The recent death of Dr. Sigmund Muenz, Jewish author and journalist, has created a problem as to the disposition of his library and of letters received from such men as Dr. Theodor Herzl and Dr. Max Nordau.
Dr. Muenz died suddenly in Budapest on September 12. His body was returned to Vienna and cremated. A memorial service was attended by his intimate friends and by Austrian scientists, writers, journalists and artists.
Dr. Muenz, who was unmarried, bequeathed all his books and correspondence to Concordia, the Viennese journalists’ and writers’ club.
After his books were burned in the Nazi bonfire in Berlin and his books withdrawn from circulation and banned, Dr. Muenz repeatedly told friends he intended to change his will and leave his books and correspondence to Jewish institutions in Palestine. He informed Dr. Tullio Nussenblatt, Viennese biographer of Herzl, that he desired his books to go to the Hebrew University Library in Jerusalem, while his correspondence was to become the property of the Herzl Institute.
A clause to this effect was added by Dr. Muenz to his will, cancelling his earlier bequests. However, he failed to sign it, and although the clause is in his own handwriting, it is legally invalid. Negotiations have been opened with Concordia officials to induce them to cede to Palestine institutions items in Dr. Muenz’s collection which are of specific Jewish interest.
Included in Dr. Muenz’s correspondence are all the letters he exchanged with Dr. Herzl, who worked with him in the same editorial office, voluminous correspondence with Dr. Max Nordau, and the letters exchanged between Dr. Muenz and Sir Henry Camp-bell-Bannerman, David Lloyd George, President Thomas G. Masaryk of Czechoslovakia and other noted Europeans.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
