Introduction

Disappointments

Philipp Jaffé's letter of resignation written to Georg Heinrich Pertz, 18.08.1862

In the course of time, a number of factors dulled Philipp Jaffé’s initial enthusiasm for his work at the MGH. Besides the feeling that his achievements were not being properly appreciated, the strenuous and time-consuming nature of the work, and the lack of perspectives, he was galled by Georg Heinrich Pertz‘s increasingly autocratic style of leadership and his irrational advancement of his son Karl. This led Jaffé to earnestly consider accepting the offer of a position with life-long tenure at the historical archives in Florence as this was proposed to him in May 1860. To his great disappointment, however, the offer was withdrawn in June of that year without further explanation.

Some two years later, Philipp Jaffé became convinced that his employer, Pertz, had been responsible for thwarting his move to Florence. In a draft version of an invective against Pertz written in 1869, he states that he had quit work for the MGH „on account of a certain Florentine correspondence“ (MGH-Archiv B 78, Blatt 81v, see also Bresslau, Geschichte, p. 383).

Whether Pertz really caused the Florentine archives to revoke their job offer can no longer be determined with any certainty, but for Jaffé it was an established fact. In August 1862, he wrote the letter on display to Pertz announcing the termination of his work for the MGH.

Transcription

Berlin den 18ten August 1862.

Ew[er] Hochwohlgeboren

beehrte ich mich hiermit anzuzeigen, daß ich nach reiflicher Erwägung aller Verhältnisse den Entschluß gefaßt habe, aus meinem Verhältniß zur Centraldirection für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde zu scheiden. Indem ich daher diesen entschluß, meine wissenschaftliche Thätigkeit für die Monumenta Germaniae historica einzustellen, Ihnen, als Vertreter der Centraldirection mir gegenüber, zur Kenntniß bringe, stelle ich es Ihnen anheim, ob Sie von der beiden Theilen vorbehaltenen halbjährigen Kündigungsfrist Gebrauch machen wollen oder nicht. Ihrer gefälligen Antwort entgegensehend, bleibe ich hochachtungsvoll

Ew[er] Hochwohlgeboren ergebenster Prof. Dr. Philipp Jaffé

S[eine]r Hochwohlgeboren
dem Herrn Geh[eimen] Rath u[nd] Oberbibliothekar
Dr. G. H. Pertz.