Inventory of the Kurt Werner Schaechter collection

Finding aid prepared by David Jacobs
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Kurt Werner Schaechter collection
Date (inclusive): 1933-2006
Collection Number: 2007C4
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In French and German
Physical Description: 54 manuscript boxes (21.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Acquired in 2007, the Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives consists primarily of photocopies made by Schaechter of documents from French state archives. These copies relate to the role played by the Vichy France government in the internment of refugees during the Second World War, and the deportation of many such refugees, especially Jews, toward Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.
source: Schaechter, Kurt Werner
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2007

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection, [Box no]., Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Chronology

1921 Born, Vienna, Austria
1938 Due to Nazi persecution of Austrian Jews following the incorporation of Austria into the German Reich, the Schaechter family leaves Vienna and settles in France
1939-1940 Mobilized into French army, trained in North Africa, and sent to Narvik, Norway
1943 Father is deported and killed in Sobibór
1944 Mother is deported and killed in Auschwitz
1950s-1970s Ran import-export company specializing in musical instruments
1991-1992 Conducted archival research in Toulouse, France on Vichy-era internments and deportations
1992 Went public with his copies of archival documents, becoming the center of a controversy regarding access to these and other documents
2003 Lawsuit initiated by Schaecter against the Socié té Nationale des Chemins de fer Français is ruled invalid by a French court under the terms of a statute of limitations applying to such cases
2006 Inaugurated plaque at a local railway station commemorating those deported by Vichy government
2007 Died

Scope and Content of Collection

Acquired in 2007, the Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives consists primarily of photocopies made by Schaechter of documents from French state archives. These copies relate to the role played by the Vichy government in the internment of refugees during the Second World War, and the deportation of many such refugees, especially Jews, toward Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps.
The son of Austrian Jews who were victims of the Nazis, Schaechter undertook a personal mission to document the complicity of the Vichy government in the Holocaust. He became particularly interested in the part played by the French national railroads in transporting interned Jewish and other refugees into German hands, and in the general subject of Vichy collaboration with the Nazis in this period. Schaechter's decision to file suit against the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) received wide media attention in France and elsewhere in the early 1990s, as did his decision to make public the documents he had photocopied. His lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful-a French court ruled that his case had been brought too long after the events themselves-and the charges he made regarding access to French archival sources were challenged by many French historians of the Vichy period, who maintained that Schaechter's assertions regarding French collaboration in deportations had already been largely revealed by French and other historians in the 1970s and 1980s.
The materials in the collection will be of value to researchers interested in the controversies surrounding Schaechter's lawsuit and his decision to make archival documents available by copying and publishing them. The materials require some explanation as to their nature and Schaechter's description and arrangement of them. A large number of copies are stamped "secret," but are not considered to be classified. Furthermore, many of the photocopies cannot be assumed to be exact copies of French archival documents. Schaechter compiled and published large numbers of these copies under the auspices of his own foundation, E.T.H.I.C. (Enquête sur la Tragique Histoire des Internements dans les Camps en France). In doing so, he often combined documents or added his own descriptions. As a result, such copies must be considered facsimiles or composites, and need to be compared to the originals. Another factor that may cause confusion is Schaechter's use of the term "originaux", which he employed to describe the master copies that he later duplicated, and not the archival documents themselves. A large number of true copies are part of the collection, and these contain significant information about internments and deportations in the Vichy period.
It should be noted that there are many duplicates in the collection, as Schaechter made numerous sets of the same photocopied documents for use in his lawsuit and for other purposes. Different descriptions were added by Schaechter to these copies, depending on the circumstance, and they have been preserved inasmuch as they shed light on his polemics with others and his research activities in general.
The collection also contains correspondence, including some open letters addressed to French politicians, and a number of writings by Schaechter, including several historical plays. Details on Schaechter's lawsuit and other activities, as well as information on the fate of his parents, can be found in the Biographical File series.

Related Material

Klaus Barbie pre-trial records, Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Subjects and Indexing Terms

World War, 1939-1945 -- France
World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews
France -- History -- German occupation, 1940-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Schaechter, Kurt Werner

 

Biographical file 1979-2006.

Scope and Contents note

Includes autobiography and family history, clippings, laws pertaining to French archives, and list of historians and supporters
box 1, folder 1

Autobiography and family history 1993-2006

box 1, folder 2

Clippings 1992-2006

box 1, folder 3

Laws pertaining to French archives 1979

box 1, folder 4

List of historians and other supporters circa 2000

 

Correspondence 1989-1999.

