USC has many primary source archival collections pertaining to Holocaust and World War II topics, some of which are listed below. If you are looking for primary sources outside of the list, you can use the search function on the
“Archives at USC” website. Just type in some key words relating to your topic, and explore the online archives to find relevant materials!
COLLECTIONS THAT MAINLY FOCUS ON HOLOCAUST-RELATED EVENTS
Holocaust Survivors of the Jewish Community of Pest register
Register containing the names, professions, dates of birth and addresses of nearly 54,000 survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi-era persecution in the Jewish community of Pest, Budapest. Budapest became a city in 1872, following the union of Buda and Pest. Each town had a separate Jewish community until the 1950s. Jews are first mentioned in Pest in 1406. This volume follows a 1946 "Counted Remnant: Register of the Jewish Survivors in Budapest".
Anonymous Hungarian Jew Diary
Diary written by an unidentified Hungarian Jew. 66 entries from March 19, 1944 to January 17, 1945, describe the diarist's experiences while working for the Jewish Council in Budapest, as a prisoner of the Nyilas, working as a trench digger in the Labor Service, and his attempts to escape with a Swiss passport. Also included are photographs of the diarist's wife, Ilona, and son, Robi, who disappeared on December 17, 1944. The last entry in the diary is about Robi. Some significant historical events of the Hungarian Holocaust are mentioned, such as the decree mandating that Jews wear the Yellow Star, the organized looting, the total confinement of the Jewish population, and the deportations. Also included are 4 loose pages written as a statement for reparations for valuables that were stolen after October 23, 1944. Text is in Hungarian.
Diary of a Nazi girl report
Produced by Headquarters 52nd Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, APO 654, US Army, this 13 typewritten, stapled pages, translated from German to English, is the second installment of the diary of a young girl in the Hitler Youth who lived in American-occupied territory (Monschau) towards the end of the Second World War. The document is titled "Annex to Daily Intelligence Summary: Diary of a Nazi Girl II". Stamped "SECRET" and translated by E.L.
Das Gesundheitswesen der Stadt Warschau report
Report prepared for the German government on diseases and healthcare problems in Warsaw from September 1939 though March 1942 and potential epidemic situations. The bombing of Warsaw left about 40% of the city without fresh water or functioning sewers. The report, in three parts, targets Jews as part of the problem, records statistics about the Ghetto's population, and includes charts detailing births and deaths. Also included are two photographs of Nazi officials in front of the Warsaw Ghetto. Both photographs have handwritten annotations on the reverse. Part I was cleared for release as an administrative report; Parts 2 and 3 were for official German use only.
Major Alfred G. Wurmser collection of Nuremberg Trial documents
This collection of documents on the Nuremberg Trials was collected by Captain (later Major) Alfred G. Wurmser, a staff member of the British War Crimes Executive. The collection contains signatures of defendants and legal staff, letters, photographs, a report, and a pencil sketch.
COLLECTIONS THAT MAINLY FOCUS ON WORLD WAR II
German maps and aerial reconnaissance data from the bombing raids on England.
The collection contains research materials, administrative files, audiotape interviews, and film reels from a project by the USC Department of History for a book and PBS television special entitled The Homefront : America during World War II, compiled by Mark Jonathan Harris, Franklin D. Mitchell, and Steven J. Schechter. The book was published in 1984, and the show was broadcast in 1985. The project was a collection of first-person accounts of ordinary citizens describing their experiences during the War.
Collection on the history of Hungary
Extended essays by various authors, in English or Hungarian, on the modern political history of Hungary, especially during World War II. The essays were gathered by Dr. Frank de Balogh, ca. 1965, as part of USC's "Living History" project.
Political Pamphlets collection
The Political pamphlets collection contains published documents from various sources that discuss conflicts and related politics from the mid-twentieth century, with the majority of the documents dated from the 1930s to the 1970s. The documents primarily concern the politics before, during, and after World War II. Depending on the location of publication and the desired audience, the pamphlets are in English, Spanish, or French.
