This paper addresses the question why two eminent representatives of the history of civilization, Johan Huizinga (1872-1945) and André Jolles (1874-1946), in 1933 broke off an inspiring friendship that had lasted for more than thirty-five years. Some historians assume that in 1933 Huizinga rejected Jolles as a friend because of the latter’s membership of the NSDAP. I argue, however, that this was not the reason and that – inadvertently – a third person caused their separation.