Research Guides: Feuchtwanger Memorial Library *: Primary Sources: Archives/Collections at USC

A great strength of the collections in the University Libraries at USC are the unique primary documents and collections about German exiles, many of whom were Jewish. These collections came to the University from different sources, but they all contain original correspondence, manuscripts, photographs relating to German artists and intellectuals who spent some time in Southern California between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of these collections have materials of extreme scarcity and importance which have not yet been studied. All of the collections have documents that would provide valuable primary source material for scholars of literature, cinema, history, and music.

Collections within the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library

The voluminous archival material collected by Lion Feuchtwanger includes his personal and business correspondence, multiple versions of his writings, reviews of his works, photographs, and other personal artifacts. In addition, the Archive contains the correspondence of Marta Feuchtwanger who survived her husband by almost thirty years. Marta Feuchtwanger remained an important figure in the exile community and devoted the remainder of her life to promoting the work of her husband. The Archive also includes correspondence and manuscript material from fellow exiles Hanns Eisler, Felix Guggenheim, Heinrich Mann, Ludwig Marcuse and Marta Mierendorff and many more persons related to this period and topic.

Examples of archival materials in the Lion Feuchtwanger Papers.
Photo: Paula Goodmann.

How to use the collections

Please schedule an appointment before you plan to consult our collections for the first time!

Most of the collections in the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library are located on campus. There are however collections and parts of collections which are currently housed in our off campus facility. To make sure that you can start your research without any delay, please contact Exile Studies Librarian Michaela Ullmann at ullmann@usc.edu in advance.

All collections and books from the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library must be consulted in USC's Special Collections reading room on the second floor of Doheny Memorial Library.