William C. Herbert papers
The William C. Herbert papers was brought to USC during the 1990s via Associate Dean for Development and Law School Historian John (Tom) Tomlinson whose expertise includes the history of USC. Though the collection's focus is the correspondence between Herbert and his mother during World War II when he was overseas, at some point later, Herbert studied and graduated from USC with a B.S. in Social Studies. His graduation photo is in the 1957 edition of USC's
El Rodeo. Besides correspondence, the collection includes personal photographs and some ephemera.
This collection of photographs from the Hearst Collection of the Los Angeles Examiner in the USC Regional History Collection, documents the relocation of Japanese Americans in California during World War II. These 222 photographs provide a glimpse into the lives of Japanese immigrants and native born Japanese Americans (a.k.a. Nisei) residing in California from 1921 to 1958, with primary emphasis on 1941-1946. Much of the coverage documents scenes of: a) the relocation process; b) life in camps at Manzanar, Santa Anita, Tanforan, and Tule Lake; c) post-war repatriation to Japan. http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/jarda-m4.html?view=1
Joseph Roos papers
This collection contains papers documenting the activities of Joseph Roos (1905-1999) from his retirement from the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council in 1969 until his death in 1999. These papers include correspondence, research files, memoranda and publications. Some documentation of Roos's earlier activities investigating the activities of the German Bund in Los Angeles in the 1930s is also present.
COLLECTIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ESCAPED THE HOLOCAUST AND FOUND EXILE OR REFUGE IN THE US. THESE PAPERS OFTENTIMES INCLUDE INFORMATION ON PERSECUTION, INTERNMENT, AND ESCAPE
Berstl (Julius) papers (0031)
Literary archive of the German emigre author and playwright Julius Berstl (1883-1975). The collection includes typescripts, manuscripts, personal and professional correspondence, personal and biographical documents, theater memorabilia, and a small number of literary journals, both in English and in German. Julius Berstl was born on August 6, 1883 in Bernburg, Germany to a theatrical family. Upon graduation from university, he became the dramaturg, or literary advisor, of the renowned Barnowsky Theaters in Berlin from 1909-1924. From 1924-1936, Berstl worked as dramaturg for the Berlin Gustav Kiepenheuer Theaters. During this period, Berstl wrote two of his most well-known plays: "Chu the Sinner" and "Dover-Calais." But with the rise of Hitler and the increasing restrictions on the creative arts, Berstl emigrated in 1936 to England. In 1943 he became a scriptwriter for the London BBC, for which he wrote over 60 radio dramas. He retired from his work at the BBC in 1951 and moved to New York City, where he began to write novels in earnest. His wife told him that after she died he should move to Santa Barbara; after she passed away in 1964, he kept with her wishes and moved. He lived in Santa Barbara until he passed away in 1975.
This rich collection contains Hanns Eisler's personal and business correspondence from his years in Southern California (1942-48). In addition the archive contains a few biographical documents and photographs. The collection also contains several recordings for films on records by Hanns Eisler.
Lion Feuchtwanger (1884-1958) was a celebrated German-Jewish novelist and outspoken enemy of the Nazis. He began his literary career as a theater critic and turned his talent to writing plays in the 1910s and 1920s. He first became internationally known for his historical novel Jud Süss published in 1925. In 1933, he went into exile in Southern France and in 1941 he emigrated to the United States. He was an important figure in intellectual and artistic circles in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. During the McCarthy era he was under observation by the FBI. Feuchtwanger passed away in 1958. He died stateless as he was never returned his German citizenship and was denied American citizenship during the McCarthy era. The collection includes Feuchtwanger's personal and business correspondence; manuscripts for plays, poetry, short stories, and historical novels; manuscripts by other writers such as Charles Chaplin's manuscript for Limelight; correspondence with publishers; newspaper clippings mentioning Feuchtwanger and other exiles; photographs from Feuchtwanger's life in Germany, his exile in France, and in the United States; copyright agreements and reviews of his works; ephemera; art works; audio and video recordings; and his speeches and open letters about Judaism, politics, and literature. The papers also contain Feuchtwanger's extensive collection of autograph letters and the bookseller's catalogs used by Feuchtwanger to acquire his vast personal library. Furthermore, the collection includes materials on the establishment of the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at USC, the International Feuchtwanger Society, and the artists' residence Villa Aurora, the former Feuchtwanger residence.
