Extensive file with original letters from Domela to Jef Last and also copies, with correspondence from Jef Last and Hans van Straten.

Ruim 80 kantjes dichtbeschreven of getypte brieven van Harry Domela, gericht aan Jef Last, grotendeels onder zijn pseudoniem Victor Zsajka, hoofdzakelijk uit 1938-1940. Met getypte afschriften, ook van brieven die hier niet in origineel bijliggen (behalve aan Last ook aan Jan H. de Groot), enkele concepten van antwoorden, correspondentie over Domela en over mogelijke uitgave van een boek waarvoor deze brieven de basis zouden moeten vormen, o.a. van Hans van Straten uit de jaren 1986-1987 aan uitgever Wim J. Simons, die deze papieren tot zijn overlijden in 2008 in bezit had. Gebruikssporen, maar nog in zeer goede staat. = More than 80 pages of written or typed letters from Harry Domela, addressed to Jef Last, largely under Domela's pseudonym Victor Zsajka, mainly from 1938-1940. With typed copies, also of letters that are not included here in the original (to Last, but also to the poet Jan H. de Groot) and some drafts of answers. With correspondence about Domela and about the possible publication of a book for which these letters should form the basis, including letters by Hans van Straten from 1986-1987 to publisher Wim J. Simons, who had these papers in possession until his death in 2008. Signs of use, but still in very good condition. Harry Domela, born in 1905 (?) in present-day Lithuania and uprooted by the First World War, left for Germany in the 1920s as an orphan without money. There he managed to become world famous for a while by pretending to be Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia - a grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II. After some time he was caught and imprisoned after a sensational trial, but his memoirs were published by the Berlin Malik-Verlag as 'Der falsche Prinz' (also translated into Dutch and other languages, and made into a film). That earned him a fortune, but not for long. He tried to join the communist party, but was refused. In 1932 he fled to Austria, where he acquired a new pass with a new name, which he would wear for the rest of his life: Victor Zsajka. In 1934 Domela/Zsajka fled to France, then to Amsterdam, where he met Jef Last through Maurits Dekker, with whom he became intimate friends. Domela first lived with Jan H. de Groot, then with the house painter Bertus Meijer (who also was a writer) in Rotterdam. In that year 1935 he met, among others, Victor van Vriesland and Menno ter Braak. In March 1936 he moved to Antwerp, where he became friends with the poet Freek van Leeuwen. In September of that year Domela tried to become a war volunteer in Spain. That only worked after Jef Last had taken care of him. Through a visit to André Gide, Last and Domela left for the Republican Spanish front north of Madrid, where they fought together for a long time. Last became a captain, Domela first lieutenant. In early 1939 Domela fled to France. After a number of adventures in Luxemburg and in Antwerp prisons, thanks to André Gide's papers he managed to escape in the nick of time (mid-May 1940) from Marseille to Venezuela, where he would lead a relatively peaceful life as a teacher in Maracaibo. Correspondence with Jef Last started again in 1965, but contact was soon lost, perhaps because Domela did not want a new book about him to be published - Dutch journalist Igor Cornelissen was involved. The original letters in this collection came through Wim 't Hart, the secretary of Last, to Wim J. Simons of the publishing house Stichting De Beuk, who wanted to publish a biography of Harry Domela. The writer Hans van Straten was called in, who acted as a sleuth in archives and had the letters typed with the critical eye of his sister, the translator C.E. van Amerongen-van Straten - these copies were and are very welcome! But it never came to an edition either: Van Straten and Simons did not find out whether Domela was still alive, and there were also copyright problems lurking. Copies of Hans van Straten's copies are available at the IISH: the letters from 1938-1940 can be read on the website. In terms of content, this file therefo.…