Guide to the Douglas Morris (1954-) Collection
1975-1977
AR 6470 / MF 1107
Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation
Leo Baeck Institute
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York, N.Y. 10011
Phone: (212) 744-6400
Fax: (212) 988-1305
Email: http://www.lbi.org/ask
URL: http://www.lbi.org
© 2010 Leo Baeck Institute. All rights reserved.
Center for Jewish History, Publisher.
Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Kevin Schlottmann in October 2010. Description is in English.
June 2011. Microfilm inventory added. March 29, 2012 Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Descriptive Summary | |
| Creator: | Douglas G. Morris |
|---|---|
| Title: | Douglas Morris Collection |
| Dates: | 1975-1977 |
| Abstract: | The Douglas Morris Collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Douglas Morris in the mid-1970s. The interviewees were Swiss and German Jews who survived World War II and were living in Germany or Switzerland at the time of the interview. The collection includes audio cassette tapes as well as associated materials such as transcripts, translations, narrative summaries, notes, index cards, and printed research materials. The German interviews formed the basis of Morris’s undergraduate honors thesis at Wesleyan University, and the collection includes drafts and other materials related to this thesis. |
| Languages: | This collection is in English and German, with some French. |
| Quantity: | 2.5 linear feet |
| Identification: | AR 6470 |
| Repository: | Leo Baeck Institute |
Biographical Note
No biographical data available.
Return to the Top of PageScope and Content Note
This collection consists primarily of interviews conducted by Douglas Morris between 1975 and 1977. The interviewees were German and Swiss Jews and persons of Jewish descent who survived World War II and were living in Germany or Switzerland at the time of the interview.
The first set of 33 interviews (Series I) focused on the individuals' lives in Germany, and the experience of being Jewish or of Jewish descent in Germany. Topics included education, World War I, the Weimar Republic, the rise of Nazism, World War II, concentration camps, emigration, and the choice to remain in or return to Germany. The German interviews formed the basis of Morris’s undergraduate honors thesis at Wesleyan University. Morris also conducted a second set (Series II) of 43 interviews in 1976-1977 with Swiss Jews who survived World War II and were living in Switzerland at the time of the interview. Many of these interviews were recorded, but transcripts or translations were not prepared.
This collection includes audio cassette tapes and other interview materials such as transcripts, translations, narratives, notes, and index cards, as well as drafts and other materials related to Morris’s thesis. It also includes some printed research material for his Swiss interviews.
Return to the Top of PageArrangement
Return to the Top of PageAccess and Use
Access Restrictions
Access to this collection is restricted. Anyone wishing to view the material must sign an agreement promising to respect the privacy of the interviewees. Researchers who are interested in accessing this collection may contact the Leo Baeck Institute, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 (lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org).
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the donor. Furthermore, any citation or use of the material that may identify the interviewee or a relative or friend of the interviewee requires written permission from the donor. For more information, please contact the Leo Baeck Institute, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 (lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org).
Return to the Top of PageAccess Points
Click on a subject to search that term in the Center's catalog.Individuals:
Subjects:
Places:
Document Types:
Microfilm
The collection is on four reels of microfilm (MF 1107):
- Reel 1: 1/1 - 1/10
- Reel 2: 1/11 - 2/7
- Reel 3: 2/8 - 3/7
- Reel 4: 3/8
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Douglas Morris Collection; AR 6470; box number; folder number; Leo Baeck Institute.
Processing Information
In October 2010, this collection was processed by imposing an intellectual structure, creating a finding aid, and rehousing the documents.
Return to the Top of PageOther Finding Aids
A list of complete interviewee names (anonymized in Series I, below) is found in AR 11835. In addition, a three-page container list was prepared upon accession. Either document may be obtained by contacting the Leo Baeck Institute, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 (lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org).
Return to the Top of PageContainer List
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Follow the links to access the digitized materials.
