The John Krause Papers are a small collection that contains information about only a few incidents in his life. However, it does contain significant correspondence from his relatives in Bessarabia concerning their experiences after World War I. The collection consists of official documents, clippings, correspondence, and a few examples of Krause's writings.
The document file concerns Krause's life in Bessarabia prior to his immigration to the United States. It consists of a handwritten list in German of the names and birthdates of the entire Krause family; a certificate in Russian certifying academic excellence in the provincial school of Tarutino, Bessarabia, dated 1870; John Krause's birth and baptism certificate; a recommendation letter for proficient teaching of the Latin and Greek languages done at the Housen Volksschule dated April 29, 1874, and a letter of recommendation for proficient teaching of the Russian and Latin languages at the Privat Anstalt Akkerman dated June 15, 1876; and a transatlantic log, dated 1876, from Krause's Atlantic crossing. (The original of one Russian document in housed in the Visual Material Archive.)
The file of clippings contains information pertaining to the involvement of Francis Massing, John Krause's father-in-law, in the Madison Maennerchor (men's choir). Also included are photocopies of several broadsides and programs concerning the Maennerchor, the originals of which are now in the Visual Material Archive, and clippings concerning Krause's violin making efforts, especially his alleged success in building violins equal to Stradivarius violins.
The original compositions section is a collection of poetry, drama, and prose written by John Krause. Most notable are a translation of Whittier's poem “Snow-Bound”; the sketch for two acts of a play; a manuscript, beginning with “Vorrede,” written in epistolary form telling the story of a trip to Wrightstown; an essay on Gotthold Ephriam von Lessing, beginning with “Meine Damen and Herren”; and a 56-page manuscript entitled “Liebeserklaerungen (“declarations of love”), which contains both prose and poetry. Krause's “Hymn to Wisconsin” is catalogued as part of the Historical Society's library collection.
The correspondence consists entirely of incoming letters to John Krause, the bulk of which, 1928-1931, concern the socio-political and economic crises of Krause's relatives in Central and Eastern Europe following World War I. The correspondence is written in German and Russian, and the handwriting is mostly German script. The events described in this section occur mainly in Russia, Romania, Poland, and Germany. Topics discussed include the war, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Weimar Republic. The small quantity of earlier correspondence contains a funeral announcement and a religious disputation, dated 1874, concerning the authenticity of baptism and the mystery of the crucifixion. There is also a wedding announcement, dated 1878, for Krause's sister Louise. The rest of the correspondence, running from 1920 to 1934, is written, for the most part, by three correspondents: Krause's sister, Jullie Langer (1928-1929); Krause's nephew, Otto Krause (1928-1931); and Otto's son, Waldemar Krause (1929-1930). Jullie Langer writes of events in Tarutino, Bessarabia. Otto Krause, a banker, writes of events in Petersburg, Novgorod, and Odessa, Russia, and in Bucharest, Romania, and of the literary, philosophical, and socio-political conditions of European life in general during the years 1915 to 1930. Waldemar Krause writes of factory working conditions and student life while studying chemistry at Breslau. Almost all of the correspondents ask John Krause for money which he seems to have given quite readily.
