Kahler, Erich (1885-1970)

Erich von Kahler was born on 14 October 1885 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He studied Philosophy, Literature, Fine Arts, History, Sociology, and Psychology at the Universities of Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Heidelberg, and Freiburg before earning his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna in 1911. Thereafter he traveled in Europe, working as an author and lecturer until 1933 when he left Germany for good, following Hitler's rise to power. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1938 and became a U.S. citizen in 1944.

In the U.S. he worked primarily as a lecturer and visiting professor at a number of universities during the period 1940-1960. Among these are such universities as The New School for Social Research, Black Mountain College, Cornell, and Princeton University. His wide circle of friends, dubbed the "Kahler-Kreis" by Charles Bell, included Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, and Hermann Broch (who wrote his novel Tod des Vergils at Kahler's Princeton house). He remained close to the Mann family after Mann's death, and his correspondence with Thomas Mann was published following his death in An Exceptional Friendship: The Correspondence of Thomas Mann and Erich Kahler . He lived the majority of his years in America in Princeton and was, like Einstein, a member of the Institute for Advanced Study. While living in Princeton he met and married Mrs. Alice (Lili) Loewy.

Kahler was a prolific writer, and the themes of his writings and lectures often reflected his political involvement, although he was a widely respected literary critic, especially of Thomas Mann. He explored the study of history, the new roles of science and technology, and the changing relationship of man to his changing world. Politically, he was an ardent supporter of the Zionist movement, a member of the Committee to Frame a World Constitution, and of the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, as well as numerous anti-war / anti-bomb groups.

He died at home in Princeton in 1970 and was survived by his wife, Alice, and a step-daughter. Alice Loewy Kahler died in 1992.

1903 Books of poetry published 1916 Weltgesicht und Politik 1919 Das Geschlecht Habsburg 1920 Der Beruf der Wissenschaft 1936 Israel Unter den Vlkern 1937 Der Deutsche Charakter in der Geschichte Europas 1943 Man the Measure: A New Approach to History 1944 The Arabs in Palestine (with Albert Einstein) 1952 Die Verantwortung des Geistes 1953 Editor: Hermann Broch, Gedichte 1957 The Tower and the Abyss 1960 Contributor: Symbolism in Religion and Literature 1962 Die Philosophie von Hermann Broch 1964 The Meaning of History 1964 Stefan George 1967 The Jews Among the Nations 1967 Out of the Labyrinth: Essays in Clarification 1968 The Disintegration of Form in the Arts 1969 Orbit of Thomas Mann 1970? Die Verinnerung des Erzählens (posthumously) 1975 An Exceptional Friendship: The Correspondence of Thomas Mann and Erich Kahler (posthumously)