Papers of A. Z. Steinberg

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: University of Southampton Special Collections

Postal address:: Hartley Library, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ

Scope and content:: This collection comprises: Personal papers and correspondence with family members, 1897-1972. Working papers and typescripts, 1923-77, including papers and publications on philosophy (largely in Russian), with works by Andrei Bely; copies of articles and chapters from works by Steinberg, especially his works on Dostoevsky, and the Aaron Steinberg memorial volume ‘The philosophical aspects of history, universal and Jewish: selected essays’ (1910-1970). World Jewish Congress papers, 1943-69; Unesco papers, 1948-62; and papers of Assi Klausner, Steinberg's assistant.

Administrative/biographical history:: Aaron Zakharovich Steinberg (1891-1975) was born in Daugavpils (Dvinsk), Latvia. He graduated in law and philosophy from Heidelberg University. He returned to Moscow and became part of a group of philosophers and intellectuals who established a distinctive Russian philosophical school, the Free Philosophical Association. Steinberg was Professor of Philosophy at the St Petersburg Institute of Philosophy, 1918-23. He moved to Berlin in 1922, continuing his literary work and translating Russian and Hebrew into German, notably works by Simon Dubnow, before coming to England in 1934. There he continued his writing. Dr Steinberg then worked for the World Jewish Congress, acting as head of the Cultural Department from 1948 until 1971. His work during World War II included the development of the concept of crimes against humanity, the case for reparations to the Jewish people and a cultural policy for the Jewish people. From 1945 onwards Dr Steinberg also acted as a representative of the World Jewish Congress at Unesco. His distinguished literary career included works on the Russian parliamentary system, on the idea of freedom in Dostoevsky, plays and translations. There are memorial tributes to Aaron Zakharovich Steinberg by N Goldmann and G M Riegner in the journal which he conceived, the Jewish Journal of Sociology 17 (1975) pp. 113-19.

Access points: persons/families:: Bely, Andrei; Klausner, Assi; Steinberg, Aaron Zakharovich

Subject terms:: Literature; Personal records; Professions; Professions--Scholars (secular), scientists, and academics

Access, restrictions:: Access to the archive requires a prior written appointment. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archives/about/access.page

Links to finding aids:: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archives/cataloguedatabases/webguide1.page