Scope and Contents note

Contains letters and enclosures, arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent
 

General 1991-1998

box 1, folder 5

A-K 1991-1998

box 1, folder 6

L-Z 1991-1995

box 1, folder 7

Unidentified 1992-1999

box 1, folder 8

Azéma, Charles, 1994 1994

box 1, folder 9

Boutros Ghali, Boutros, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 10

Chirac, Jacques, 1999 1999

box 1, folder 11

Comédie de Saint Etienne (Daniel Benoin), 1993 1993

box 1, folder 12

Corcuff, Marie-Andrée, 1997 1997

box 1, folder 13

Cotta, Jacques, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 14

Le Figaro (Max Clos), 1992 1992

box 1, folder 15

Gerstein, Klaus, 1997-1998 1997-1998

box 1, folder 16

Giroud, Françoise, circa 1992 circa 1992

box 1, folder 17

Hehn, Jochen, 1997-1998 1997-1998

box 1, folder 18

Jacoby, Daniel, 1994 1994

box 1, folder 19

Joffroy, Pierre, 1997 1997

box 1, folder 20

Jouet, Jean-Claude, 1989-1992 1989-1992

box 1, folder 21

Juppé, Alain, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 22

Klarsfeld, Serge, 1992 1992

box 1, folder 23

Kriegel, Annie, 1992 1992

box 1, folder 24

Leotard, François, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 25

Libération (Annette Levy-Willard, Jean-Dominique Merchet), 1993-1998 1993-1998

box 1, folder 26

Marcel, François, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 27

Ministè re de la Defense (France), 1997 1997

box 1, folder 28

Minkowski, Alexandre, 1994 1994

box 1, folder 29

Mitterand, François and Danielle, 1992 1992

box 1, folder 30

Nicolas, Bernard, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 31

Nowotny, Eva, 1993 1993

box 1, folder 32

Pitteloud, Jean-François, 1999 1999

box 1, folder 33

Poncelet, Christian, 1999 1999

box 1, folder 34

Tribüne (Otto R. Romberg), 1993 1993

 

Speeches and Writings 1961-2006.

Scope and Contents note

Contains articles, plays, and other writings, arranged chronologically
box 1, folder 35

Compilation of poetry and personal letters 1960-1991.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 1, folder 36

"Die Nacht der langen Messer," 1967

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 1, folder 37

"Ekkehard," 1985

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 1

"Guerillieros[sic] in der Sierra," circa 1990

box 2, folder 2

"Michael Kohlhaas," circa 1990.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 3

"Der Putsch," circa 1990.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 4

"Rosa Luxemburg," circa 1990.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 5

"Der Skandal," circa 1990

box 2, folder 6

"Die Spinne," circa 1990

box 2, folder 7

"Ein wirtschaftliches und monetäres Projekt für Mitteleuropa," 1995

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 8

"Nouveaux algorithmes du triangle de Pascal et des nombres de combinaison," 1996 February 14.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 2, folder 9

"Le problè me de l'accessibilité aux archives, en tant que droit de citoyen et droit de l'homme, et l'unique moyen de garantie de la démocratie, contre tout abus administratif et tout abus de pouvoir," 1996 October.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 3, folder 1

"Pour une déclaration universelle de la dignité de la vie," 1998 September 16.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 3, folder 2

"Le bataillon qui a combattu a Narvik en Norvè ge," circa 2001.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 3, folder 3

"Le préfet Sabatier nommé par Papon état-il agent de la Gestapo? Sinon pourquoi aurait-il fait disparaître Kurt Gerstein, ce chrétien prussien qui tentait d'empêcher les livraisons de gaz mortel dans les camps?," Journal des combattants 2004 November 27.

Scope and Contents note

Printed copy
 

"Frankreich das schwarze Buch," circa 2006.

Scope and Contents note

Typescript
box 3, folder 4-6

Chapter 1

box 3, folder 7

Chapter 3

box 3, folder 8

Chapter 4

box 3, folder 9-10

Chapter 5

box 4, folder 1

Chapter 6

box 4, folder 2-3

Chapter 8

box 4, folder 4-6

Chapter 9

box 4, folder 7

Chapters 27-31

box 5, folder 1

Chapters 32-33

box 5, folder 2

Chapters 34-36

box 5, folder 3

Chapters 37-40

box 5, folder 4

Chapters 41-44

box 5, folder 5

Chapter Z1

box 5, folder 6

Chapter Z2

box 5, folder 7

Chapter Z3

box 5, folder 8

Chapter Z4

box 5, folder 9

Chapter Z5

box 5, folder 10

Chapter Z6

box 5, folder 11

Miscellaneous illustrations

 

Subject File 1933-1998.

