Finding Aid of the Irmgard Lenel papers
0212
Rebecca Hirsch
The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National
Historic Publications and Records Commission.
USC Libraries Special Collections
June 2010
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Irmgard Lenel papers
Creator:
Lenel, Irmgard
Identifier/Call Number: 0212
Identifier/Call Number: 332
Physical Description:
12.8 Linear Feet
18 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1912-1999
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of Irmgard Lenel, who was born in Germany in 1901 and who immigrated to the United States
in 1937. She was a politically active socialist involved with groups like Women for Legislative Action and the Friends Committee
on Legislation. Her papers include correspondence, photographs, legal papers, and some periodical publications.
Language of Material: While most of the collection is in English, a significant portion of it is in German, including almost all of Lenel's correspondence,
papers and photographs from before she moved to the United States in 1937. After emigrating, she began writing her correspondence
and notes in English. However, some of her later correspondence, usually with her family, is also in German.
Scope and Content
This collection includes the personal and business correspondence, photographs, and personal papers of Irmgard Lenel from
both her life in Germany and from after her immigration to the United States in 1938. In addition, the collection documents
her prolific political activity (predominantly in the form of writing letters to politicians and other officials and Letters
to the Editor) and her interest in a number of political movements, including the curtailment of civil liberties during the
McCarthy era, and the civil rights, disarmament, and anti-war movements. Political groups Lenel was actively involved in
include the Friends Committee on Legislation (FCL), Women for Legislative Action (WLA), and Women's International League for
Peace and Freedom (WILPF). One of Lenel's good friends and correspondents was Dorothy Healey, the long-time head of the Communist
Party in Los Angeles, and much of the collection reflects Lenel's socialist leanings.
Biographical Note
Irmgard Lenel was born in Manheim, Germany, on July 1, 1901, to the manufacturer Richard Lenel and his wife, Emilie (nee Maas).
Lenel was raised in Manheim, where she attended the Manheim School for Social Work, and after completing her training there
she worked as a private secretary for Professor S.P. Altmann. After that, she spent a year attending The London School of
Economics to improve her command of the English language. Upon her return to Germany in the mid-1920s, she spent three years
as a magazine editor and then six working as a secretary for the publishing firm Ullstein Verlag.
Lenel emigrated to the United States in 1937 and lived in New York City until 1941, when she moved to Santa Monica, California.
While living in California, she held a number of secretarial and stenographer positions. She was naturalized in 1941, and
worked at the Veterans Administration for six years. In 1947 she was let go on suspicion of disloyalty to the United States.
She appealed her dismissal and was found to have been unjustly terminated. After her hearing, she became active in the defense
of others charged with performing un-American activities. Lenel never married, and had no children. She passed away in Santa
Monica in November 2001.
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Irmgard Lenel papers, Collection no. 0212, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Anti-communist movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Exiles -- Germany -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Germany -- Emigration and immigration -- History -- 1933-1945 -- Archival resources
Germany -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Political participation -- United States -- Archival resources
Secretaries -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Socialists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Socialists -- United States -- Archival resources
United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Women political activists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Legal instruments
Photographs
Publications
Friends Committee on National Legislation (U.S.) -- Archives
Lenel, Irmgard -- Archives
Healey, Dorothy -- Archives
Women for Legislative Action -- Archives
Personal Papers 42998
Scope and Content
Series contains the personal papers, legal documents, correspondence, and photographs of Irmgard Lenel. Her personal correspondents
included Dorothy Healey, Helmut Cron, and the various parties involved with getting various members of her family visas to
immigrate to the United States in the late 1930s and 1940s. Lenel's personal papers consists of notebooks with recipes, poems
and other writings, legal documents (including passports and a copy of her birth certificate) from Nazi Germany, receipts
and other financial records, and her school papers and references. Photographs present in this series are primarily of Lenel
with family members in various German locations in the 1920s and 1930s, although photographs of Santa Monica and Lenel's siblings
and their families in England and Larchmont, New York, are also present.
Box 5
Autograph Book 110296
1913-1919
Box 17
Notebooks
1910-1923
Language of Material: German.
Scope and Contents
School notebooks, personal diary, notebook with riddles and poems, book with quotes, notebook with quotes written by friends,
recipe book, gradebooks.
Box 5
Employment Correspondence & Records 43001
Scope and Content
Series contains correspondence pertaining to Lenel's employment (usually as a secretary or stenographer), both in Germany
in the 1930s and after she moved to the United States in 1937. Also included in this series are her personnel records from
various employers and the correspondence between Lenel, her lawyer and the Veterans Adminstration pertaining to her firing
due to suspected disloyalty to the United States in 1951.
Correspondence with Governments 42989
Scope and Content
Series contains Lenel's correspondence with agencies, departments, and representatives of federal, state, and local governments
on a variety of policy and political issues. She wrote letters to the President, Senators and Representatives (both of California
and other states), the Department of State, and various state and local government officials. Copies of her outgoing correspondence
are often found with the response she received (usually from a staffer of whatever office she wrote to, not the actual official).
Also included in this series is campaign literature she received in the mail.
Box 6
Political Campaigns 43048
Box 7
Correspondence with Radio & TV Stations 42992
Scope and Content
Series contains Lenel's correspondence (both incoming and outgoing) with a variety of radio and TV commentators and subscription
solicitations from public radio and TV stations. Lenel was an active supporter of a number of radio and television stations,
including KPFK, KUSC and KCET and this series includes a reel recording of her 1964 "Subscriber's Report" broadcast with Robert
Adler for KPFK. Also included in this series is correspondence documenting her support of the World Peace Broadcasting Foundation.
Box 7, Box 8, Box 9, Box 10
Correspondence with Political Groups 42993
Scope and Content
Series contains correspondence documenting Lenel's involvement with politically active organizations, including the Friends
Committee on Legislation (FCL), Women for Legislative Action (WLA), and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
(WILPF).
Subject Files, Publications & Newspaper Clippings 42994
Scope and Content
Series contains subject files and publications on various topics Lenel followed, including civil liberties curtailment (especially
McCarthyism), the civil rights movement, the disarmament, and anti-war movements. Clippings contained in this series are
from both English and German newspapers. While the English clippings are generally about Lenel's interests (outlined above),
the German ones are mostly from socialist and/or women's publications from before World War II.
Box 13, Box 15, Box 16
Miscellaneous Publications 42996
Box 13, Box 14, Box 15, Box 16
Newspaper Clippings 42997
Correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, and other material added to the collection in 2022
Processing Information
The material described under this series was added to the collection as part of accrual no. 2022-004. Gabriel Rainstorm, a
USC student employee, created the folder-level description records under this series in February of 2022.
Box 18, Folder 1
[Congressional letters to Lenel]
1992-04-21-1993-06-18
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 2
[Ernst Toch event correspondence]
1973-11-12-1977-04-12
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 3
[The Nation correspondence to Lenel]
1951-04-10-1966-04-20
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 4
Henry Wallace is "in it" - He's Already Won
1948
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 5
[Meeting of Minds and American Foreign Policy]
1951-06-30-1960-06-26
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 6
Outlook, Last Issue
1998-03-14
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 7
[Newspapers and letters with Jack Smith]
1988-07-18-1994-02-02
Language of Material: English.
Box 18, Folder 8
R. Scheer: Irmgard
1998-05-28-1999-03-11
Language of Material: English.
