The Rudolf Steiner Archive

183

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach
Monday, December 10, 1923, from Berlin

Dec. 10.

L. E., I think I really must end my stay in Berlin. I plan to leave on Friday the 14th. I will then have to spend Saturday in Stuttgart to inspect the house. I hope they haven't stopped building there, otherwise where would I put all the furniture! I hope to travel to Dornach on Sunday. I will travel with Walther. I want to prepare everything so that the final transport can be arranged without me. Of course it is unfortunate that both Walther and the Sellings will be in Dornach at the same time. I will ask Sam and Miss Drescher to direct the work in the upper rooms, while Muck is directed to the lower rooms.

Tomorrow, Meyer wants to resign from his position at the branch evening on the grounds that he has to return to school work and does not feel talented for administrative matters; he has not been to see me. If the matter now becomes complicated and I still have to have endless discussions with people, it could be that I do not leave until Sunday. Then I would telegraph on Thursday. Is it true that you are also coming to Stuttgart for school? I will be so happy when the time comes.

183a

new page, probably a continuation of the previous one.

Mrs. v. Moltke asked me for the notebooks with her notes; she claims that one is still missing from a series, a black wax cloth notebook that you still wanted to look at, and a folded piece of paper with her husband's handwriting. Of course, I did not find these two items. Instead, I found a number of notebooks with the records of the manifestations of the spirit Emanuel.⁷⁶ El. Moltke's handwriting, and on the title page “Property of Dr. Steiner”. What should I do with it? If I give it to her, future generations will have documents from which it can be proved that Dr. Steiner received his research results through a mediumistic channel from a spirit. So should I bring it with me or destroy it? Is it any different from what is in a printed book?

I have cleared out the blue cupboard and put together all the letters that had an old-time character from Vienna; all the notebooks that exist; even most of the letters from the Berlin period. Now there is a bound pile of old magazine manuscripts; ⁷⁷. Can I destroy that? And lying in a mess between the letters, pages of old manuscripts; I would like to make them disappear too – is that possible?

On the blue shelf, down in the cupboard compartments, there are piles of letters, receipts, etc., tied up neatly. Should I pack the piles in their tied units in boxes, as they are? Should they then go to Dornach or to Stuttgart, where no customs duties would have to be paid?

What should I do with the M.E. memoirs that are lying under a black cloth in a file basket? ⁷⁸ of which nothing should ever be spilled? (S..., A..., Mercury?) Should I hand it over to Selling as it is or bring it with me?

Thanks for the letter. Yesterday, ⁷⁹, bombarded me with her obsession about Meyer from 6:30 until almost 11. Today, Münch is coming; more later.

Kind regards, also to Waller and the 3^{,80 [Fräulein]. Marie}

Couldn't Käthe [Mitscher] manage a letter? I'm wondering.

• 76. See Rudolf Steiner's answer in Letter No. 186.
• 77. Rudolf Steiner published the “Magazine for Literature” from July 1, 1818 to September 29, 1900.
• 78. See note on no. 42 and the preliminary remarks for 1906.
• 79. Margarethe Krause, a member of the Göttingen group from 1914 and in Berlin from 1920
• ,^{80. Helene Lehmann, Helene Dubach, Olga Zibell.}
⁸⁰

183b

To Rudolf Steiner (for Tatiana Kisseleff)
probably an appendix to No. 183

I am very sorry that I will not be able to organize the Christmas performances as I would have done if I had been in Dornach throughout December. But since there is so much material, I hope that something decent will come of it. I am counting on “Olaf Åsteson” ⁸¹ (Kiss.[Kisseleff]) and “The Disciple” — most of the newly acquired material and some repetitions. “Die Sonne schaue“ ⁸² This time I ask Savitch ⁸³ and her Solovjoff; ⁸⁵ - “Epiphany” by Heredia ⁸⁵ and the other French sonnet (desert) ⁸⁶ could also be repeated; the Christmas sayings... Could we have a new Steffen? “The Holy Supper“, ⁸⁷ from 'Wegzehrung'. Page 101. Savitch should have the central figure there; Kisseleff perhaps the angel, the three animals: De Jaager,⁸⁹ Baravalle,⁹⁰ Spiller; the scorpion — Simons. It would be great to have another strong Steffen.

