Rosa Luxemburg and Mathilde Jacob papers, 1887-1941

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Summary

Creators:
Luxemburg, Rosa, 1871-1919 and Jacob, Mathilde, 1873-1943
Abstract:
Correspondence, annotated daily calendars, and photographs, relating to the German socialist and communist movements, and to the imprisonment of Rosa Luxemburg during World War I. Includes a memoir by Mathilde Jacob, personal secretary to Rosa Luxemburg, entitled "Von Rosa Luxemburg und ihren Freunden" (present in variant typescript forms with annotations, and on microfilm), and correspondence of Mathilde Jacob.
Extent:
4 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 microfilm reel, 4 envelopes (2.1 Linear Feet)
Language:
Mainly in German
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Rosa Luxemburg and Mathilde Jacob papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Rosa Luxemburg-Mathilde Jacob Collection was acquired by the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace in 1939 by Professor Ralph H. Lutz. These papers, given to Professor Lutz by Mathilde Jacob, comprise some 344 letters, postcards, and telegrams, including 144 letters and postcards from Rosa Luxemburg to Mathilde Jacob, and Mathilde Jacob's manuscript "Von Rosa Luxemburg und ihren Freunden, 1914-1919."

One folder of photocopies of lettters from Mathilde Jacob to Jenny Herz was received from the Archiv der sozialen Demokratie in 1989. These letters may not be quoted without written permission of the Archiv der sozialen Demokratie.

Biographical / historical:

Mathilde Jacob, the admirer, friend, confidant, and secretary of Rosa Luxemburg from December 1913 to January 1915, was born in 1873. Between 1913 and 1942 Mathilde Jacob made her living as a public stenographer, typist, and translator. Her years prior to World War I and through the 1920s were devoted to the successive causes of the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party in Germany. She was introduced to these movements by her brother Joseph Jacob, who also helped her obtain such clients as Franz Mehring, Karl Radek, Paul Levy, and Rosa Luxemburg. Mathilde Jacob first met Rosa Luxemburg in December 1913 during her employment as the typist for the publication Sozialdemokratische Korrespondenz. A friendship developed which led to Mathilde's role as Rosa's primary source of external information and material needs during her years of imprisonment from 1914-1918 for opposition to German participation in World War I. Following Rosa Luxemburg's death in 1919, Mathilde Jacob worked for Paul Levy until his death in 1930. In 1942 she was deported to a concentration camp where it is believed that she perished.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1939.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

Box 4, Folder 15 may not be quoted without written permission of the Archiv der sozialen Demokratie.

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Rosa Luxemburg and Mathilde Jacob papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US