Back to TopDescriptive Summary
- Repository
-
Southern Historical Collection
- Creator
-
Kurtz, Maurice, 1913-
- Title
- Maurice Kurtz Papers, 1943-1946, 2004
- Call Number
- 5159
- Language of Materials
- Materials in
English, French, and German.
- Extent
-
- Items: About 400 items
- Linear Feet: 0.5 linear feet
Abstract
Playwright and romance languages professor Maurice Kurtz was a United States Army officer in Europe during World War II; worked
on the staff of Arts, a Paris weekly; and served as as secretary-general of the International Theater Institute. His Jacques Copeau: Biography of a Theater was published in 1999.
The collection includes a scrapbook, interview, and other items documenting Maurice Kurtz's service in the United States Army
during and after World War II. The scrapbook contains photographs from various locations in the United States, France, and
Germany where Kurtz was stationed. There are also clippings describing major events World War II and a few personal items.
In the interview, Kurtz describes the contents of the scrapbook in detail. Also included are letters and other items documenting
Kurtz's wartime and post-war activities. The latter included his involvement in the American Military Government in Germany
and work with German prisoners of war. Among these items are letters recounting a meeting between Kurtz and Jacques Copeau,
founder of the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier and the subject of Kurtz's doctoral dissertation, and a chance encounter with Gertrude
Stein in Paris. Also included is correspondence, 2004, between Kurtz and Remi Krug of Krug Champagnes, Reims, France, in response
to a article in New York Times about Jeanne Krug, Remi Krug's grandmother, who Kurtz had met in France. Also included is a photocopy of a French pamphlet
about Raoul Nordling, a Swedish diplomat during World War II. According to one of Remi Krug's letters, Nordling was instrumental
in freeing Jeanne Krug from Gestapo custody in 1944.
Back to TopAdministrative Information
- Restrictions to Access
- This collection has restrictions to access. Please see details below or contact the Manuscripts Department for more information.
- Usage Restrictions
- RESTRICTED: Use of audiocassette may require production of a listening copy.
- Acquisitions Information
- Received from Maurice Kurtz of Chapel Hill, N.C. in May 2004 (Acc. 99795) and July 2004 (Acc. 99855).
- Processing Information
- Processed by: Jesse Brown, September 2004
- Encoded by: Jesse Brown, September 2004
- Preferred Citation
- [Identification of item], in the Maurice Kurtz Papers #5159, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Copyright Notice
- Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright
law.
Back to TopOnline Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
- Copeau, Jacques, 1879-1949.
- Dramatists, American--20th century.
- Krug (Firm)
- Krug, Rémi, 1942-
- Kurtz, Maurice, 1913-
- Nordling, Raoul, 1881-1962.
- Oral history.
- Prisoners of war--Germany.
- Scrapbooks.
- Soldiers--United States--Correspondence.
- Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946.
- World War, 1939-1945--France.
- World War, 1939-1945--Germany.
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
- World War, 1939-1945--Photographs.
- World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German.
- World War, 1939-1945--United States.
Back to TopBiographical Note
Maurice Kurtz was born in 1913 in New York City. He was married to Laya Kurtz and working as a professor of Romance languages
and literature at New York University when World War II broke out. After enlisting in the United States Army, he was sent
to France, where he served as a civil affairs officer. After the war, he helped launch the theater program at UNESCO, worked
on the staff of Arts, and was the secretary-general of the International Theatre Institute. His Jacques Copeau: Biography of a Theater was published in 1999.
Back to TopCollection Overview
The collection includes a scrapbook, interview, and other items documenting playwright and romance languages professor Maurice Kurtz's service in the United States Army during and after World War II. The scrapbook contains photographs from various locations in the United States, France, and Germany where Kurtz was stationed. There are also clippings describing major events World War II and a few personal items. In the
interview, Kurtz describes the contents of the scrapbook in detail. Also included are letters and other items documenting
Kurtz's wartime and post-war activities. The latter included his involvement in the American Military Government in Germany and work with German prisoners of war. Among these items are letters recounting a meeting between Kurtz and Jacques Copeau, founder of the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier and the subject of Kurtz's doctoral dissertation, and a chance encounter with
Gertrude Stein in Paris. Also included is correspondence, 2004, between Kurtz and Rémi Krug of Krug Champagnes, Reims, France, in response to a article in New York Times about Jeanne Krug, Rémi Krug's grandmother, who Kurtz had met in France. Also included is a photocopy of a French pamphlet about Raoul Nordling, a Swedish diplomat during World War II. According to one of Rémi Krug's letters, Nordling was instrumental in freeing Jeanne
Krug from Gestapo custody in 1944.
Back to TopArrangement of Collection
1. Scrapbook and interview
2. Other items
Back to TopItems Separated
Scrapbook (PA-5159/1)
Audiocassette (C-5159/1)
Back to TopDetailed Description of the Collection
1. Scrapbook and Interview, 1943-1945, 2004.
2 items.
Scrapbook containing photographs from various locations in the United States, France, and Germany where Maurice Kurtz was
stationed during his service in the United States Army during World War II. Also included are newspaper clippings describing
major events World War II events, as well as personal items relating to Kurtz's service, including dog tags, patches, currency,
and programs from plays and operas. In the interview, Kurtz describes the contents of the scrapbook in detail.
Folder
1
Scrapbook and interview, 1943-1945, 2004
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2. Other Items, 1945, 2004.
About 400 items.
Arrangement: by type.
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2.1. Letters, 1 January 1945-28 December 1945.
About 350 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters sent from Maurice Kurtz to Laya Kurtz from 1 January 1945 to 28 December 1945. The letters recount Kurtz's daily life
during World War II. Due to the limits of military censorship, the letters provide few details about the operations in which
Kurtz was involved. However, some of his post-war activities are represented in detail, including his involvement in the American
Military Government in Germany and his work with German prisoners of war through lectures on democratic government. The letters
also contain Kurtz's responses to certain milestone events in the war, including V-E Day.
Kurtz had many friends in France, dating from his time studying in a lycée in Evreux before the war, and the letters describe
efforts by him and his wife to send packages of foodstuffs and other necessities to some of these friends. The letters also
recount a meeting between Kurtz and Jacques Copeau, founder of the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier and the subject of Kurtz's doctoral
dissertation, as well as a chance encounter with Gertrude Stein in Paris.
Folder
2-6
Letters, 1945
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2.2. Military Government Documents, May-June 1945.
9 items.
Documents pertaining to the activities of the American Military Government in Forchheim, Germany, May-June 1945. They include
requests by citizens for special consideration, including the easing of travel restrictions and information on wounded relatives.
They also include an account of the Allied capture of Pennenstein on 16 April 1945, as well as a list of SS documents found
in the town.
Folder
7
Military government documents
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2.3. Correspondence with Rémi Krug, 28 January-9 April 2004.
8 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence between Kurtz and Rémi Krug of Krug Champagnes, Reims, France. The letters and emails were in response to an
article by Frank Prial in the 28 January 2004 edition of the New York Times about Jeanne Krug, Rémi Krug's grandmother, who Kurtz had met in France. In the letters, Kurtz recollected his meeting with
Jeanne Krug, while Rémi Krug expressed his gratitude for Kurtz's recollections and added some more biograpical information
about Jeanne Krug. Also included is a photocopy of a French pamphlet referred to in one of the letters. It recounts the actions
of Raoul Nordling, a Swedish diplomat during World War II. According to one of Rémi Krug's letters, Nordling was instrumental
in freeing Jeanne Krug from Gestapo custody on 18 August 1944.
Folder
8
Correspondence with Rémi Krug and Nordling Brochure
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