Finding aid for the Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police records 0112
USC Libraries Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library 206
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Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
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Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police records
creator:
Wanderwell, Walter
creator:
Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police
Identifier/Call Number: 0112
Physical Description:
1 Linear Feet
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1932
Abstract: Scrapbook, share certificates, and other documents relating to the founding of Work Around the World Educational Club for
International Police (WAWEC), by Captain Walter Wanderwell in 1932, to monitor world disarmament and provide educational opportunities
overseas.
Container: 1
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for access.
[Box/folder# or item name], International Police, Ltd. Records, Collection no. 0112, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Scrapbook, share certificates, and other documents relating to the founding of Work Around the World Educational Club for
International Police (WAWEC), by Captain Walter Wanderwell in 1932, to monitor world disarmament and provide educational opportunities
overseas.
Walter Wanderwell, born Valerian Johannes Pieczynski, was born in Poland in either 1893 or 1897. An international traveler
and soldier of fortune, he explored Siberia, the Amazon, and the Sahara, and ended up in the United States, where he changed
his name to something Americans could pronounce. He was jailed during World War I by American authorities who suspected him
of being a German spy. Often referred to as "Captain", he never served in any country's military. In 1918, after being released
from prison in Atlanta, he married Nell Miller, a Broadway chrous girl, and the two founded the Work Around the World Educational
Club for International Police (WAWEC). WAWEC was founded to ostensibly support the new League of Nations through imposition
of law, not war. The FBI branded the organization a private army with potential for subversive activities.
After much around the world adventuring, the Wanderwells ended up in California. They purchased a yacht, which was to be used
for a South Seas cruise, but on the night of December 5, 1932, Wanderwell was murdered on board the yacht.
[Source: Michael Newton, The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, pp. 385-387]
Subjects and Indexing Terms
United States -- History -- Archival resources
Scrapbooks
Ephemera
Disarmament -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police -- Archives
Wanderwell, Walter
Wanderwell, Walter -- Archives
Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police