Hartshorne family papers

The Hartshorne family papers primarily contain correspondence and memoirs documenting the experiences of Americans Richard and Lois Hartshorne, along with their children Marguerite and Judith, in Nazi occupied Austria during his sabbatical from 1938-1939. The correspondence consists of letters written by Richard and Lois to their families describing their experiences in Vienna, Austria, as well as letters from Jewish friends and others they were trying to help with monetary aid or visa assistance for emigration. Included are letters from Wolfgang Hoff, an Austrian chemist who spent several years in the Sutton Coldfield internment camp in Birmingham, England and Internment Camp “N” in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Adele Jozseffi, her daughter Reneé Gerlach and granddaughter Marian Gerlach, whom the Hartshornes tried to help emigrate from Austria to the United States; Lilly and Lolo Offer, a mother and daughter from Vienna, Austria who immigrated to the United States; and a letter likely written from one of their Austrian landlords. Lois Hartshorne’s memoir provides detailed descriptions of several events they experienced during their time in Austria. The visa and emigration papers relate to the Hartshornes’ attempts to assist the Jozseffi family immigrate to the United States. Richard Hartshorne (1899-1992) was an American geographer, who specialized in economic and political geography, as well as the philosophy of geography. He was born in Kittaning, Pennsylvania on 12 December 1899, and studied as an undergraduate at Princeton University before obtaining his doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1924. He taught at the University of Minnesota from 1924 to 1940, and at the University of Wisconsin form 1945-1970. He married Lois Huntington Wilde (1902-1972) in 1928, and they remained married until her death in 1972. In 1938-1939 they spent his sabbatical in Nazi occupied Vienna, Austria. While in Austria, they provided several Jewish friends monetary aid and visa assistance in efforts to help them emigrate. They moved briefly to Zurich, Switzerland from Austria before returning to the United States. During World War II, he founded and supervised the Geography Division in the branch of Research and Analysis of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). His best known publications include "The Nature of Geography" (1939) and "Perspectives on the Nature of Geography" (1959). One of his brothers was the philosopher Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000). Professor Hartshorne died at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on 5 November 1992.