Fritz Adler (archivist)

Fritz Adler (born April 26, 1889 in Dresden , † June 24, 1970 in Marburg ) was a German archivist and museum director in the Hanseatic city of Stralsund .

Life

Adler was the son of a textile merchant. He studied Romance studies , literature and art history at the universities in Grenoble , Munich , Edinburgh and Leipzig . After his studies, which he called Dr. phil. In 1919 he was appointed director of the adult education center , which was under construction from November 1919 , by the Stralsund City Council and was also responsible for the Stralsund City Archives and the Provincial Museum for New Western Pomerania and Rügen , later also for the city ​​library that opened on January 13, 1920 . He was in charge of the adult education center until 1924. Under Adler, the Volksbücherei founded in 1900 was dissolved and its holdings were transferred to the city library. For his services to the cultural German-Swedish relations he received the Wasa medal . He was a member of the Society for Pomeranian History and Archeology and Chairman of the Pomeranian Local Museums working group.

After the seizure of power of the Nazis he refused to join the Nazi party from first. During this time he was heavily criticized, e.g. B. because of an exhibition of works by the artist Käthe Kollwitz . Adler's publications were temporarily blocked in academic libraries. In May 1937, Adler became a candidate for the NSDAP, but he never became a member.

In 1936 Fritz Adler gave up the management of the city library. From 1939 he was given more administrative tasks in the city of Stralsund, u. a. the management of housing welfare, a department of the registration office and property management. In Stralsund he gained high recognition due to his high level of commitment in the management of these institutions. He published numerous writings and books on the local history of Stralsund and Pomerania . After the outbreak of World War II, he played a decisive role in the relocation of museum holdings such as the Hiddensee gold jewelry . After the Second World War, Adler became head of the Department of Culture and Public Education in Stralsund. In 1947 he gave up this function and devoted himself to the city archive and the city library; the state government appointed him district curator for Western Pomerania and Rügen .

Fritz Adler was arrested and interrogated by the Soviet State Police on November 4, 1950, on the charge of having been an agent of the Secret State Police and of having illegal relations with the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany and the USA . He committed to work for the secret service.

Adler used a business trip to West Germany on November 18, 1950 to stay in the Federal Republic. In Frankfurt am Main he worked at the Goethe House . After his retirement he moved to Marburg with his wife in 1958, where he worked at the university library.

Works

• The work of Ernst Hardt. Ratsbuchhandlung L. Bamberg, Greifswald 1921.
• From Stralsund's past. In: Fritz Adler, Martin Wehrmann (Hrsg.): Pommersche Heimatkunde. 4 volumes. Publishing house Dr. Karl Moninger, Greifswald 1923
• Waldemar Bonsels . His worldview and his characters. Rütten & Loening, Frankfurt am Main 1925
• Stralsund. ( Deutsche Lande - German Art ), German Art Publishing House, Berlin 1928
• West Pomerania. (Deutsche Lande - German Art), German Art Publishing House, Berlin 1928.
• Mönchgut. The image of a folk culture on Rügen. University publishing house Ratsbuchhandlung L. Bamberg, Greifswald 1936.
• From Stralsund's history. Carl Meinckes Buchhandlung, owner: H. Bucksch, Stralsund 1937.

literature

• Regina Nehmzow : On the 120th birthday of Dr. Fritz Adler. In: World Cultural Heritage. No. 01, 2009, pp. 23-25, ISSN  1860-4900 .
• Grete Grewolls: Who was who in Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. The dictionary of persons . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2011, ISBN 978-3-356-01301-6 , p. 45 .

Web links

• Literature about Fritz Adler in the state bibliography MV