Erich Auerbach. Edition and Monograph

Although writings by the Jewish romance philologist and cultural scientist Erich Auerbach (1892–1957) are part of the international canon of literary studies, relevant basic texts were out of print. A comprehensive monograph on his life and work still did not exist fifty years after Auerbach’s death. Besides, no index on the early reception history of Mimesis, or an edition of letters that covers his widely ramified correspondence was available.

The research project addressed this desideratum and was divided into four sections:

1. Production of an edition of out-of-print essays, reviews and translations (1921–1958, two volumes),
2. Preparation of a documentation volume on the reception of Mimesis,
3. Preparation of an edition of letters (1922–1957), based on several hundred unpublished letters,
4. Compilation of a monograph examining Auerbach’s intellectual connections, presenting his literary texts in the horizon of the Frankfurt School, Marburg Hermeneutics, the Avantgarde, as well as iconography. In addition, the expulsion from Nazi Germany into Turkish exile as well as the relocation to the USA were reviewed in light of the new sources.