Finding Aids

International Affairs and World Federation

Balderston, John L., Jr. Collection

Documents the Letters on World Government project, conducted by nuclear scientists John L. Balderston, Jr., Dieter M. Gruen, W.J. McLean, and David B. Wehmeyer. Includes letters from prominent intellectual, political, and entertainment figures discussing the creation of a world government to ensure peaceful control of atomic energy and a report summarizing the letters.

Benton, William. Papers

William Benton (1900-1973) was an advertising executive, publisher, university administrator, U.S. senator and diplomat. Contains personal and professional correspondence, reports, legal documents, account books, diaries, manuscripts, speeches, research notes, transcripts of radio and television broadcasts, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, awards, and mementos. Papers highlight Benton's business and investment successes as well as his contributions to education and public affairs. Includes material relating to Encyclopaedia Britannica (1941-1973); Encyclopaedia Britannica Films (1939-1973); America First Committee; the Committee for Economic Development (1942-1973); Muzak (1941-1973); Benton & Bowles (1925-1973); the U.S. State Department (1941-1973); UNESCO (1946-1973); the McCarthy era; the establishment of Voice of America; the University of Chicago Board of Trustees; the Benton Foundation (1958-1973) commitments to Brandeis University, the University of Bridgeport, the University of Connecticut, the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, and the American Shakespeare Festival; and Connecticut and national politics (1948-1973).

Committee on Science and Freedom. Records

The Committee on Science and Freedom was an outgrowth of the Congress for Cultural Freedom held in Hamburg in 1953. The Records contain correspondence, press clippings, and copies of the Committee on Science and Freedom Bulletin. The collection also includes topical files that track the Committee's support of Hungarian scholars during the Hungarian Revolution and its investigation of conditions at universities in Tasmania and South Africa.

Committee to Frame a World Constitution. Records

The Committee to Frame a World Constitution was first convened in the fall of 1945 as part of the post-World War II World Federalist movement. The Records contain correspondence and miscellaneous material reflecting the close relations between the Committee and other organizations advocating some form of world government. The papers are comprised of the files of the Committee secretariat, which was also the editorial staff for the journal Common Cause.

Culbertson, William S., Papers

William S. Culbertson, lawyer, member of the United States Tariff Commission. The William S. Culbertson Papers includes notes and materials related to the 1923 Roundtable Conference at the University of Chicago.

De Mirza, Joel. Letters

The Joel de Mirza Letters represent an extant fraction of the correspondence between Mirza and his adjutant Captain Constatin Tarmanov. In the early 1930s, Mirza petitioned the League of Nations for recognition of his title as Prince of the Assyro-Chaldeans and a country for his people. Native to Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyro-Chaldeans had become a displaced, fragmented community following repeated massacres and forced relocations in the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish Republic and Iraq between 1915 and 1932.

Der Monat. Records

The records of Der Monat comprise correspondence files, reports, and papers of the American editor Melvin J. Lasky. Der Monat, a German-language political and cultural journal, first appeared in Germany in October, 1948. The purpose of the publication was to serve as a weapon against communism and fascism and to be a voice for western ideals. After six years of U.S. government sponsorship, Der Monat became a private journal, independently published by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Publizistik. The last issue appeared in 1971 after a long association with the International Association for Cultural Freedom.

Fallers, Lloyd A. Papers

The Fallers, Lloyd A. Papers comprise 28 linear feet of materials including personal and professional correspondence, field notes and research materials, course materials, and manuscripts concerning other professional associations and projects in which he was engaged. The papers contain materials generated by Fallers while pursuing research into colonialism and independence in East Africa, modernization in Turkey, and more general topics of social stratification and status. The collection also includes field materials collected by Margaret Chave Fallers.

Fight for Freedom Committee. Records

The Fight for Freedom Committee Records include correspondence with local supporters and with national headquarters, as well as material dealing with the various activities of the committee, such as motorcades, rallies, speakers, the distribution of literature, press releases, radio scripts, lists of supporters and contributors, correspondence and literature of cooperating organizations, and numerous clippings.

Gumbel, Emil Julius. Papers

The Emil Julius Gumbel Papers consist primarily of general personal correspondence arranged alphabetically by correspondent, including in most cases a copy of Gumbel's reply. Also included in the collection are Gumbel's topical files. These files pertain for the most part to particular episodes and activities, such as Gumbel's association with the Office of Strategic Service.

Gunther, John. Papers

John Gunther, journalist and writer. The John Gunther Papers consist of different draft versions of Gunther's books along with correspondence, articles, and notes related to these projects. Papers related to Chicago Revisited.

