Series 9 - Julius Lips Collection, 1926-1940
- Scope and content:
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The Lips series is of interest not only because of the plagiarism case itself, but also because of the way the case reflects the academic and political climate of Germany in the early 1930s. The case began in 1928, when Martin Block, Lips' assistant at the Raustenstrauch-Joest Museum, complained to Johannes Lehmann, director of the Frankfurt Museum and head of the Association of German Ethnological Museums. Among other grievances, he charged Lips with plagiarizing the anthropologists Fritz Graebner, Wilhelm Schmidt, and Wilhelm Koppers in his work Einleitung in die vergleichende Voelkerkunde. Lehmann and his assistants, Ernst Vatter and Paul Leser, documented the plagiarism and quickly became embroiled in the controversy. The case (or cases, as many different charges and countercharges were filed), eventually reached the courts and involved many prominent German and Austrian academics. It also became a political conflict, played out in the newspapers, as Lips was a member of the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic newspapers supported him, while the more conservative papers used the charges as an excuse to attack Lips' character. The case, for all intents and purposes, ended when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Beyond the political and academic aspects, the case is also of note as it helps to illuminate Leser's continuing interest in academic honesty, plagiarism, and the critique of sources.
The case is well represented by correspondence (1926-1940) between most of the individuals involved, newspapers (1927-1939), manuscripts, reviews, reports, legal papers, and professional opinions on the charges. There is little material on the final disposition of the case(s) and there are no transcripts of actual court hearings.
The Lips series contains materials relating to the charges of plagiarism filed against Dr. Julius Lips by Paul Leser, et al. The series includes correspondence between many individuals involved in the case and the correspondence of the Deutscher Museum Bund relating to the case. It also contains drafts of manuscripts about the case, Leser's critically annotated copies of Lips' publications, reviews of Lips' Einleitung in die vergleichende Voelkerkunde, and professional opinions regarding the merits of the plagiarism charge. The series contains newspapers with articles about Lips and copies of newspaper clippings about the case. The series also includes subject files on cases related to the original plagiarism charges.
- Arrangement:
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Arranged alphabetically.
- Physical facet:
- 134 file folders
Contents
Using these materials
- Access:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- Collection restrictions:
- Access to this record group is unrestricted.
- Collection terms of access:
- The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.