe is depicted in his book Visas for America. Many of his manuscripts were lost during this time. In August 1942 Dembitzer's younger brother Chaim Nussyn Dembitzer and his wife were killed by the Nazis, and his book Visas for America is dedicated to this sibling.

Salamon Dembitzer struggled until 1947 with his life as a recent immigrant in New York City. He was occasionally supported financially by his brother in New Zealand, a character sometimes mentioned in his novels. His life as an immigrant during this time is depicted in his fictional writings, especially in his unpublished manuscripts "Das Affidavit and Triebmanns Verwirrungen" and "The Chronic Fugitive."

In 1947 Dembitzer left New York for Australia. He lived in Sydney until 1958. In 1950 his novel Drama in Ostende, first written in 1939, was published by Villon Press. Visas for America was published in 1952, and in 1955 several of his short stories from the 1920s were published under the title Adventure in Prague. While living in Australia Salamon Dembitzer married Hertha Weiss, the owner of Villon Press.

Although Salamon Dembitzer never returned to Germany, he did come back to Europe. In 1958 he moved to Lugano, Switzerland. He died there on October 11, 1964.

Sources: Seelman-Eggebert, Ulrich, "Ein jüdisches Dichtershicksal," National-Zeitung Basel, Nr. 443, 27 September 1970.

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Scope and Content Note

The main focus of the Salamon Dembitzer Collection is the professional life of this writer. It is comprised of manuscripts, correspondence, clippings, personal documents, and a few photographs.

Series I: Personal holds materials that describe the person of Salamon Dembitzer. Much of this includes biographies of his professional life, both published and unpublished. In addition, other types of documents to be found here include photographs, information on restitution for manuscripts left behind in Belgium, and a few clippings about his grandfather.

Correspondence is located in Series II. Most of the correspondence is comprised of individuals' opinions on Dembitzer's writing. Well-known persons whose letters will be found here include Thomas Mann, Julius Bab, Martin Buber, Philipp Scheidemann, Primo Levi, and former Australian Deputy Prime Minister H.V. Evatt. Other types of correspondence include information on funding he received from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany and correspondence concerning the copyright for his novels.

The largest series of this collection is Series III: Writings. Here researchers will find manuscripts of novels, short stories, articles, and poetry as well as published reviews of his work. Newspaper clippings and publications containing his shorter works are also in this series. Manuscripts of his works, however, make up the bulk of this series. Manuscripts of his Yiddish poetry, both handwritten and typed, will be found here as well as manuscripts of his novels. Many of the novel-length manuscripts appear to be earlier versions of some of his published books.

Researchers should note that there is very little information in this collection on Salamon Dembitzer's personal and family life, other than what may be gleaned from the manuscripts of his novels and short stories, which often contain autobiographical references.

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Arrangement

The collection is divided into the following three series:

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

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Other Finding Aid

An earlier paper finding aid is available.

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Salamon Dembitzer Collection; AR 4212; box number; folder number; Leo Baeck Institute.

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Processing Information

Reprocessed in April 2005 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia following the arrangement of the original paper finding aid created by Ilse Turnheim in 1975. Addenda were integrated into series, description was added, and basic preservation work was performed.

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Access Points

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Series I: Personal, 1910, 1915, 1926-1975.

This series is in German, English, and Italian.
9 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical.
Scope and Content:

Series I holds documents containing some personal information about Salamon Dembitzer. A large part of this information is newspaper clippings concerning him and his works. The autobiographical notes found here include a description of a meeting Dembitzer had with Hitler's doctor and a visit from Hauptmann Sternheim. Other biographical information may be found among the clippings and in the folder "Biographies and Lebenslauf." The folder "Chajim Nathan Dembitzer" holds a few clippings about Salamon Dembitzer's grandfather, a historian. Photographs are mainly a few passport photos and portraits of Dembitzer at various ages. Restitution papers concern Salamon Dembitzer's efforts to have manuscripts he left behind in Belgium returned to him.

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Autobiographical notes undated
1 2 Biographies - Clippings 1956-1973
1 3 Biographies – Clippings – Italian 1964-1974
1 4 Biographies and Lebenslauf 1926-1975
1 5 Chaim Nathan Dembitzer 1926-1975
1 6 Chopin Nocturnes, Improvisationen von Jean Paul D’Ardeschah – dedicated to Salalmon Dembitzer 1934
1 7 Keren Kayemeth Leisrael – Urkunde: Planting of 100 Trees 1983
1 8 Photographs 1930-1956
1 9 Restitution 1950-1961
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Series II: Correspondence, 1909-1965, 1975.

This series is in German, Yiddish, and English.
6 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical.
Scope and Content:

The correspondence in this collection is professional in nature. Much of it is between Salamon or Hertha Dembitzer and others and concerns his writing. Often it contains others' opinions of his writing. Letters exchanged with Paul Czinner discussed the possibility of filming Dembitzer's book Drama in Ostend. Correspondence with H.V. Evatt, who wrote the forward to Visas for America, gives Evatt's opinion on Dembitzer's work. Thomas Mann's correspondence mentions his opinion on Drama in Ostend.

Correspondence with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany consists of documents and letters on Salamon Dembitzer's scholarship that he used to support himself while writing. Copyright correspondence lists the difficulties Dembitzer had in procuring a copyright in the United States for several of his published works.

Box Folder Title Date
1 10 A-L Correspondence 1911-1965
1 11 M-Z Correspondence 1912-1915, 1932-1965
1 12 Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany – Scholarships 1957-1959
1 13 Copyright Correspondence 1932-1958
1 14 Leo Baeck Institute Correspondence 1975
1 15 Yiddish Correspondence undated, 1909-1949
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Series III: Writings, 1908-1970.

