Dr. Ralph Werner Brauer Personal Papers

Collection

Identifier: SC-MS-184

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Brauer's paper collection is supplemented by an earlier collection, MS 060, The Brauer Papers. This earlier collection focuses on the work of Brauer's father, Friedrich Brauer, and is a fascinating glimpse into the world of inter-war Germany and of the rise of Hitler and Fascism in Germany.

This collection of Brauer papers is organized in several series. The first series to be processed focuses on Brauer's early life, from birth through the late 1940s. In addition to documenting Brauers's early life, this series contain a large amount of material about pre-WWI Germany, with items dating from the early 1900s through 1920. It also includes documentation of the political situation in Germany during Hitler's ascent. Many rare, one-of-a-kind, ephemeral newspapers, leaflets, handouts, and other items are to be found in this series. Also included in this series are a number of translations of correspondence between Brauer and his father. This correspondence reflects the close bond between father and son and brings a touching personal note to the collection.

Dates

Creation: 1889-1992
Creation: Majority of material found in 1920s-1950s

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is unprocessed. Contact staff at the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History (csencah@uncw.edu) for information on access to this collection.

Copyright Statement

Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical Note

Born in Berlin in 1920, emigrated to the United States in 1937, Dr. Ralph Werner Brauer lived a multifaceted life. First and foremost a scientist, he spent his life pursuing knowledge in an adventurous manner. Brauer headed the program in marine biology at Wrightsville Beach and was a formative force in the founding of the marine biology program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He was also a founding member of IRISC, a think tank organization whose goal was the study of the inter-relation of science and culture. A dynamic personality, Brauer was still actively conducting research when he died unexpectedly in the fall of 2000. He generously left UNCW, Randall Library and the Museum of World Culture his extensive estate, which included the History of Science 2000 volume book collection, and a multi-faceted artifact collection. These artifacts included oriental rugs, Chinese and Asian art, a 70 piece flute collection, numerous weapons and tools from South America, Central America and Africa and other varied and fascinating items.

Extent

76 Containers (Contains 28 document boxes, 37 bankers boxes, 6 oversize boxes, 2 artifact boxes, and 1 map case folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated by Dr. Ralph Brauer via his estate in 2000.

Digital Access

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