Did Savitch get a new sound-eurythmy number? She asked for it so much.

Hopefully everything will work out after all; it could also be that I leave here on Saturday.

Please give this sheet to Mrs. Kisseleff with warm greetings and appropriate preparations. Hollenbach ⁹¹ She will no doubt have some Christmas performance to present.

Since we are not moving yet, one could say Bogo ⁹², that I am Miss ⁹³ I would like to let her stay at the Brodbeck house with the others.

Warmest regards, Marie

• 81. The Dream Song of Olaf Åsteson, Norwegian folk poetry. See “Truth-saying” GA 40, 8th edition 1998, and GA 158.
• 82. A saying by Rudolf Steiner, see ‘Sayings’, GA 40.
• 83. Marie Savitch (1882-1975), from St. Petersburg, eurythmist, member since April 1913, met Rudolf Steiner in 1913 at the cycle in Helsinki, worked at the Goetheanum from 1920, head of the eurythmy group at the Goetheanum from 1926 to 1972.
• 85. Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovjoff (1853-1900), “Immanuel”, translated by Marie Steiner.
• 85. Jose-Maria de Heredia (1842-1905), French poet.
• 86. Sonnet by Albert Samain: Le Repos en Egypte, which was performed on December 26, 1923 in Dornach.
• 87. Poems by Albert Steffen
• 88. Albert Steffen (1884-1963), Swiss poet, joined the Theosophical Society in August 1910 in Munich and moved to Dornach in 1920. When the weekly journal Das Goetheanum was founded in 1921, he became its editor. From May 1922 he was General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in Switzerland. At Christmas 1923, he became the second leader of the General Anthroposophical Society and head of the Section for the Literary Arts and Sciences of the School of Spiritual Science. From Christmas 1925, he was the first leader of the Society.
• 89. Isabella de Jaager (1892-1979), a member from February 1914 in Paris, one of the first eurythmists in Dornach, later working as a eurythmy therapist.
• 90. Elisabeth (Ilse) v. Baravalle (d. 1987), later Mrs. Kimball, August 1920 member in Vienna, eurythmist, first in Dornach, later in USA. Simons: Friedel Simons, eurythmist.
• 91. Johanna Hendrika Hollenbach (1880-1950), joined the Berlin branch from the South African section in January 1912, was a eurythmist in Dornach for many years.
• 92. Nina Bogojavlenskaja (died 1945), eurythmist.
• 93. Gertrud Pütz, member since May 1920, eurythmist in Berlin, who apparently wanted to come to the Christmas Conference in Dornach.

184

Telegram from Dornachbrugg to Marie Steiner
Postmark: Berlin W30 11.12.23 11V (Tuesday)

I agree to the moving arrangements. Rath's matter is good, but details from here cannot be overlooked. Do not return Emanuel booklets, bring them with you or burn them. If possible, send letters here, otherwise at your discretion. Send the relevant items to Selling in the most secure way possible. Rehearsals for the Christmas plays are going well. Performance on Sunday in Schaffhausen. Greetings Steiner.

185

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach, approximately
Tuesday, December 11, 1923, from Berlin

We have a huge mountain of< Futur> future issues; should this be thrown on the floor or added to the pile of old paper that someone will pick up?

185a

on the back of no. 185

Dr. Steiner

May I also ask you to kindly inform Ms. Kisseleff that I would also like to consider “Woe, woe, thou hast destroyed her” ⁹⁴ But then the funeral march should be practiced ⁹⁵ no longer in the pentagon, but in the form that was given for it and that Mitscher signed for Savitch. It is calculated for one or more. - If the games are taking place in Schaffhausen on the 16th, could a performance not take place in Dornach on the 14th or 15th to bring in some money? I will need every evening from the 18th for rehearsals.

