Donated Stefan Zweig collections to enhance Fredonia Special Collections & Archives
With over 500 book volumes and other materials, the Dr. Randolph J. Klawiter Collection filled 60 boxes and parts of seven filing cabinets.
By Amanda Shepp
In early November, the Special Collections & Archives Division of Reed Library welcomed the addition of two new Stefan Zweig-related collections: the Dr. Randolph J. Klawiter Collection and the Dr. Jeffrey B. Berlin Zeitgeist of Stefan Zweig Collection.
These two collections are from the personal libraries of two renowned scholars of Mr. Zweig, Dr. Randolph “Randy” J. Klawiter and Dr. Jeffrey B. Berlin.
Klawiter was a passionate researcher, bibliographer and world-renowned expert of Zweig, with many of his bibliographic volumes still in wide use today, and was the creator and sole contributor of the Stefan Zweig Wiki for over 12 years. His collection comprises over 500 book volumes, along with his extensive collection of research materials and bibliographic resources. It was shipped from South Bend, Ind., to Fredonia in 60 boxes and seven partially filled filing cabinets.
Arrangements to donate the collection to SUNY Fredonia were completed following Klawiter’s passing in July.
Berlin was a prominent expert of Exile literature who specialized in the correspondence between German-Jewish authors and creatives during the later Weimar era and World War II. The portion of his personal library, which consisted of over 35,000 volumes, that was donated to the Reed Library Special Collections & Archives Division consists of English-language secondary source materials and rare first editions that will support Fredonia students in learning more about Zweig, German-Jewish Exile authors and creatives, and the culture of the Weimar era and World War II.
Berlin-donated items that filled 31 boxes, shipped from Philadelphia, were donated by his widow, Anne, in recognition of his numerous research trips to Fredonia throughout his career in order to use Stefan Zweig Collection materials in his varied publications.
"The Special Collections & Archives Division of Reed Library is delighted to be the new permanent home of both the Dr. Randolph J. Klawiter Collection and the Dr. Jeffrey B. Berlin Zeitgeist of Stefan Zweig Collection,” said Amanda Shepp, coordinator of Special Collections and Archives.
“These materials from world-renowned scholars will be of great use to Fredonia students to better understand the life and cultural significance of Stefan Zweig, and will provide a great deal of context to bolster the primary source materials in the Stefan Zweig Collection,” Ms. Shepp added.
“Visits to the Archives by students in several classes in recent years have focused on the literary legacy of Zweig, as well as the trajectory of Germany following the events of World War I,” Shepp said, “and we feel that these materials will provide a good deal of insight into both of these subject areas for the Fredonia campus community."
The two collections are currently in the intake inventory process, and updates on their availability to researchers will be released on the Special Collections & Archives Division website, Reed Library social media and the Zweig at Fredonia blog.
Once processed, these collections will be stored in the tower along with the Stefan Zweig Collection as two companion collections.
