| Summary: | The Fritz Loewe Collection consists of three series of records which together documents Fritz Loewe’s extensive meteorological and glaciological research. They contain a large volume of correspondence, papers, reports, diaries, notes, reference lists, data, graphs, maps, and other assorted records. These series offer testimony to the private life and significant scientific work of Fritz Loewe, particularly his research on Greenland (including his experiences on the Wegener Expedition in 1929-1930) and Antarctica (including his experiences on the Wyatt Earp Expedition in 1947 and the French Scientific Expedition in 1950-1951). This series of Private and Professional Correspondence comprises an extensive set of letters spanning from the years of Fritz Loewe’s childhood up until his death in 1974. The scope and scale of these records is testament to the vast network of family, friends and colleagues that surrounded Loewe his entire life. These letters show Loewe and his international peers exchanging ideas (particularly -but not only- scientific ideas) across the boundaries of countries, cultures and language, offering us a fascinating insight into the vast global scientific network that Loewe was a part of. The level of language fluency we see in these letters is unique and impressive. Loewe seamlessly translates his own and others’ work into other languages as needed. Loewe himself corresponds in German, English, French, Italian and Danish. It is through this language dexterity that the reach and richness of the global scientific network is constructed and maintained. These letters offer us a fascinating picture of the sharing of science and the constructive approach of Loewe and his peers as they engage with each other’s work to develop their own. This series also contains records that are important evidence of the lived experience of German Jews in Nazi Germany. These records include chilling documents relating to Loewe’s trial for spreading anti-Nazi propaganda and his later dismissal from the German Aviation Ministry. Correspondence between Loewe and various University of Melbourne professors (including Vice Chancellor Raymond Priestley) from the 1930s offer insight into migration out of Germany at this time and the role that institutions such as The University of Melbourne played in assisting Jewish people escape Europe. In addition, correspondence between Fritz Loewe (after he had moved to Melbourne) and various German Jewish individuals and families back in Germany offer a moving picture of desperation and immigration in the 1940s. Key correspondents in this series include (amongst many others): Fritz Loewe and his family; Johannes Georgi; Uwe Radok; Raymond Priestley; Phillip Garth Law; Lyndhurst Falkiner Giblin; Paul Weitze; Paul-Emile Victor; A. F. Liotard; Hans Schwerdtfeger; Werner Schwerdtfeger; Hermann Flohn; E. Vowinckel; Kurt Wegener; Douglas Mawson; David Rivett; Frederick White; and Charles Henry Brian (Bill) Priestley. 285636 Series: [2019.0020] "PRIVATE AND PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE OF FRITZ LOEWE"
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