The video series “American Guild for German Cultural Freedom – A Reading from Selected Documents” was created in April 2020 as a joint undertaking by the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 and the Saarländisches Staatstheater (Saarland State Theatre). In a time in which the coronavirus pandemic has paralysed businesses, cultural and public life, new importance is being attached to values such as helpfulness and solidarity. The subject of flight and exile is now also being considered in a special light.

The archive of the German Academy in Exile/American Guild for German Cultural Freedom is one of the most significant collections held by the German Exile Archive 1933–1945. This non-partisan organisation provided financial support for people in exile, helped forge connections and provided life-saving assistance for their onward journeys. Numerous prominent figures declared their willingness to help, including Thomas Mann and Sigmund Freud. The American Guild’s office in New York City soon received pleas for help from all over the world. By the time it was dissolved in 1941, the American Guild had granted 160 work stipends. The funds were raised from soirées, fundraising dinners, concerts and manuscript auctions. The archive of the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom contains 968 personal files. Questionnaires, résumés and correspondence from many parts of the world have been preserved. With grants awarded to figures such as Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin, John Heartfield, Egon Erwin Kisch, Joseph Roth, Anna Seghers and Arnold Zweig, the archive is a “Who’s Who” of German-speaking emigration.

Introduction: the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom read by Bernd Geiling

Sigmund Freud to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, London, 23 July 1938, read by Bernd Geiling

Letter from Georg Hermann-Borchardt to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Hilversum, 25 August 1938, read by Bernd Geiling

Letter from Robert Musil to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Zurich, 18 April 1939, read by Fabian Gröver

Franz Werfel to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Sanary-sur-mer, 21 October 1938, read by Fabian Gröver

Stefan Zweig to the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom, Sarah F. Brandes, London, 20 July 1938, read by Fabian Gröver

Franz Blei to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Florence, 12 March 1938, read by Thorsten Köhler

Franz Blei to the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom, Sarah F. Brandes, Florence, 8 August 1938, read by Thorsten Köhler

Oskar Maria Graf to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Brno, 17 February 1938, read by Thorsten Köhler

Joseph Roth to Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, [Paris], 22 July 1938, read by Thorsten Köhler

Berta Zuckerkandl-Szeps to the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom, 11 March 1939, read by Gaby Pochert

Maria Lazar to the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom, Copenhagen, 11 April 1939, read by Laura Trapp