Alive in the Twentieth Century

Harriet Mattusch's world stretches from South Dakota to New York to Germany, and on to Korea, India, Italy, France, Austria, and eastern Europe. Her life-story spans the twentieth century, and it is written in a conversational tone by a careful listener and an avid learner. She writes with wit, intellect, and the spirit of discovery. Born in South Dakota in 1913, Harriet studied modern dance in New York city, as well as theater, political science, and English literature. She was in Berlin in 1933, the year that Hitler came to power. Returning to the U.S., she got a job at Briarcliff College in New York. She married Kurt Robert Mattusch in 1942, who was born near Magdeburg and had been a founder of the German democratic youth movement, advising his groups in 1933 to leave Germany rather than join the Hitler Youth, and leaving himself in 1937. After the war, Harriet and Robert moved to Berlin, where he worked for the U.S. Civil Administration and she for Occupation Services. Returning to the U.S. in 1948, they renovated a house in Waterford before moving to a farm in Clifton, VA. They lived in Seoul, Korea, from 1959 to 1965, where Harriet wrote three books about Korea and its monuments. During the later 1960s and the 1970s, from their home-base in Clifton they traveled to India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, to Eastern Europe and the Balkans; for a time they lived in France and in Austria. Harriet wrote about their experiences and about the people they met along the way. Harriet Cressey Mattusch's interests ranged from third-millennium-B.C. Korea to twentieth-century Berlin, from prehistoric man to Anthony Trollope, from classical archaeology to international politics. In addition to her fascination with current events, exploration, travel, archaeology, and dance, Harriet tracked human nature around the world and throughout the twentieth century. This book holds something of interest for anyone who was Alive in the Twentieth Century or who wonders what life could have been like in the twentieth century.

Born in South Dakota, Harriet C. Mattusch studied in New York, modern dance, political science, English literature, and theater. In 1933 she studied in Berlin: it was the year that Hitler came to power. From 1935 to 1940, Harriet worked at Briarcliff Junior College in New York. Then she became an editor and free-lance ghost writer. In 1942, she married Kurt Robert Mattusch, a founder of the German Democratic Youth movement, who had advised his groups in 1933 to leave Germany rather than join the Hitler Youth. Before he left Germany in 1937, he wrote about the threat of Hitler for Fortune magazine. During World War II, Harriet was an analyst for the Office of War Information. After the war, she and Robert moved from Washington to Berlin, where he worked for the U.S. Civil Administration and she for Occupation Services. In 1948, they moved to Virginia, renovating first a house in Waterford and then a farm in Clifton. Harriet wrote plays which she produced in a hay barn. From 1959 to 1965, Harriet and Robert lived in Seoul, Korea. Robert founded the Economic Research Center of Korea, and Harriet explored Buddhist, Confucian, and Shamanist monuments. She published articles in the Korea Journal, Blackwood’s Magazine, Koko Misul, Hankuk Ilbo, and The Asia Magazine. She wrote two guide-books to Korea, The City of the Yi and The Inns of Korea, and, with Robert, Ornamental Roof Tiles of Korea. During the later 1960s and the 1970s, Harriet and Robert traveled to India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, Eastern Europe and the Balkans; they lived in France and in Austria. Harriet wrote about their experiences. Robert, an authority on India, painter, poet and farmer, died in 1979. Harriet continued to travel, and she grew flowers. She wrote this autobiography between 1990 and 1995. An insatiable reader, Harriet also reread all the novels of Anthony Trollope. In 2002, she gave the annual lecture to the Trollope Society in New York on ＂Trollope and the Newspapers.＂ She wrote ＂Trollope and the Railways＂ and ＂Trollope and the Classics.＂ Always a close follower of politics, Harriet died on election day, 2004. People loved to talk with Harriet. They admired her intellect; they found her wise, steadfast, and fearless, hopeful, and possessed of a wry wit. She was a great listener, and she could always find the answer to a question. She could be trusted with confidences and relied upon for advice and support. This book reads as if Harriet were speaking.