Series I: Interviews with German Jews, 1975-1976 | |||
| This series is in English and German. | |||
| 1.75 linear feet. | |||
Arrangement:This series is arranged by format and interviewee (alphabetically by last name). A series of index cards contain information on every interview and are cross-referenced with the audio tapes and notes. Note that not every interview was recorded. | |||
Scope and Content:This series consists of interviews conducted in 1975 by Douglas Morris. The interviewees were German Jews and persons of Jewish descent who survived World War II and were living in Germany at the time of the interview. The interviews focused on the individual’s life in Germany, and the experience of being Jewish or of Jewish descent in Germany. Topics include education, World War I, the Weimar Republic, the rise of Nazism, World War II, concentration camps, emigration, and the choice to remain in or return to Germany. These interviews formed the basis of Morris’s undergraduate honors thesis in history at Wesleyan University, entitled "The Lives of Some Jewish Germans Who Lived in Nazi Germany and Live in Germany Today: An Oral History." This series includes audio cassette tapes and other interview materials such as transcripts, translations, narratives, notes, and index cards, as well as drafts and other materials related to this thesis. Handwritten comments on some documents appear to be the evaluations of a professor or advisor. Morris conducted 33 interviews, of which 10 were transcribed, translated into English, and/or summarized in narrative form. To protect the privacy of his interviewees, Morris used a mix of pseudonyms and real names in his transcriptions and narratives. In keeping with the restrictions on Access and Use regarding identification of the interviewees, the container list below only provides the first letter of the interviewee's last name, regardless of whether it is a real name or a pseudonym. However, the material in the collection allows the real names of the interviewees to be identified. | |||
| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 1 | 1 | Index cards for interviews | 1975 |
| 1 | 2 | B____, Betty | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| 1 | 3 | D____, Elizabeth | 1975 |
Transcript, translation, narrative | |||
| 1 | 4 | K____, Herbert | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| 1 | 5 | K____, Gunther | 1975 |
Transcript, translation | |||
| 1 | 6 | K____, Gunther | 1975 |
Narrative, notes | |||
| 1 | 7 | M____, Erich | 1975 |
Transcript, translation | |||
| 1 | 8 | M____, Erich | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| 1 | 9 | M____, Erich | 1975 |
Notes, photocopies of official documents, interview with M____'s relative | |||
| 1 | 10 | P____, Anna | 1975 |
Transcript, translation | |||
| 1 | 11 | P____, Anna | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 2 | 1 | R____, Daniel | 1975 |
Transcript, translation, narrative | |||
| 2 | 2 | S____, Gunther | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| 2 | 3 | S____, Gertrude | 1975 |
Transcript, translation | |||
| 2 | 4 | S____, Gertrude | 1975 |
Narrative | |||
| 2 | 5 | W____, Alfred | 1975 |
Transcript, translation | |||
| 2 | 6 | W____, Alfred | 1975 |
Narrative, notes | |||
| 2 | 7 | Notes | 1975 |
| 2 | 8 | Notes | 1975 |
| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 3 | 1 | Thesis Introduction (drafts) | 1975 |
| 3 | 2 | Thesis Appendix (drafts) | 1975 |
| 3 | 3 | Thesis Afterword (drafts) | 1975 |
| 3 | 4 | Various | 1975-1976 |
| Box | Title | Date | |
| 4 | Audio cassette tapes (49) | 1975 | |
Series II: Interviews with Swiss Jews, Undated, 1976-1977 | |||
| This series is in English and German, with some French. | |||
| 0.75 linear feet. | |||
Arrangement:By format and document type. A series of index cards containing information on every interview is cross-referenced with the audio tapes. Note that not every interview was recorded. Also, see restrictions on Access and Use above for the rules governing identification of the interviewees. | |||
Scope and Content:Morris also conducted 43 interviews in 1976-1977 with Swiss Jews who survived World War II and were living in Switzerland at the time of the interview. This series contains audio tapes, index cards, research notes, and printed research materials, but it does not include transcripts or translations. See restrictions on Access and Use above for the rules governing identification of the interviewees. | |||
| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 3 | 5 | Index cards for interviews | 1976-1977 |
| 3 | 6 | Records of Swiss-Jewish interviews | 1977 |
| 3 | 7 | Research notes on 1893 prohibition of Shehitah (kosher slaughtering) in Switzerland | undated |
| 3 | 8 | Printed research material on Swiss Jews | 1976-1977 |
| Box | Title | Date | |
| 5 | Audio cassette tapes (44) | 1976-1977 | |