This series is in German, Yiddish, English, and Italian.
1.25 linear feet
Arrangement:

Divided into two subseries: Articles, Poetry, and Short Stories and Novels.

Scope and Content:

Documents found in this series contain examples and information on Salamon Dembitzer's writing. It includes such items as manuscripts, notes, and clippings.

Subseries 1 holds material pertaining to Dembitzer's shorter works, including articles, poetry, and short stories in several languages. This material includes both manuscripts and published versions of his writing.

Subseries 2 contains examples of his longer works and reviews and announcements concerning his novels. Many of the manuscripts are earlier versions of his published works, or contain characters very similar to those found in his published novels. Most of his writings contain autobiographical information about Dembitzer, even though the works are fictional. In addition to the manuscripts, reviews and summaries of his novels will also be found in Subseries 2 of Series III.

Subseries 1: Articles, Poetry, and Short Stories,  1908-1968.

Arrangement:

Arranged by language.
Scope and Content:

Subseries 1 holds Salamon Dembitzer's shorter writings, including manuscripts and published articles, poetry, and short stories. Often his articles and stories are critical of society and its problems and discuss contemporary political issues. Topics often seen in some of these writings include the role of the intellectual in society and Germany's treatment of the Jews. Most of his poetry was written in Yiddish, but he often wrote poems in Yiddish written with Latin letters.

A) Dutch
Box Folder Title Date
1 16 Articles and Short Stories undated
1 17 Myn Nachten in het Vondelpark undated

B) English
Box Folder Title Date
1 18 Articles undated
1 19 The Germans Idolise War 1951
1 20 The Germans Want Restitution 1946
1 21 Short Stories undated

C) German
Box Folder Title Date
1 22 Aufsätze über die Deutschen (Polemisches) circa 1943-1955
1 23 Berliner Frauen circa 1925
1 24 German Articles – Clippings 1967-1968
1 25 Die Größte Macht 1930
1 26 Interview mit Bathara Radigah undated
1 27 Ostjüdischer Dramatiker undated
1 28 Poetry - Clippings 1908-1929
1 29 Das Querulant 1930

D) Italian
Box Folder Title Date
1 30 Italian Articles – Clippings 1960, 1964

E) Yiddish

a) Written in Latin Letters
Box Folder Title Date
1 31 Das Lied undated
1 32 Oh Bruder undated
1 33 Poems undated
1 34 Poems undated
1 35 Poems undated
1 36 Poems undated
1 37 Poems - Typed undated
1 38 Ruchel undated

b) Written in Hebrew Letters
Box Folder Title Date
1 39 Articles and Poetry - Clippings undated, 1910-1914
1 40 Manuscripts undated
1 41 Poems undated
1 42 Poems undated
1 43 Poems undated

Subseries 2: Novels,  1930-1931, 1940-1959, 1970.

Arrangement:

Contains two parts: Reviews and Announcements and Manuscripts.

Scope and Content:

This subseries is comprised of information on Dembitzer's published works and manuscripts.

The reviews and announcements found here concern Salamon Dembitzer's most popular works, and are composed largely of newspaper clippings. In addition, announcements and advertisements from the publishers of his books will also be found here.

The manuscripts located in this subseries are almost entirely bound typed manuscripts of Dembitzer's works. Many of them appear to be drafts of later published works, and all but one are written in German. Most of his writings contain autobiographical information about Dembitzer, even though the works are fictional. "Das Affidavit and Triebmanns Verwirrungen" and its English translation "The Chronic Fugitive" seem to be sequels to Visas for America, and tell the continuing story of Sylvian Sauer, his experiences as a new immigrant in New York, and his struggle to secure a visa for his brother in Europe. " Das Mädchen von Flandern" tells the story of the Jewish poet Jeremiah Asra, who has recently arrived in New York, and his Belgian girlfriend Malvine van Gent. It is interesting to note that Malvine van Gent is also the name of the Belgian girlfriend of Sylvian Horn, the main character of Dembitzer's published work Visas for America. "Sommergäste in Heringsdorf" is the story of the writer Wladimir Wild. "Die Grosse Weltausstellung" relates the experiences of Sydney Song, a refugee traveling to the fictional land of Lor. A shorter English excerpt of this story titled "Adventure in Lor" will be found in the folder "Short Stories" in Subseries 1.

A) Reviews and Announcements
Box Folder Title Date
1 44 Adventure in Prague 1955-1956
1 45 Adventure in Prague – Publication 1956
1 46 Bummler und Bettler 1930-1931, 1970
1 47 Drama in Ostend undated, 1940-1959
1 48 Drama in Ostend – Clippings 1950, 1955
1 49 Drama in Ostend – Publication 1952
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Visas for America undated, 1952, 1955
2 2 Visas for America – Clippings 1952-1955
2 3 Visas for America – Clippings – Italian 1959, 1967
2 4 Visas for America – Publications 1952-1953

B) Manuscripts
Box Folder Title Date
2 5 Das Affidavit and Triebmanns Verwirrungen – First Draft 1947-1950
2 6 The Chronic Fugitive undated
2 7 Die Grosse Weltausstellung: eine Warnung 1952
2 8 Das Mädchen von Flandern: Roman einer kranken Liebe 1944
2 9 Der Mann ohne Ellenbogen: ein Roman aus den Dreissigerjahren undated
2 10 Sommergäste in Heringsdorf – First draft circa 1930
2 11 Visas for America – Notes undated
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