Collections

91 photos of African Americans during World War II. Many of the photos are labeled Wissmar (captured by Ally forces May 2, 1945) and Frankfurt, Germany. Some names of the soldiers are printed on the back of the photographs. Most of the photos are not dated and depict men in their uniforms near military vehicles and in a casual setting. Some photographs are of the men with local (civilian dress) women.

This collection contains letters from Private First Class Charles Avery to his sister Ruth Dunlap in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania during and immediately after World War II. Charles writes about the training and attending school at the University of Connecticut while in the Army, health problems in his family, the leisure activities available to him, a little about his combat experience, and the death of his mother. During the war he trains in Virginia (Camp Pickett), North Carolina, and Louisiana, before going overseas and fighting on the front lines in Germany as a member of the 78th "Lightning" Division Infantry.

Diary of an unidentified member of the U.S. Army, who spent 1943-1945 in Germany as an interpreter. He describes the trip from New York City to Europe, training in England, and finally his tour of duty in the Rhineland, passing through France and Belgium on the way.

The Ephemera Collection contains material primarily acquired for teaching. It includes material in various formats, most of which have been previously published. The collection is currently being processed and new items will be added on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the indicated date range is approximate at this point.

The Heinz and Gertrud Siegel Elber papers consist of a scrapbook and a guestbook documenting their social life and Heinz Elber's professional career as a Kapellmeister (bandmaster) in Dresden, Germany. Heinz Elber (30 April 1882-5 December 1969) and Gertrude Siegel in 1951.

Two diaries, January 1941-December 1942, kept by a German school girl. Both volumes are called "Kriegstagebuch" (War Diaries) and were most likely part of an regular school assignment or created under direction of the "Bund Deutscher Maedel" which was a constituent of the Hitler Youth.

This volume is a combination of printed calendar, yearbook and diary, kept by Ingeborg Hartmann (b. 1919). It is titled "Der Merker, Jugendjahrbuch des BDU" and was published by the "Verlag des Volksbundes fuer das Deutschtum im Ausland," Berlin. The printed content is propaganda supporting the German national-socialist regime and its politics, and contains a photograph of and quotations by Adolf Hitler. Other printed content are short articles about ethnic German communities abroad, information on the Hitler Youth and the German military, as well as a few biographies, stories and poems, etc. Ingebord Hartmann's handwritten entries include brief diary-style notations for most days from January 1939 to March 1940, her weekly schedule, a wish list of books, some personal data, and address list, and a list of birthday presents made in 1939. Ingeborg Hartman was a member of the national-socialist youth organization Bund Deutscher Maedel (a constituent organization of the Hitler Youth) and 20 years old at the time she kept this diary. All entries are in German and written in Suetterlin script. Filed with the diary is a one-page listing of a few selected entries that have been excerpted and translated into English or summarized (also in English) by the seller. This has not been verified for accuracy.

Papers, 1945-1948, concerning the International Military Tribunal for the Far East's trials of alleged Japanese war criminals. The collection consists of printed material and copies of papers sent to Otto Lowe, Washington, D. C. by Joseph B. Keenan, chief prosecutor. Includes opening statement of prosecution; indictment; lists of suspects; charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East; transcripts of teletype conferences; and affidavits of Cordell Hull, Joseph C. Grew and Henry L. Stimson.

Series 1 (Acc. 1999.059) contains correspondence regarding the School of Jurisprudence (now the Marshall-Wythe School of Law), the Faculty Club, the Quarterly Millennium Celebration, and notes on the teaching of law at William and Mary for the years 1931-1943.

The collection consists of 173 letters written by Walter F. Oehlman, Pvt., U.S. Army, to his wartime sweetheart, Grace Brunjes, of Glendale, Long Island, New York. The first letter is dated April 10, 1943; the last one is dated September 21, 1945. These letters span the period from his enlistment in November 1943 to his discharge in October 1945, when he was 32-34 years old.