Harper, Samuel Northrup. Papers

Samuel Northrup Harper (1882 -1943), professor of Russian Language and Institutions at the University of Chicago, was the first American to devote an academic career to the study of Russia. As the foremost American expert during the Revolution of 1919 and the early years of the Soviet regime played a unique role in interpreting events in Russia to those who made, or influenced, American policy.

Harris, Chauncy D. Papers

Chauncy Dennison Harris (1914-2003) received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1940 and spent the entirety of his academic career with the University's Department of Geography. A pioneer in the field of Slavic Studies, Harris specialized in the geography of the Soviet Union, though was equally well-known for his work in the field of urban geography. Well-respected as a scholar, Harris had contacts with academics all over the world, published widely, and played an important role in the development of American scholarly interest in the Soviet Union. The Chauncy Harris Papers cover many different aspects of Harris' professional career - administrative posts at the University of Chicago, involvement with numerous geographical and academic organizations, scholarly writings and research, teaching materials, extensive correspondence, and academic exchanges with Soviet scholars.

Hoselitz, Bert F., Papers

Bert F. Hoselitz (1913-1995), economist, researched and taught at the University of Chicago from 1945 until 1978. An interdisciplinary pioneer, his research focused principally on cultural and sociological factors in economic development. The Papers contain materials related to research projects, professional correspondence, teaching materials as well as documents, correspondence and manuscripts related to his involvement in the Norman Wait Harris Foundation, the journal Economic Development and Cultural Change and the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

Hutchins, Robert Maynard. Papers

Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899-1977) was a leader in education reform, dean of the Yale Law School, president and chancellor of the University of Chicago (1929-1951), and an executive at the Commission on Freedom of the Press, the Committee to Frame a World Constitution, Encyclopædia Britannica, the Ford Foundation, the Fund for the Republic, and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. The collection includes material pertaining to Hutchins' research, writing, and speaking; material relevant to his professional activities; correspondence; subject files; personal ephemera; honors and awards; annotated books; and photographs and audio recordings. Materials date between 1884 and 2000, with the bulk of the material dating between 1921 and 1977.

International Association for Cultural Freedom. Records

This collection contains the records of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the International Association for Cultural Freedom. It comprises correspondence, reports, manuscripts, photographs, publications, recordings and clippings. It also includes the records of the Congress for Cultural Freedom affiliated Latin American Institute of International Relations and the Congress for Cultural Freedom Affiliated funded magazine Preuves. The collection dates from 1941-1978, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950-1972.

International Seminar on Comparative Administrative Problems Related to Social and Economic Development. Records

In 1959, the National Planning Commission and the Institute of Public Administration in cooperation with the Congress for Cultural Freedom organized a Seminar on Comparative Administrative Problems Related to Social and Economic Development. The seminar was held from April 21 to 29 in Cairo and featured papers delivered by experts in Public Administration from Arab, European, and Asian countries.

Janowitz, Morris. Collection

Morris Janowitz, sociologist. Papers include professional correspondence, biographical materials, research and subject files, manuscripts of Janowitz's books and articles, course materials, and papers concerning the Inter-University Seminar on the Armed Forces and Society, founded by Janowitz in 1960. Most dates from the late 1960s through the mid-1980s. Earlier material includes Janowitz's research using World War II military, and psychological warfare documents.

Kupfer-Koberwitz, Edgar. Dachau Diaries

The Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz Papers contain his original diary and other documents pertaining to his imprisonment at Dachau. The early volumes are practically illegible from water damage. A folder containing the issues of Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte in which the diary was published is also included.

Lange, Oskar. Papers

Oskar Lange, economist, professor, ambassador. The Oskar Lange Papers consist of an untitled manuscript, reprints of several articles by Lange, a press release, and a letter to Lange from Maynard Krueger dated January 30, 1941.

League of Nations Association, Midwest Branch. Records

The League of Nations Association Records contain materials concerning the educational activities of the association, contests and model League of Nations Council and Assemblies for high school students. The collection also includes materials about coordinated programs with the Chicago Peace Council and the National Peace Conference, as well as the dissemination of literature concerning neutrality legislation. After the outbreak of war in 1941, the association worked chiefly through the World Citizens Association and the Commission to study the Organization of Peace.

Levinson, Salmon. Papers

Salmon O. Levinson (1865-1941), attorney, philanthropist and key figure in the movement to outlaw war. The collection includes correspondence, political essays, materials related to the "Outlawry of War" efforts, awards and materials and papers on Poetry magazine.

MacDowell, Charles Henry. Papers

An expert in nitrate, Charles H. MacDowell served on President Wilson’s War Industries Board as the director in the Chemical Division. Additionally, he served with the American Commission to Negotiate Peace. The papers of Charles MacDowell relate to his war efforts and his service with the American Commission to Negotiate Peace. The larger part of the papers consist of minutes of the Economic Commission, the Supreme Economic Council, and the sub-committee on Germany and other committees. The latter section of the Papers is comprised of newspaper clippings collected by MacDowell and miscellaneous letters and pamphlets.