M. St.

• 94. From Goethe, “Faust” Part 1. Study II, Chorus of Spirits (invisible).
• 95. from “Songs without Words” Op. 62, No. 3 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

185b

To Rudolf Steiner in Dornach,
Wednesday, December 12, 1923

Since Muck explained to me that it is not possible to calculate what a German employee receives per month for all sorts of reasons, I have initially thought of the future fee in francs in this way. Both Miss Mücke and I do not care if Miss Tolch comes; so if it is less difficult because one less person comes, please proceed accordingly. Today I want to tell Tolch to keep her apartment, and Mücke will also do so for Rath-Schmidt as a subtenant.

Back page:

Dr. Steiner from M. Steiner with best regards.

186

To Marie Steiner in Berlin
Thursday, December 13, 1923

Dornach, December 13, 1923

My dear Mouse!

Many thanks for the telegrams. We have everything we need for eurythmy; so we want to give the two plays here tomorrow, Friday: Paradeisspiel and Christigeburtspiel. Then on Saturday there will be a rehearsal in Schaffhausen and on Sunday a performance. I am concerned that you have so much to do in Berlin. But now you will be back soon. There will be an almost overwhelming rush here at Christmas. The book shed has been started; and everything possible must be done to get it ready in time. I think it will hold 135,000 books the size of “The Philosophy of Freedom”. That will suffice for the time being.

At the Goetheanum, I have begun to publish my memoirs ⁹⁶ I will arrange for it to be published as a book here by the Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag as soon as the advance copy has taken effect as an announcement. After the second or third article, I will emphatically put a stop to it and only publish further messages in the 'Goetheanum' as excerpts from the later book; but in such a way that the printed sentence can be used. I feel as if I have left the earth by writing this biography. But I think I can contribute a great deal of spiritual material to the later chapters, where the 1880s and 1890s come into consideration, which will supplement what is in the books and cycles. So far, only the first paragraph has been printed (1st-5th year); the second (3rd-8th year) is being printed today.

Now, I can only make a decision about the payment terms and the number of books for Rath once I have seen the publisher's books. Walther is writing a synopsis about Möcke keeping the apartment and asking whether I agree with it. It's impossible to say anything about this without hearing the little bit of bureaucracy that Walther writes in convoluted sentences. I am worried that this will cause you even more trouble.

The Emanuel books can either only be taken or burned. I don't know what's inside. Because I haven't even opened them, let alone read them.

The M.E. things can be stored under some kind of secure lock at Selling. They should not be taken away. It is scary for me to leave them behind, but it has to be that way.

You do not need to take the future issues with you, because I will probably have no need in this life to read the few valuable essays in the various years; but they should not be discarded, but

sold second hand. Until recently, they were paid for very expensively. And now, until we meet again soon.

Kindest regards, Rudolf

• 96. “My Life's Journey”, which appeared in weekly installments from December 9, 1923, to April 5, 1925, in the weekly journal “Das Goetheanum”. First edition published in 1925 by Marie Steiner.

187

Telegram from Dornachbrugg to Marie Steiner
Postmark: Berlin W30 13.12.23 11V (Thursday)

Assume Monday Stuttgart. Trip Sunday evening Schaffhausen – Stuttgart. Tuesday we can be in Dornach. Do not sell future issues. Antiquarian bookseller sold them. They were recently sold at a high price second hand.

188

Telegram from Dornachbrugg to Marie Steiner
Postmark: Berlin W30 12/14/23 11V (Friday)

Please reply immediately and let me know whether I should wait until Tuesday for ^{97Marie Steiner traveled to Stuttgart during the night from Monday to Tuesday and met with Rudolf Steiner there. On Thursday the 20th, they traveled together to Dornach, where the Christmas Conference began on the 24th.}. Kind regards, Steiner