E. Hans Freund Collection 1924-1945 bulk: 1924-1934

Abstract

The collection holds the papers of the philosophy professor E. Hans Freund. Notable subjects include the development of his professional life, the Freund family, and his experiences in Nazi Germany. The collection consists of correspondence, official papers, memoirs, manuscripts, and photographs.E. Hans Freund was born on June 10, 1905 in Berlin as Hans Ernst Sigfrid Freund, the son of the businessman Ernst Freund and Margarete Freund née Philippi. In 1923 he graduated from the Arndt Gymnasium in Berlin-Dahlem. His university studies were conducted in Berlin, Marburg, and Freiburg im Breisgau, where he took courses in philosophy, mathematics, and physics. In 1933 his doctoral dissertation, Ontologische Untersuchungen zum Cantor'schen Mengenbegriff [Ontological Research into Cantorian Set Theory], was published; his academic advisor was the well-known philosopher Martin Heidegger. Following the events of Kristallnacht in November 1938, Freund was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for one month. He immigrated to the United States via Cuba, and arrived in Miami, Florida in December 1940. From 1941-1943 he taught at the Pendle Hill School in Pennsylvania. From 1943-1945 he served in the U.S. Army, where he achieved the rank of sergeant. Upon his naturalization, his name officially became Ernest Hans Freund. Following his discharge from the military he returned to teaching at the Pendle Hill School briefly. In 1946 he became an assistant professor of philosophy at Pennsylvania State University; he remained with this institution until the late 1950s. He died in 1994 in Mount Holly, New Jersey.digitize