McKeon, Richard Peter. Papers

The Richard Peter McKeon Papers comprise 103.75 linear feet of material, including professional and personal correspondence, research materials, manuscripts of books and articles, course materials, papers concerning UNESCO, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and other projects and associations with which McKeon was engaged. Most of the papers cover the late 1920s through the mid-1980s and document McKeon's graduate studies and teaching at Columbia University, and his long tenure at the University of Chicago. McKeon's papers document the growth and development of education and educational philosophy at the University of Chicago during the presidency of Robert Maynard Hutchins, as well as the continuing development of the Department of Philosophy (and other departments) through the decades of McKeon's professorship. The papers include an extensive collection of McKeon's writings, both published and unpublished, his course materials, and detailed lecture notes. The papers also document McKeon's involvement with international concerns through materials relating to the Committee to Frame a World Constitution and several international meetings of UNESCO which McKeon attended as a U.S. delegate.

Norman Wait Harris Foundation. Records

The Norman Wait Harris Foundation Records contains correspondence, minutes, questionnaires, financial records, reports, contracts, programs, and drafts of lectures. Material relates primarily to the annual Harris Institute, which sponsored conferences and public lectures on international affairs. Also includes documents relating to the establishment of the Foundation.

Paepcke, Walter P. Papers

The Walter P. Paepcke Papers consist of 72 linear feet and include biographical material, correspondence, subject files, financial documents, publications, scrapbooks, ledgers, newspaper clippings, and photographs. The collection also includes information pertaining to the Container Corporation of America, a business founded by Walter Paepcke in 1926. In addition to materials that refer to Paepcke's paperboard container business, the papers also document some of his philanthropic, cultural, and educational interests. Included among them is the Goethe Bicentennial Foundation, which organized a festival in 1949 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Included among Paepcke's other cultural and educational activities are materials relating to the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The AIHS, founded in 1950, became an intellectual and cultural center of continuing education that provided seminars, lectures, and forums conducted by leaders in commerce, industry, science, education, religion, and government.

Panarity, Gerim M. Papers

Gerim M. Panarity was an Albanian-American activist, journalist, and longtime editor of Dielli, the first Albanian-American newspaper in the United States. This collection contains correspondence, clippings, diaries, legal documents, manuscripts, photographs, maps and copies of Albanian and Albanian-American newspapers, including Dielli. The Gerim M. Panarity Papers document the Albanian-American community and modern Albanian history and politics.

Polanyi, Michael. Papers

Michael Polanyi, chemist and philosopher, was born, Budapest, Hungary, 1891. He received his M.D. (1913) and Ph.D (1917) from the University of Budapest. He worked at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Fibre Chemistry, Berlin, 1920 to 1923, and the Institute of Physical and Electro-Chemistry, Berlin, 1923 to 1933. He was chair of physical chemistry, 1933 to 1948, and professor of social studies, 1948-58, at the University of Manchester. Polanyi was senior research fellow, Merton College, Oxford, from 1958 to 1976. Died, 1976. The papers of Michael Polanyi contains personal and professional correspondence; research notes; manuscripts of lectures, published and unpublished works, speeches, German scientific writings, patents, and poetry; diaries and notebooks; offprints; and memorabilia, including photographs, clippings, a sound recording of an interview with Polanyi, Christmas cards, and invitations. Also includes photocopies of title pages of the 1,500 books from Polanyi's library. Correspondents include Joseph Oldham, Marjorie Grene, Harry Prosch, Arthur Koestler, Karl Mannheim, Edward Shils, and Eugene Wigner. Manuscripts and correspondence reveal the range of Polanyi's philosophical thought and interests in intellectual liberty and the issue of planning in science. Correspondence also illustrates Polanyi's participation in the organization of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Committee on Science and Freedom.

Rabinowitch, Eugene I., Papers

Eugene I. Rabinowitch, biophysicist and co-founder and editor of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The papers contain material on the Pugwash Conferences, and relating to Rabinowitch's professional and academic career, including lecture notes, research reports and correspondence. The bulk of the papers cover the years 1954-1964, with clippings and articles on science, international relations and domestic politics dating from 1945.

Redfield, Robert. Ford Foundation Cultural Studies Program. Records

The Robert Redfield Ford Foundation Cultural Studies Records document the work of Redfield and others in intercultural studies from 1951-1961. Redfield, Professor of Anthropology and Robert M. Hutchins, Chancellor of the University of Chicago persuaded the Ford Foundation to fund the study of intercultural relations for the academic year 1951-19522. The project continued until 1961 and oversaw publication of the Comparative Studies of Cultures and Civilizations including: Language in Culture, edited by Harry Hoijer, Studies in Chinese Thought, edited by Arthur F. Wright, The Little Community, by Robert Redfield, Village India, edited by McKim Marriott, and three titles on Islam edited by Gustave E. von Grunebaum.

