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Alexander Lowenstein Family Papers

An inventory of the papers at the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: Cara A. Howe
Date: 2014

Biography

Lowenstein, Alexander

Alexander Lowenstein (1967-1988) was among the 270 victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. He was one of the 35 Syracuse University students traveling home after a semester abroad. Alexander (also known as Alex or Alexi) was an English major, but hoped to pursue a degree in clinical psychology so he could work in a psychiatric clinic after he graduated. Alex was a brother in the Zeta Psi fraternity at Syracuse University and sat on the Inter-fraternity Council.

"Alexander was very special. His ability to fully enjoy life; to make us laugh; to draw his peers to him; to make us love him," his parents recall. Alex was a water person who loved surfing and scuba diving near his parents' home in Montauk on Long Island. He was survived by his parents, Suse and Peter, and his brother, Lucas.

Suse Lowenstein is an accomplished sculptor; her work Dark Elegy has garnered much acclaim and commentary over the years and has served as a reminder of the evils of terrorism. Dark Elegy consists of 75 individual sculptures depicting women at the moment they learned their loved one had been killed on Pan Am Flight 103. Each figure was sculpted from life. Dark Elegy is dedicated to all victims of terrorism.

Scope and Content Note

The Alexander Lowenstein Family Papers consist of materials related to Alexander Lowenstein, one of the 35 Syracuse University study abroad students killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the commemorative sculptural work Dark Elegy created by his mother, Suse Lowenstein. The collection has been divided into the following series:

The Artwork series contains Alex's artwork and sketches.

Clippings contains full newspapers and clippings relating to Alex's life and memorialization, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the subsequent trials, and terrorism generally. Of special interest may be the clippings from the two years before Alex's death and those related to the Camp Zeist trial in the Netherlands.

The Correspondence series contains condolences, general correspondence files, and correspondence with people in Lockerbie. Many of the letters from Lockerbie include photographs as enclosures.

The Dark Elegy series documents the sculpture created by Suse Lowenstein. Clippings, correspondence, photographs and writings related to Dark Elegy are located in this series. It also includes information about exhibitions of Dark Elegy.

Personal belongings consists of items that belonged to or were created by Alex, including items recovered from the crash site at Lockerbie. This series contains Alex's collection of audiocassettes, including original albums and homemade mixtapes, correspondence, and class notebooks, exam books, and papers.

Photographs and negatives contains digitized photographs from an album the Lowenstein family temporarily loaned the Archives, and physical photographs of Alex with his friends and family. Of special interest to researchers may be photographs from his semester studying abroad in 1988, depicting London and trips to Amsterdam, and photographs developed from film found at the crash site.

Subject files contains topical files of general interest, including a copy of Senate Resolution 727 signed by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Researchers may also be interested in the maps used to plot locations of victims' bodies as well as Pan Am 103 passenger statistics, including a seating chart for the Boeing 747. This series also contains recordings of Alex participating in his hobbies, interests, and extracurriculars. The video recordings include footage of Alex surfing and spending time at the beach with his family, participating in a competition at his high school, and performing in a theater production called "Park Place."

Writings includes poems, articles and tributes to Alex and the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.

Alternative Formats

Selected materials from this collection have been digitized. Please contact the archivist for further information on accessing these materials.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Access to audiovisual material requires advance notice to produce a use copy.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Pan Am Flight 103 Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The Pan Am Flight 103 Archives contains additional materials and information related to the Alexander Lowenstein Family Papers. Related collections include:

Pan Am Flight 103 Audiovisual Collection

On Eagles' Wings Collection

Matthew Cox Papers

Pan Am 103 Publications Collection

Pamela Ray Papers

Dark Elegy Collection

Pan Am 103 Individuals Collection

London 1988 Image Collection

Remembrance Quilt Collection

Selected Search Terms

Names

Lowenstein family.
Lowenstein, Alexander.
Lowenstein, Suse.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Associated Titles

Dark Elegy.

Subjects

Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Incident, 1988.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- Case Studies.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- History.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States.
Terrorism -- History -- 20th Century.
Lockerbie (Scotland)

Types of Material

Audiocassettes.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Diplomas.
Minicassettes.
Notebooks.
Photographs.
Sketches.
Sound recordings.
VHS.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Alexander Lowenstein Family Papers,
Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Peter and Suse Lowenstein in 2009 and 2014.

Processing Information

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Arrangement

The Alexander Lowenstein Family Papers are arranged alphabetically by series.

Location of Originals

Photographs from the album scanned while on loan from the Lowenstein family have been retained by the donor.

Table of Contents

Artwork

Clippings

Correspondence

Dark Elegy

Personal belongings

Photographs and negatives

Subject files

Writings

Inventory