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Richardson (Donald Wayne) collection
2022C15
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Title: Donald Wayne Richardson collection
Date (inclusive): 1935-2000
Collection Number: 2022C15
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English and German
Physical Description:
1 manuscript box, 2 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder
(2.34 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The Donald Wayne Richardson collection (1935-2000) is composed of two photographic albums, maps (of Bad Reichenhall, Germany
and Berchtesgadener Alpen, Austria), a certificate to retain a captured German pistol, a patrol report of the area south of
Konigess, and a pair of Lederhosen owned by Hermann Göring. A member of the 327th Gilder Infantry, Lt. Richardson was involved
in the search of Göring's hunting lodge in the southern German Alps, south of Berchtesgaden in May 1945. One photographic
album obtained from the search includes images of landscapes in the Alps, Göring's family, hunting and hunting gifts from
Hitler.
Creator:
Richardson, Donald Wayne, 1923-2001
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Content from this collection has been digitized. Original materials are closed due to their fragility.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2022.
[Identification of item], Donald Wayne Richardson collection, [Box no., Folder no. or permalink], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
Donald Wayne Richardson was born July 12, 1923, in Gorham, Maine. An accomplished ice and rock climber, he served as a specialist
in alpine combat during World War II. Additionally, Richardson was a member of the 327th Gilder Infantry that searched Hermann
Göring's hunting lodge in the southern German Alps, south of Berchtesgaden, in the last weeks of May 1945.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains two photographic albums, a map of Bad Reichenhall, Germany circa 1940s, a map of Berchtesgadener Alpen
circa 2000s, a certificate from 1945 to retain a German pistol captured by Lt. Richardson, a 1945 report of the Patrol in
the Area South of the Konigess, and a pair of lederhosen owned by Hermann Göring.
Of note is one photographic album that was obtained by the American soldiers from Hermann Göring's hunting lodge in the southern
German Alps, south of Berchtesgaden (possibly located off of Lake Obersee, Roth, Germany), after Göring was captured in Bavaria
on May 9, 1945. Göring's lodge was searched by the 327th Glider Infantry (of which Richardson was a member) for military equipment.
The album, from Lutz Heck to Göring, includes black-and-white images of Göring's hunting, the German-Austrian border, the
Alps, family photographs, and images of the hunting gifts (live animals taken from the Berlin Zoo) from Hitler to Göring.
One photograph features an image of an eagle claimed to have been a gift from Mussolini.
"Hermann Göring's 1935 Photo Album : A Contradiction of Humanity" by Neal Walter Fortner, 2014.
View in Searchworks.
Content from this collection has been digitized and is available via the
Hoover Institution Library & Archives Digital Collections portal .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Germany
Bad Reichenhall (Germany)
Berchtesgaden (Germany)
Photograph albums
Photographs
Göring, Hermann, 1893-1946
United States. Army.. Glider Infantry Regiment, 327th