A letter from Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) to Margrit Rosenstock Huessy (1893–1959). Rauner Manuscript MS-522, Box 3, Folder 4.
The digital collection of letters written by Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) to Eugen (1888–1973) and Margrit Rosenstock-Huessy (1893–1959) are a part of the manuscripts, essays, letters, and other documents that make up the Rosenstock-Huessy Papers in Rauner Special Collections Library. This selection, often referred to as the “Gritli” letters, offers a unique view of Rosenzweig’s intellectual friendship with Eugen and his romantic attachment to Margrit.
Rosenstock-Huessy and Rosenzweig were both prominent social and religious philosophers, whose works were influenced by their Christianity and Judaism, respectively. In 1913, while both were living in Leipzig, Germany, they had a day-long conversation in which Rosenzweig was nearly persuaded to convert to Christianity. In 1916, while the two were on active duty in World War I, they continued to converse via letters. That correspondence, which Rosenzweig declared their “joint achievement,” is considered one of the seminal examples of Jewish-Christian dialogue in the twentieth century. The relationship between the two men underwent a complex transformation in 1917 after Rosenzweig met and fell in love with his friend’s wife, Margrit Rosentock-Huessy. She came to return his love, and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy came to accept their relationship.
This digital collection spans 1917–1929, a crucial period for the Rosenstock-Huessys and Rosenzweig. It includes 1,238 total documents, predominantly letters from Rosenzweig to Margrit, but also ten letters from Rosenstock-Huessy to Rosenzweig and four letters from Rosenzweig’s wife, Edith, to the Rosenstock-Huessys. There are no extant letters written by Margrit to Rosenzweig; Edith burned these letters following Rosenzweig’s death in 1929.
This digitization of the “Gritli” letters is one of several efforts to broaden access to the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Papers. Other materials from the Rosenstock-Huessy Papers have been made available on the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Digital Archive, the result of a two-year effort by the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Fund to organize, catalog, and scan the tens of thousands of documents held at “Four Wells,” Rosenstock-Huessy’s former home in Norwich, Vermont, before the bulk of the collection was donated to Rauner.
The full collection is available at Rauner Special Collections Library by asking for MS-522. For more details on the contents of the full collection, see the finding aid to the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Papers, Collection MS-522.
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