Hillsdale College Students Research Otto von Habsburg’s Correspondence with Leading American Conservatives
The students interned for the Habsburg Foundation in Budapest, Hungary, this summer.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Three Hillsdale College students interned in Budapest, Hungary, at the Habsburg Foundation this summer. They studied correspondence between Otto von Habsburg and leading American conservatives including Barry Goldwater, Russell Kirk, Henry Kissinger, Burke scholar Peter Stanlis, and Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner.
“At Hillsdale, we teach students the value of primary sources like these letters and how to study them well,” said Professor of History Richard Gamble. “Through this internship they got to apply the principles they’ve learned as history majors in ground-breaking historical research.”
“Through this internship they got to apply the principles they’ve learned as history majors in ground-breaking historical research.”
Ethan Bourgeois ’26, Njomëza Pema ’25, and Lydia Chenoweth ’25 prepared an article about Otto’s correspondence with American conservatives, which will be translated into Hungarian for potential publication in a leading archives journal.
Otto von Habsburg was the eldest son of Hungary’s last king and an influential statesman and politician in 20th-century Europe.
The Habsburg Foundation internships began in 2024 with Bourgeois, who was the first person to examine Otto von Habsburg’s correspondence with these prominent American conservatives. At the foundation’s request, Bourgeois returned this summer to work with the same correspondence, joined by Pema and Chenoweth.
During their time in Hungary, the interns also attended the Budapest Opera, concerts at the Liszt Academy, and museum exhibitions, and Bourgeois attended a centennial celebration at the official residence of the British ambassador, whom he met at the event.