This archive contains the correspondence of Marta Feuchtwanger, wife of German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger, who survived her husband by almost thirty years. Marta Feuchtwanger remained an important figure in the exile community and devoted the remainder of her life to promoting the work of her husband. The collection contains Marta Feuchtwanger's personal correspondence, texts and manuscripts by her and others, royalty statements received for the works of her husband, correspondence with publishers, and newspaper clippings mentioning Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger and other exiles. The collection also includes correspondence regarding the establishment and administration of the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library and Villa Aurora.
This collection comprises the business and private archives of literary agent and Pazifische Presse co-founder Felix Guggenheim (1904-1976). The collection includes private and business correspondence, and contracts with publishers, authors and other business associates between 1925 and 1986 (bulk 1940-1976). The collection also includes manuscripts, some photographs and book reviews of works by many of the authors Guggenheim represented. Authors of the German-speaking Exile community in Los Angeles are particularly well represented.
The collection comprises materials related to von Hofe's tenure as a librarian at USC as well as manuscripts, research notes, articles, and correspondence. Most materials are related to Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger as well as other German-speaking exiles.
The collection contains leaflets, posters, printed forms, advertising, newspaper clippings for the 1920s, reflecting German officialdom, shortages, inflation, and the rise of National Socialism.
The collection comprises correspondence between Ernst Jaeger and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, starting in the 1950s to the 1970s as well as screenplays, manuscripts and other correspondence from Ernst Jaeger. Blending audio recordings, photographs and correspondence, the cinematic memorabilia offers insight into the tumultuous relationship of the one-time colleagues, revealing how Riefenstahl coped emotionally and financially with her unenvious status as a social pariah following Germany's World War II defeat. Materials that include letters in her own handwriting are an invaluable source for her perspective on life after the war, and they shed light on the reputation of her films and their importance as part of fascist propaganda. Many of the postcards and letters in the collection are in her native German, though many have been translated into English. This discrete but rich collection not only provides insight into Leni Riefenstahl's personal and financial worries, but also details her relationship with her former collaborator and mentor, Ernst Jaeger. While the first part of the collection focuses on the relationship between Riefenstahl and Jaeger, the second part mainly focuses on Jaegers work in the US. Several manuscripts for screenplays as well as his personal and business correspondence highlight Jaeger's efforts in finding work and recognition in the film business.
This collection contains the personal papers of Dr. Paul Kiess. The collection contains personal correspondence and correspondence with Christian organizations in the US, photographs, newspaper clippings, outlines for Dr. Kiess' speeches, and ephemera. Dr. Paul Kiess, a Protestant, was a legal adviser, a lector of the Thüringische Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, and Urania Verlagsbuchhandlung in Jena, Thuringia, and a member of the Thuringian parliament. Paul and his wife Edith, a half Jew, left Germany in 1935 and went into exile in Prague, Czechoslovakia, France, and London, before emigrating to the United States where Edith studied for her professional qualifying examinations in New York, and Paul went to Princeton where he lectured at various Christian organizations, and studied for his American bar exam.
This collection contains the papers of Irmgard Lenel, who was born in Germany in 1901 and who immigrated to the United States in 1937. She was a politically active socialist involved with groups like Women for Legislative Action and the Friends Committee on Legislation. Her papers include correspondence, photographs, legal papers, and some periodical publications.
The papers include personal and business correspondence, manuscripts and published articles, and personal documents and photographs, and pencil drawings dating from Heinrich Mann's years in France, 1933-1940 and Los Angeles, 1940-1950.
This collection includes personal and business correspondence, manuscripts and published articles, and personal documents and photographs, and pencil drawings dating from Marcuse's years in France, 1933-1940 and Los Angeles, 1940-1950.
The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, notes, and ephemera regarding the lives and work of many German-speaking emigre artists in Southern California. One focus of the collection are German Expressionist Theater director Leopold Jessner (1878-1945) and his brother-in-law, the actor and director Fritz Jessner (1889-1946), both of whom left Germany in the 1930s to escape the Nazi persecution of Jews. The collection also includes more extensive materials on Walter Wicclair, director William Dieterle, art-director Rudi Feld, Felix Jackson, the Mann family, Lion Feuchtwanger, and Elow as well as about the Jewish Club of 1933. Furthermore it contains transcripts of various conferences on exile studies, articles, presentations, interview transcripts, Wim Wenders screenplays, and data sheets Marta Mierendorff created about various exiled German-speaking artists. The materials were collected by Marta Mierendorff (b. 1911), who was made Emeritus Research Professor in 1984 at USC.
