Werner Rüdenberg: correspondence

The correspondence consists of bundles which contain carbon copy letters of Werner and Anni Rüdenberg arranged chronologically by date of authorship with original letters from the respective correspondents by date of receipt. This is a relatively large collection of correspondence, a much of which covers Germany during the Nazi period. Yet, according to a sample reading, it appears that very little, if any, of the content documents the experiences of this Jewish family under the Nazis. It seems to be concerned overwhelmingly with the affairs of the family and friends and the experiences of Werner and Anni in Shanghai. Werner Rüdenberg, export merchant and sinologist was born in Hanover, November 1881 and was married to Anni née Pincus. He spent 16 years in Shanghai spread over a 30 year period. He compiled a Chinese/ German dictionary, first published in 1924, with a second edition in 1936. He arrived in Great Britain in 1938 and taught for a few months at the School of Oriental studies, whilst working on an English/ Chinese dictionary (Shanghai dialect). He received a grant for this work. In 1940 he was interned in a camp on the Isle of Man. He later taught German at Westfield College and continued his merchant activities with China. Open