Oskar Seidlin facts for kids

Oskar Seidlin (February 17, 1911 – December 11, 1984) was a Jewish professor and writer. He left Germany during a difficult time for Jewish people. He first moved to Switzerland and then to the United States. He taught German language and literature at several universities, including Smith College, Middlebury College, Ohio State University, and Indiana University. He taught from 1939 to 1979. Oskar Seidlin also wrote many books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Early Life and Moving On

Oskar Seidlin was born Salo Oskar Koplowitz in Königshütte, Germany. This area is now part of Poland. His father, Heinrich Koplowitz, was a lumber dealer. He was also an active member of the Jewish community.

Oskar finished high school in 1929. He then went to the University of Freiburg and later the University of Frankfurt. This university was known for being very open-minded. Many Jewish students and professors studied there. Oskar studied German and French literature, philosophy, and history. He also took classes in sociology.

While at Frankfurt, he met Richard Plaut, who became a close friend. He also met Dieter Cunz, who became his lifelong partner. Oskar was very interested in directing plays. In 1932, he directed a play called The Beggar's Opera with his friends.

Studies in Switzerland

In 1933, when the political situation in Germany became very difficult, Oskar and Richard moved to Switzerland. They thought it would be a temporary move. They hoped to return to Germany soon. They both enrolled at the University of Basel. Dieter Cunz, Oskar's partner, also moved to Switzerland later.

Money was tight for them in Switzerland. They could not work much because of their student visas. So, Oskar and Richard, along with Dieter, wrote detective novels together. They used the group pen name Stefan Brockhoff. These books were even published in Germany. They are known as early examples of Swiss crime stories.

In 1936, Oskar earned his Ph.D. from the University of Basel. His paper was about the theater director Otto Brahm. After finishing his studies, Oskar and Dieter moved to Lausanne, Switzerland. There, Oskar studied French language and literature. Since their student visas were ending, Oskar and Richard had to leave Switzerland. In 1937, Oskar started using the pen name Oskar Seidlin for his children's story Pedronis muss geholfen werden!. He also published a book of poems under this name. Soon after, the three friends decided to move to the United States.

Moving to the United States

In 1938, Oskar, Dieter, and Richard moved to New York. Oskar worked briefly as a dishwasher. Then he found a job helping famous writers Thomas Mann and Erika Mann. In 1939, he started teaching German at Smith College in Massachusetts. He became an assistant professor there in 1941.

Dieter Cunz received a grant for historical research. He then got a teaching job at the University of Maryland. Richard Plant stayed in New York City. In 1943, Oskar officially changed his name to Seidlin. He also became a U.S. citizen that year.

Oskar and Richard wrote a children's book together called S.O.S. Geneva. It was about peace and was published in 1939, just before World War II began. During the war, from 1942 to 1946, Oskar took a break from teaching. He served in the "Ritchie Boys," a special military intelligence unit. He helped create a documentary film about the Nazi concentration camps called Death Mills.

Sadly, Oskar's mother was killed during the war, likely in Auschwitz. His father had died earlier in 1938. His sister Ruth was also imprisoned for political reasons before she moved to Australia.

Teaching at Ohio State

After World War II, Oskar Seidlin met Bernhard Blume at a summer school. Blume was the head of the German Department at Ohio State University. He offered Oskar a teaching position there. Oskar moved to Columbus in 1946.

At Ohio State, Oskar focused his studies more on classic German writers like Goethe. He quickly became a full professor by 1950. He also edited letters between Otto Brahm and Arthur Schnitzler.

To escape the summer heat in Columbus, Oskar often taught at the Middlebury Summer School. He also spent holidays with Dieter Cunz and Richard Plant. During these years, Oskar's views on politics changed. He became more concerned about totalitarianism, which links Nazism and Stalinism.

From 1954, Oskar often traveled to West Germany to give lectures. In 1957, Dieter Cunz became the head of the German Department at Ohio State. Oskar and Dieter had a house built in Worthington in 1958. These were very happy and productive years for Oskar. He published several important books of essays during this time. In 1966, he was named a Regents' Professor at Ohio State University.

Later Years and Retirement

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Oskar was worried about changes in how literature was studied. He felt it was becoming too political. He even turned down job offers from German universities because of student protests. He thought these protests were similar to events before the Nazi era. Some people criticized him for being too traditional. He also resigned from the Modern Language Association because he felt it was too political.

After Dieter Cunz passed away in 1969, Oskar felt very alone in their house. He also had disagreements with the new head of the German Department at Ohio State. In 1972, he accepted a job at Indiana University. He taught there as a Distinguished Professor until he retired in May 1979. He republished his doctoral paper and other books.

Oskar struggled with sadness after Dieter's death. In 1972, he found a new partner, Hans Høgel. He visited Hans in Denmark and they vacationed together. In 1982, Oskar moved into a retirement community. He was a heavy smoker and had a heart attack in June 1984. He was diagnosed with a serious illness in October and passed away nine weeks later. He was buried next to Dieter Cunz in Worthington, Ohio.

Achievements and Awards

Oskar Seidlin was known around the world for his skill in understanding literature deeply. He could show how small details in a story fit together to create a bigger meaning. He gave many lectures in the U.S. and Germany. He wrote over 200 articles for academic journals.

He received many honors throughout his career:

• In 1959, he was a Ford Professor-in-Residence at the Free University of Berlin.
• In 1961, he received the Eichendorff Medal.
• He received two Guggenheim Fellowships, in 1962 and 1976.
• In 1963, the Goethe Institute gave him the Goethe Medal in Gold. This award is for people who do great work for German culture in other countries.
• In 1968, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan.
• In 1973, he became a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences.
• In 1975, he received the Culture Prize of Upper Silesia. He gave a speech about his childhood in Silesia, including the everyday anti-Jewish feelings he experienced.
• In 1976, he received the Friedrich Gundolf Prize for sharing German culture abroad.
• In 1983, he was awarded the Georg Dehio Prize for his work in cultural and intellectual history.

See also

In Spanish: Oskar Seidlin para niños