Rheinstein, Max. Papers

Max Rheinstein (1899-1977) Lawyer and Professor, University of Chicago. The Papers document Rheinstein's career as a lawyer and teacher with expertise in international and comparative law, family law, and the conflict of laws. Included are personal and professional correspondence, writings, drafts of books, lectures, reviews, articles, subject files, course materials, student papers, biographical and family material, and memorabilia. Also includes material relating to the Foreign Law Program at the University of Chicago. Correspondents include Tullio Ascarelli, Reimer von Borries, Mauro Cappelletti, Roscoe Pound, and Hessel Yntema..

Schmitt, Bernadotte E. Papers

Bernadotte Everly Schmitt (1886-1969) was professor of Modern European History at the University of Chicago from 1924 until 1946.. Schmitt's historical work centered on diplomatic history, particularly the origins of World War I. The Schmitt papers are divided into five series comprising correspondence, speeches and correspondence relating to a public exchange with Robert Maynard Hutchins, research notes, lecture notes, and student papers.

Simson, Otto G. von. Papers

Otto Georg von Simson (1912-1993), historian of medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, served on the faculties of the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought and Department of Art from 1945-1957. This collection documents Otto von Simson's work at the University of Chicago as an art historian, administrator, teacher and advocate for German and Austrian scholars. Material in the collection includes correspondence, drafts and proofs of publications and lectures, meeting agendas, research proposals, and course materials.

Tax, Ervin Hanwit. Papers

Ervin Hanwit Tax (1910-1950) writer. The collection includes articles on political and sociological topics; correspondence, notably with his brother, Sol Tax, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, and Louis Wirth; and drafts of Tax's epic poem, The Wraith of Gawain.

Welling, Harriet Walker. Papers

Political activist. Contains correspondence, reports, pamphlets, clippings, publicity, news releases, and other papers relating to Americans United for World Organization, Chicago Chapter; Build for Peace; Civilian Control of Atomic Energy, Chicago Committee; the International Relations Center of Chicago; the Stop Arming Japan Committee; and the Women's League for Lucas. Correspondents include Cordell Hull and Carl Sandburg.

World Citizens Association. Central Committee. Records

The World Citizens Association was founded in Chicago in 1939 under the patronage of Anita McCormick Blaine. The Association worked for world community awareness and toward promoting the practice of solving problems from an international point of view.

World Citizens Association. Chicago Group. Records

The World Citizens Association was an outgrowth of attempts to found an American division of the World Foundation. Founded in 1939 under the patronage of Anita McCormick Blaine, the Chicago Group was disbanded in 1943 for lack of funding. Carleton Washburne chaired the group. The Chicago Group prepared surveys or study kits dealing with international cooperation. Contains correspondence, by-laws, minutes, reports, financial records, surveys, and membership information. Contains files of executive director, Edwin M. Clough. Correspondents include Anita McCormick Blaine, Quincy Wright, Edwin Cassels, Jerome Kerwin, and others. Material relates to the group's activities in promoting international cooperation and organization.

World Movement for World Federal Government. Records

Contains correspondence, reports, minutes, and information files relating to Elisabeth Mann Borgese's tenure as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council of the World Movement for World Federal Government (1948-1950). Includes correspondence with constituent, subsidiary, affiliated, and observer status federation organizations. Material relates to financing and promoting the movement. Correspondents include Stringfellow Barr, Lord Boyd-Orr, Henry Usborne, and others. Also contains Giuseppe Borgese's files as Co-Chairman of the Commission Constitutionelle Mondiale. Includes correspondence, reports and manuscripts by Robert Hutchins, Quincy Wright, Giuseppe Borgese, and others

World Republic. Records

World Republic, organization, Chicago Based, 1947-1951. The papers include business and personal correspondences pertaining to the group’s organization, member newsletters, conference plans and records, organization bylaws and statements of intent, publications including brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and their weekly publication The Planet, member photographs, and newspaper and magazine articles written for, by, and about the World Republic.

Wright, Quincy. Papers

Quincy Wright (1890-1970), was a writer and scholar known for his work on war, international relations, and international law. He joined the political science faculty at the University of Chicago in 1923, and was a professor of international law at the University from 1931 to 1956. Wright guest lectured at universities all over the world, and consulted for the government of the United States, including the U.S. Navy Department and the Department of State. He was also a technical advisor to the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1945, and a consultant to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1949. The papers document Wright's interests in war, international law, world organization, and international cooperation, as well as the numerous organizations with which he was associated. Records date from 1907 to 1972, with the bulk dating between 1915 and 1971.