The Ralph P. Vander Heide collection was donated by Ralph to Special Collections along with

his book “German Leaves.” This collection is based upon Ralph’s research into the Chilean

migration of Germans fleeing their homeland in the 1930s and 1940s, specifically Udo Rusker

and Albert Theile.

The collection is broken up into four main series: Correspondence, Deutsch Blätter, Dissertation,

and Miscellaneous. Correspondence contains letters from Thomas Mann, Aldous Huxley,

Hermann Hesse, the US War Department, the Stressmann brothers, whose father was President

of the Weimar Republic, Fritz Karsen C.G. Jung and many more. The letters are arranged

chronologically from 1933-1988. Most of the letters are in German.

The Deutsch Blätter series contains the publications which make the bulk of this collection. The

publications are in German, and are organized chronologically 1943-1946. The index for each

year is with the first issue of that year.

The Dissertation series is made up of notes and excerpts from Ralph’s dissertation which

ultimately became “German Leaves.”

Miscellaneous comprises the remainder of the collection dealing with newspaper clippings,

propaganda, newsletters and other items that do not fit within the other three series.