Alfred Schnurmann (born 1905 in Mulhouse, Alsace-Lorraine) was the son of a prosperous Jewish wool merchant. In 1940, Alfred and his daughter Marion were able to obtain visas to the United States as part of the "French" quota, and traveled to the U.S. via Japan and settled in San Francisco. Alfred worked at the Richelieu Hotel and then for Levi Strauss before getting a job in 1945 with the Southern Pacific Railroad. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad until his retirement in 1983. In 1950, Alfred married his girlfriend Faye Faber. The collection contains photographs, negatives, and slides dating from the 1890s to the 1980s, many of them taken in Germany before and during World War II, including some family photos. Also included in this collection are letters to Schnurmann from relatives and associates. Numerous letters are from family members in Palestine and the new state of Israel. Correspondence between Alfred and his daughter Marion, during her stay at the Wyk orphanage in the 1930s, is also included. In addition, there are many legal documents including notarized birth, marriage, and death certificates for Alfred’s ancestors. Original birth and marriage certificates of Alfred and Marion Schnurmann are also included, as well as citizenship documents. The collection contains a few family trees for Alfred Schnurmann, various newspaper articles about post-Nazi Germany, newspaper articles with tips for financial well-being, and papers relating to Alfred’s work with the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Reich and Hayman family papers
This collection contains the personal papers of Dr. Joseph Reich and his family. It contains photographs and artifacts as well as correspondence, legal documents, and some ephemera, mostly from the period from World War I to World War II. Dr. Joseph (Josef) Paul Reich, M.D. was born 1887 June 16 in Breslau. He studied neurology, and was licensed to practice medicine in Germany in 1911. His father-in-law was Dr. Oskar Kohnstamm, M.D., founder of the Sanatorium Dr. Kohnstamm in Koenigstein im Taunus and well-known doctor of internal medicine. Serving in the German Army during World War I, Dr. Reich received an Iron Cross First Class in 1914 and stayed in the armed forces, likely in some sort of medical capacity. Because of his Jewish ancestry, Dr. Reich first left Germany for America as an immigrant on 1935 December 30. By 1939, Dr. Reich was already published in American medical journals, studying some of the same topics that his father-in-law Dr. Kohnstamm had, such as psychoanalytic self-observation.
COLLECTIONS THAT HAVE INFORMATION ON THE TREATMENT OF GAYS AND LESBIANS DURING THE HOLOCAUST
The collection consists of the Star of David "Jude" patch said to have belonged to Saul Kantor (1912-1976); two drawings by his son, Yakov Kantor (1952-2007), a graphic artist and member of the Portland, Oregon, Jewish LGBT community, inspired by the 2005 Hungarian film Sorstalanság ( Fateless); and two photographs, 2000 and 2003, of Yakov Kantor.
Michael A. Lombardi and Paul J. Nash papers
Writings, publications, correspondence, photocopies, manuscripts, notes, photographs, programs, ephemera, and other material documenting the lives and intellectual interests of partners and gay rights activists Michael Lombardi and Paul Nash. The materials relate in particular to their mutual interest in pioneer German gay activist Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, whose works Lombardi has translated. The collection also documents Nash's work as a newspaper journalist and editor, first at the
Los Angles Collegian and later at the gay newspaper
Update. Subject and chronological files demonstrate the range of their interests and their involvement in the GLBT community in Southern California and its struggle for legal and social recognition.
Reports and administrative files from the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), subject and research files, and personal papers (bulk, 1970-2000) from Attorney B.W. Grant Barnes. The collection includes extensive subject files pertaining to Barnes' research in international human rights laws; records documenting his work in the Individual Rights Section of the LACBA; and his personal writings, correspondence and other material documenting his involvement in numerous gay and lesbian organizations.
