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Kurt Baschwitz

Kurt Baschwitz was an acquaintance of Otto Frank and played a role in the publication of The Secret Annex in 1947.

Person

  • Siegfried Kurt Baschwitz
  • Born on: Feb. 2, 1886
  • Born in: Offenbach, Duitsland
  • Died on: Jan. 6, 1968
  • Died in: Amsterdam, Nederland

Kurt Baschwitz was an acquaintance of Otto Frank and played a role in the publication of The Secret Annex in 1947.

From 1897 on, Baschwitz, like Otto Frank, attended the Lessing Gymnasium in Frankfurt am Main. He was actively involved in the school newspaper, studied in Heidelberg, Berlin and Frankfurt, and in 1908 obtained a doctorate in economics and sociology in Munich.[1] From 1909, Baschwitz worked as an aspiring journalist at the Hamburger Fremdenblatt in Hamburg. When the Rotterdam correspondent of his newspaper was expelled from the Netherlands in 1917 following an accusation of espionage, he was given the opportunity to take his place.[2] At the end of January 1919 his newspaper called him back to Hamburg.[3] On 25 September 1919, he married Erika Thiessen there. The couple had one son (1920) and two daughters (1922 and 1923) in quick succession.[4] The marriage ended in divorce in April 1933.[5]

In March 1933, Baschwitz left Berlin and settled in Amsterdam. There, he was a private lecturer in press studies from 25 January 1935. At the end of 1936, he found a position at the International Institute of Social History.[6]

He applied for admission to the Netherlands for his mother Hedwig Bikard on 11 November 1938. On 21 November 1938, the Justice Department informed the Procurator-General that her temporary stay could be granted.[7] Baschwitz sought the help of Prof. David Cohen of the Committee for Jewish Refugees. He wrote on 14 December 1938 that the Aliens Office asked for a guarantee that she would not be reliant on the poor relief service. Baschwitz feared that his mother, who was with him in Amsterdam at the time, could be sent back.[8] She was later deported to Westerbork where she was killed on 29 March 1943.[9]

Baschwitz often appeared in Otto Frank's diaries. The first time was on 18 June 1945, when Otto had been back in Amsterdam for a fortnight. Baschwitz was soon given access to Anne's diary. He wrote about it to his daughter on 10 February 1946: "Right now I have here the diary of Anne Frank, the daughter of friend Frank. You knew her".[10] A few days before, he and Werner Cahn had had an appointment with Otto Frank.[11] On 5 June 1946, there was an appointment with Otto Frank and Jan Romein.[12]

He was one of the founders of the 'seventh faculty' (Social and Political Sciences) of the Municipal University (now the University of Amsterdam). His appointment as a professor in 1948 was not without controversy.[13]

Also in 1948, Baschwitz published his book Strijd met den duivel. De heksenprocessen in het licht van de massa-psychologie (Battle with the Devil. The Witch Trials in the Light of Mass Psychology). In this book, he made an implicit connection between the response to witch trials and the response to the persecution of the Jews.[14]

On 28 June 1955, the Upper House passed the bill naturalising Baschwitz as a Dutch citizen.[15]

Source personal data.[5] Addresses: Claes de Vrieselaan 118a, Rotterdam (1916);[16] Weissenbruchstraat 35-II, Amsterdam; Niersstraat 59 (1940); Deurloostraat 92 (1943); Zuider Amstellaan 260-I (1946).[5]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Jaap van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz. Peetvader van de journalistiek en communicatie, Diemen: AMB, 2018, p. 25-26, 29.
  2. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 33, 55- 56.
  3. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 89.
  4. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 92.
  5. a, b, c Stadsarchief Amsterdam (SAA), Dienst Bevolkingsregister: Archiefkaarten (toegangsnummer 30238): Archiefkaart S.K. Baschwitz.
  6. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 121-122.
  7. ^ Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Verbaalarchief Ministerie van Justitie (1853) 1915 – 1955 (1963) (toegang 2.09.22), inv. nr. 14812: Agenda 2e Afdeeling A, 1938 Q, volgnr. 3622.
  8. ^ NIOD Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies, Comité voor Joodsche Vluchtelingen (toegang 181b), inv. nr. 17: Dr. S.K. Baschwiz aan prof. D. Cohen, 14 december 1938.
  9. ^ Drents Archief, Burgerlijke Stand Westerbork (toegang 0167.030): register van overlijdensakten 1943, aktenr. 153.
  10. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 183.
  11. ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg. code OFA_003: Agenda Otto Frank, 6 februari 1946.
  12. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code OFA_003: 5 juni 1946.
  13. ^ “Gielen torpedeert zevende faculteit”, De Waarheid, 23 januari 1948; “Rumor in Academia”, Algemeen Handelsblad, 12 maart 1948.
  14. ^ Wikipedia: Kurt Baschwitz.
  15. ^ Verslag der Handelingen van de Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, 1954 – 1955, p. 2375 – 2376.
  16. ^ Van Ginneken, Kurt Baschwitz, p. 56.