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© 2007 University of Chicago Library
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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Panarity, Gerim M. Papers (Box #, Folder #), Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Gerim (sometimes spelled Qerim) Panarity was the editor of the first Albanian-American newspaper in the United States, Dielli ("The Sun"). Taking on the position in the 1940s, he remained there for nearly 25 years, until his retirement in 1963. Started in 1909 by the Society of Besa-Besen in Boston, Dielli is now the oldest continuously-published Albanian language newspaper in the world. In 1912, the Pan-Albanian Federation of America, Vatra ("The Hearth") was formed, becoming one of the most influential voices in the movement for Albanian independence. Dielli became Vatra’s main organ for fostering Albanian nationalism.
Gerim Panarity was dedicated to the cause of Albanian independence his entire life. As a young man in 1911, Panarity left the United States for Albania, to fight with Memet and Faik Konitza for liberation from the Ottoman Empire. He eventually returned to the United States to complete his education, attending the Hitchcock Free Academy in Brimfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1926, receiving the Washington Franklin Medal for excellence in history. During World War II, Panarity broadcast through the Voice of America in Albania, encouraging Albanian resistance to the Axis powers. He was also instrumental in post-war efforts to send food, clothing and medicine to the country.
Throughout his life, Panarity published numerous articles and books on the subject of Albania. In 1925, he published an article in Current History entitled, "Albania’s Latest Revolution." He was also chief author of the WPA Federal Writers’ Project book The Albanian Struggle in the Old World and the New. In 1957, he published and edited the collection Albania: The Rock Garden of Southeastern Europe and Other Essays. He published a work on Metropolitan Fan Noli, a prominent Albanian-American leader with whom he was in active partnership through Vatra. He also contributed to such publications as The Globe and The Christian Science Monitor.
This collection contains the correspondence, newspaper clippings, diaries, photographs, legal documents, maps, manuscripts and Albanian/Albanian-American newspapers kept by Gerim Panarity. Most materials relate to the Albanian-American community and modern Albanian history and politics. A significant percentage of the materials in this collection are in Albanian.
Series I contains Panarity's professional and personal correspondence. It also includes secondary correspondence generated through Mr. Panarity's translation work for Albanians in America trying to file legal claims in Albania after World War II.
Series II contains Panarity's writings, both personal (diaries) as well as numerous notes, drafts and manuscripts for articles and books.
Series III contains materials on Albania in the twentieth century, including writings and speeches from Albanian political figures, articles and books, radio transcripts, stamps, paper money, and maps. A small section of materials in Series III are from or about American missionaries to Albania in the 20th century.
Series IV generally contains material about Albanian-American life, its organs and organizations. Included is a small collection of ephemera from the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and several of their churches in the greater Boston area. This series also contains a set of sheet music from Professor Thomas Nassi, an Albanian-American graduate of the New England Conservatory who developed liturgical music for the Albanian Orthodox Church together with Bishop Fan Noli.
Series V contains images of prominent Albanians and Albanian life, including a number of images produced by the government of Communist Albania in the 1950s and 1960s.
Series VI contains material from Gerim Panarity's life unrelated to his interests in Albania, as well as a collection of obituaries published after his death.
Oversized materials throughout the collection have been removed and placed in Series VII, which also contains a number of early 20th century Albanian nationalist newspapers, maps and Panarity's scrapbook.
While the contents of the collection span nearly the entirety of the 20th century, the majority of the materials fall in the period from the 1940s-1970s.
Series I covers the period from 1939-1983. It contains both personal and professional correspondence of Gerim M. Panarity. This series also includes secondary correspondence generated through Panarity's translation work for Albanians in America trying to file legal claims in Albania after World War II.
Series II consists of material written by Gerim Panarity from the 1910s to the 1970s. It has been divided into two subseries: Diaries, and Notes and Manuscripts. Subseries 1 - Diaries contains his daily diaries for the period 1936-1959, as well as excerpted diary material prepared by his wife, Sarah Panarity. These diaries cover both the details of Panarity's daily life as well as his observations and political opinions about international developments. Subseries 2 - Notes and Manuscripts contains manuscripts of Panarity's various writings (both published and unpublished), as well as his notebooks, research notes and drafts. The majority of this writing is of article length, dealing with the history and politics of Albania. Published versions of some of these article manuscripts can be found in Series VII.
Series III contains a variety of materials about Albania in the twentieth century; the bulk of the material falls between 1920 and 1970. It contains writings and speeches by both Albanian democratic nationalists and Albanian communist leaders, as well as analyses of the political situation in Albania. It also includes articles and book excerpts on the topic of Albania. There is a significant quantity of translations of Radio Tirana, the official Albanian radio station, mostly for the year 1960. Also included are a number of Albanian artifacts, such as stamps and paper money from the 1910s-1950s, as well as maps of Albania. Finally, there are materials from and about Americans who undertook missionary work in Albania.
Series IV contains documentation from several prominent Albanian-American organs and organizations, spanning the 1940s to the 1980s. Represented are Dielli, the longest-running Albanian-language daily in the world; the Pan-Albanian Federation of America (Vatra), and the Albanian Orthodox Church in America. Oversized materials relating to the Orthodox Church can also be found in Series VII, as can numerous copies of Dielli. This series contains a set of sheet music from Professor Thomas Nassi, an Albanian-American graduate of the New England Conservatory who developed liturgical music for the Albanian Orthodox Church together with Bishop Fan Noli.
Series V contains images of Albanian life and prominent Albanians. Of particular note are the series of photographs of life in Communist Albania, provided by the Albanian government in the 1950s and 1960s. These photographs, as well as another set of photographs of a variety of Albanian and Albanian-Amercian subjects, are arranged by subject in folders 26 and 27. Oversized images from this collection have been removed and placed in Series VII.
Series VI contains material from Gerim Panarity's life unrelated to his interests in Albania, as well as a collection of obituaries published after his death.
This series is made up largely of newspapers and newspaper clippings, mainly on the subject of Albania, as well as maps, images and Panarity's scrapbook. Materials in this series range from 1911 to 1985. A number of the newspapers included here are printed in Albanian. Manuscripts for some of the published articles by Gerim Panarity in this series can be found in Series II. Additional material on both Dielli and the Orthodox Church in America can be found in Series IV. Images in this series have been removed from Series V.