Rahel Sanzara Collection circa 1920s-1979 Bulk dates: 1926-1935

This collection consists mainly of correspondence sent from Berlin banker and businessman Walter Davidsohn to his wife, actress and writer Rahel Sanzara, in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The letters discuss the political, economic, and cultural state of Germany, France, and Switzerland at the time along with personal matters. In addition to the couple’s correspondence are letters from notable German writers and editors to Cleveland State University professor Klaus-Peter Hinze regarding Rahel Sanzara and the writer Ernst Weiss.BERLIN: 12/10/2001: Agreed to send microfilms to Berlin, but not original documentsRahel Sanzara (1894-1936) was the pseudonym for Johanna Bleschke, an actress, dancer, and novelist. She is perhaps best known for her novel Das verlorene Kind (The Lost Child), published in 1926. In 1927, she married the Jewish banker Walter Davidsohn (born 1895). Although they maintained an apartment in Berlin where Davidsohn's business was based, the couple lived apart for extended periods. Davidsohn spent more and more time in France in the 1930s and immigrated to the United States in 1935. Sanzara suffered illnesses during the late 1920s and the 1930s, and she died in Germany in 1936.The author Ernst Weiss (1882-1940) committed suicide in Paris in 1940. Rahel Sanzara acted in productions of his dramas.See Inventory list.ProcesseddigitizedMann, Golo ; Seghers, Anna ; Ehrenstein, Albert ; Fischer, Grete ; Richter, Hans Werne