Beck, Erdelyi, and Hannak

Maximilian Beck, a philosophy professor from the University of Munich, was a Christian from Czechoslovakia. He was never able to adjust to the U.S. system of higher education. In German universities, faculty did not have to advise student clubs, participate in committee work, or grade writing assignments. German professors were researchers with little contact with students. They taught primarily seminars of advanced topics in their own field of specialization. Beck never found a permanent position after Wilson, despite a concerted effort by President Havens to find a place for him. He died in 1954.

Michael Erdelyi was a psychology professor. He was a Catholic from Hungary. He was hired full-time at Wilson as a sabbatical replacement. His contract was renewed but Erdelyi left Wilson for another position with higher pay. 

Philippine Hannak was a law professor from the University of Vienna. She was a Protestant. 

Hannak worked in the John Stewart Memorial Library while at Wilson. It was common for refugee scholars to be invited to give lectures on topics related to European culture, and scholars from Vienna were preferred to German scholars. Articles in the Billboard at the time frequently described Hannak as “refined” and “having excellent taste’. There is no further information about her after she left Wilson.