Gay Sunshine records, 1955-2005, bulk 1970-2005
The records, 1955-2005, comprise the publications, editorial records, audio-visual materials, and administrative and personal records collected, used and/or created by Winston Leyland as the publisher of
Gay Sunshine Journal, Gay Sunshine Press, and Leyland Publications, 1970-2005. The records include the works, interviews, and/or correspondence of William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, John Giorno, Lou Harrison, Christopher Isherwood, Taylor Mead, John Rechy, Ned Rorem, Samuel Steward, Gore Vidal, and Tennessee Williams among others.
ONE Incorporated records, 1907-2001, bulk 1952-1994
The collection consists of the administrative records, publications, correspondence, divisional records, affiliate office records, and photographs of ONE Inc., 1907-2001, bulk 1952-1994. The records include annual reports, court records of ONE Inc. legal entanglements, complete runs of
ONE Magazine and
ONE Institute Quarterly: Homophile Studies, reader correspondence, submissions by writers and artists, ONE Institute course and reference files, the data and reports of internally conducted research projects, and photographs over the course W. Dorr Legg's stewardship of ONE Inc. from 1952 to 1994.
Esther Herbert and Marvyl Doyle papers and photographs, 1921-2011
Correspondence, photographs, audiocassettes, manuscripts, professional papers, and other materials, 1921-2011, from lesbian speech pathologist and veteran, Esther Herbert, and her partner, Marvyl Doyle. The correspondence contains letters between Herbert and Doyle written between 1944 and 1996 with the bulk of the letters being exchanged during World War 2 while they were stationed separately in the Women's Army Corps. Also included is an extensive collection of photographs documenting their military service. Among the papers are published materials by both Herbert and Doyle regarding their respective work in speech pathology and writing composition; as well as a collection of Doyle's poetry. The collection also includes recorded interviews with Esther Herbert regarding her experience of living as a lesbian in the 1940s and 1950s.
Dorothy C. Putnam and Lois Mercer papers
Photographs, correspondence, typescripts, newspaper clippings, a trophy and scrapbooks relating to Dorothy C. Putnam (1895-1991) and her partner of 50 years, Lois Mercer (1894-1989), bookkeeper for ONE, Inc. The majority of the materials document Putnam's life and family from her adolescence as a horseback mail carrier in Oregon; her activities as the first licensed female chauffeur in California; her wins in economy-run driving races in the 1920s; and her service in the Women's Ambulance and Transport Corps of California (W.A.T.C.C.) and U.S. Air Force during World War II. Materials also document Lois Mercer's service in the U.S. Air Force during World War II; her contribution to ONE, Inc., from 1953; Putnam and Mercer's community activism; and their 50 years of life together in Los Angeles.
Haldeman-Julius publications
Pamphlets from both the Little Blue Book and Big Book Series published between 1924 and 1950 by socialist activist Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (1889-1951). The pamphlets are printed on pulp paper and staple-bound, and were marketed to workers and the "educated" classes. Almost all the titles deal with homosexual themes, and cover a wide variety of subjects, including classical literature, history, useful knowledge, and frank treatment of sexuality. The bulk of the pamphlets were written in the late 1940s by David Oliver Cauldwell, a prolific and pioneering sexologist who published extensively on homosexuality and transsexualism. The sensational, often lengthy, titles were dictated by the publisher to pique public interest and increase sales.
COLLECTIONS THAT FOCUS ON AMERICAN RIGHT-WING AND NAZI ORGANIZATIONS
National Socialist League Collection 1928-2011
The collection consists of periodicals, correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, flyers, catalogs, brochures, subscription forms, greeting cards and mass mailings created by the National Socialist League (NSL) and other related organizations, 1928-2011. The NSL was a Los Angeles based organization of gay nazis from the 1970s to the mid-1980s run mainly by Russell R. Veh.
Joseph Roos papers
This collection contains papers documenting the activities of Joseph Roos (1905-1999) from his retirement from the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council in 1969 until his death in 1999. These papers include correspondence, research files, memoranda and publications. Some documentation of Roos's earlier activities investigating the activities of the German Bund in Los Angeles in the 1930s is also present.
Right-wing political pamphlets collection
A collection of pamphlets, brochures, flyers, magazines, and printed ephemera discussing various right-wing political topics, including anti-communist activities, the American Nazi Party and white supremacy, anti-semitism, racism, conservative economic policies, and religion. Also includes a few left wing publications.
"The newspaper of white revolution." published by National Socialist White People's Party.