The Foundation Stiftung Bundesprasident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus (Federal President Theodor Heuss House) is publishing the letters, speeches, writings and conversations of Theodor Heuss (1884-1963) under the title Stuttgart Edition. The many sides of Heuss' life and work have resulted in an extraordinarily comprehensive body of material, much of it hitherto unpublished, of major historical and literary value. It provides impressive testimony of key episodes in German contemporary history and the biography of an extraordinary man. In the history of 20th century German democracy, Theodor Heuss incorporates the tradition of the educated liberal middle classes, in the shaping of which he played a part as a politician, an extremely productive journalist and writer, as a committed university teacher and as an honorary office-holder in various associations. Post-1945, after the downfall of the totalitarian regime, Heuss' experiences provided a decisive political and cultural basis for re-establishing a successful and sustainable democratic republic in Germany. As the first head of state in the new Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss left a lasting stamp on the office of Federal President in the difficult start-up phase of a still insecure democracy with his poise, courtesy, consideration and intellectual stature.