“Michael Ventris and Fritz Schachermeyr: Their Correspondence between 1949 and 1954”

The correspondence between Michael Ventris and Fritz Schachermeyr around the collaborative Mid-Century Report and the crucial months of the decipherment of Linear B in spring 1952 offer interesting insights on how Ventris communicated the progress he made in the decipherment, but also how uncertainties and doubts emerged along the way. The same years mark Schachermeyr’s return to academia after his dismissal due to his adherence to National Socialism. Although only a few years had passed since the end of World War II, the former conflicting sides seem to have had no influence on their academic choices and correspondence. Ventris and Schachermeyr hence became early allies in the promotion of the decipherment