I’m pleased to announce a new series here at Et Seq.: In Ruhleben Camp.
In Ruhleben Camp will follow the production schedule of the magazine created by prisoners at Ruhleben, an internment camp for British civilians in Germany during World War I. On the day that an issue of the magazine was released one hundred years ago, our guest blogger Marissa Grunes will post highlights from that number and tell part of its story. (Note that the first five issues won’t be covered in proper sequence, as they were printed from June through August 1915, and their anniversaries passed while Marissa was abroad, exploring the archives at the Imperial War Museum, the British Library in London, and the Liddle Collection at Leeds University, one of the most extensive repositories of Ruhleben material.)
The Harvard Law School Library also holds two major collections of materials for the study of the history of Ruhleben: : The Maurice L. Ettinghausen collection of Ruhleben civilian internment camp papers, 1914-1937 and The John Masterman collection of Ruhleben civilian internment camp papers, 1914-1919. These collections contain manuscripts, newsletters, artwork, photographs, and other ephemera created by the prisoners, who built their own culture and society within the camp. You can explore Harvard’s Ruhleben collections at the Ruhleben: A Digital Exhibit website. Those of you who are local can view a poster for a Ruhleben cricket match on permanent exhibit on the 5th floor of the Library.
Marissa Grunes is a PhD candidate in English Literature at Harvard University, focusing on transatlantic literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her dissertation project explores frontier architecture in 19th century poetry, fiction, and non-fiction of the United States.
We’re delighted that Marissa is sharing her knowledge of Ruhleben with us and look forward to reading and learning more about it. We hope you do too!