The German Friend: War and Postwar Letters from German Anti-Nazi Prinz Hubertus zu Löwenstein to American Hans Christian, 1942-1947

Larson, John W.

ISBN 10: 1502791676 / ISBN 13: 9781502791672

Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

About this Item

AS NEW soft cover first edition of 709 pages is tight, bright, and clean, free of writings.

Seller Inventory # 21805

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The German Friend: War and Postwar Letters from German Anti-Nazi Prinz Hubertus zu Löwenstein to American Hans Christian, 1942-1947
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1502791676
• ISBN 13: 9781502791672
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Seller catalogs:
  • German History
  • Nazi

About this title

Synopsis

In 1942 John W. Larson was a student at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he befriended a visiting lecturer from Germany, Prince Hubertus Löwenstein, a prominent scholar whose anti-Nazi views forced him into exile after Hitler came to power.

Larson and Löwenstein began a correspondence that lasted throughout World War II and into the postwar era. In his letters, Löwenstein shares his thoughts on Nazism, German democracy, the Weimar Republic, life in exile, and his impressions of major events during the war. In 1946 Löwenstein returned to Germany, and his letters to Larson document the widespread starvation, unemployment, and destruction that he found there.

In The German Friend, Larson compiles more than four hundred of Löwenstein's letters. Unlike his careful academic papers, the scholar's personal opinions shine through in his correspondence, and he shares views that, as a scholar, he would rarely express in his public writing.

Accompanied by Larson's editorial introductions and explanations of Löwenstein's developing thoughts, A German Friend is a unique and invaluable resource for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of World War II, as well as a revealing glimpse into the mind of one of Germany's more influential twentieth-century thinkers.

About the Author

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, John W. Larson enrolled at Hamline University in 1941. The next year, he met German lecturer Prince Hubertus Löwenstein, an anti-Nazi refugee who often spoke out against Hitler's regime.

In early 1943, Larson was drafted into the US Army Air Force, and he served in a variety of stateside assignments until 1946. After his discharge, Larson earned a history degree at Haverford College and a MA in history from the University of Minnesota.

Larson worked as a US Defense Department historian before serving as a public affairs officer for the US Army Corps of Engineers. He has authored numerous articles and histories of the Twelfth Air Force; the US Corps of Engineers, the Chicago district (1980); the Detroit district (1981); and a history of Great Lakes navigation (1983).

Now retired, Larson lives in Taylors Falls, Minnesota, with his Danish wife, Ingrid.