Scope and Contents note

Contains clippings and copies of archival documents, arranged alphabetically by subject
box 6, folder 1

Bettencourt, André 1995

box 6, folder 2

Bousquet, René 1992

box 6, folder 3

Dora (concentration camp), Germany 1989-1996

box 6, folder 4

Dreyfus, Alfred

box 6, folder 5

Gerstein, Kurt 1933-1998

box 6, folder 6

Giraudoux, Jean 1983-1986

box 6, folder 7

Maximoff (née Sabas), Carmen 1945-1971

box 6, folder 8

Touvier, Paul 1994

 

Writings by others 1983-1996.

Scope and Contents note

Arranged by alphabetically by author
box 6, folder 9

Guckes, Johann circa 1996

box 6, folder 10

Vormeier, Barbara circa 1983

 

Photographs 1947-1996.

Scope and Contents note

Arranged chronologically
box 6, folder 11

1 print depicting Maurice Papon 1947

box 6, folder 12

12 prints depicting scenes of the former internment camp at Noé, France 1996.

Scope and Contents note

Includes one print depicting a memorial to Jewish victims of the Nazis
box 6, folder 13-46

Computer disks circa 2000.

Scope and Contents note

Thirty four floppy disks containing materials largely relating to the photocopying of French archival documents by Kurt Werner Schaechter
 

Photocopies of archival documents 1939-1950.

Scope and Contents note

Includes compilations published by E.T.H.I.C. (Enquête sur la Tragique Histoire des Internements dans les Camps en France); printed matter and other research materials; and related correspondence.
 

Tome I

box 7, folder 1-2

Camp de Noé 1944

box 7, folder 3

Cohn, Albert 1941

box 7, folder 4

Goldmann, Emile 1943

box 7, folder 5-6

Organisation Todt, Service Travail Obligatoire (S.T.0) 1943-1944

box 7, folder 7

Camp de Récébédou 1941-1943

 

Tome III

box 7, folder 8

Camp de Récébédou 1942-1943

box 7, folder 9-10

Camps de Récébédou, Vernet d'Ariè ge, et Noé 1940-1944

box 8, folder 1

Dénonciations et enquêtes 1942-1945

box 8, folder 2

Camps de Noé et Récébédou 1941-1944

box 8, folder 3

Camp du Vernet d'Ariè ge 1940

box 8, folder 4-5

Rapports de police et de gendarmerie 1941-1943

 

Tome V

box 8, folder 6

Camp de Noé 1943-1945

box 8, folder 7

Camps de Noé et du Vernet d'Ariè ge 1941-1944

box 8, folder 8

Camp de Noé, îlot spécial 1945-1946

box 8, folder 9

Comptabilité des camps 1941

box 8, folder 10

Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) 1940-1944

 

Tome VI

box 8, folder 11

Registre d'écrou 1942-1943

box 9, folder 1

Registre d'écrou 1942-1943

box 9, folder 2-5

Déportations et convois 1942-1943

 

Tome VII

box 9, folder 6-10

Camp de Noé 1943-1944

box 9, folder 9

Livre de mouvement des "hébergés" français 1943-1944

 

Tome VIII

box 10, folder 1-3

Camp de Noé 1944-1946

 

Dossiers références 1941-1944

box 10, folder 4

Z-1 à Z-55

box 10, folder 5

Z-56 à Z-129

box 10, folder 6

Z-130 à Z-208

 

Tome IX

 

Dossiers références 1941-1944

box 10, folder 7

Z-209 à Z-293

box 10, folder 8

Z-294 à Z-342

 

Tome X

 

Dossiers références 1941-1944

box 11, folder 1

Z-343 à Z-444

box 11, folder 2-3

S

box 11, folder 4-5

OA-1 à OA-60

box 11, folder 6-8

OB-61 à OB-174

 

Tome XII

 

Dossiers références 1941-1944

box 12, folder 1-4

W-1 à W-138

box 12, folder 5-8

W-139 à W-301

box 13, folder 1-6

W-302 à W-507

box 13, folder 7

SNCF 1942-1944

box 13, folder 8

Temoignages 1941-1945

box 13, folder 9

Papon, Maurice 1943-1946

box 13, folder 10

Anglais et américains 1941-1944

box 13, folder 11-12

Camps secrets 1943-1946

box 14, folder 1

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 14, folder 2-3

SNCF 1941-1944

box 14, folder 4-5

Le train fantôme 1944

box 14, folder 6-8

Îlot spécial 1942-1946

box 14, folder 9

Gerstein, Kurt 1943

box 15, folder 1-2

Camp de Noé 1944-1949

box 15, folder 3

L'affaire Tulard 1942-1949

box 15, folder 4

SNCF 1941-1944

box 15, folder 5

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 15, folder 6

Elk, Salo (Salomon) 1941-1944

box 15, folder 7-8

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 15, folder 9-10

Camps secrets 1943-1946

box 15, folder 11

Britanniques et américains 1944

box 15, folder 12

Vichy 1940-1944

box 16, folder 1

Sarraut, Albert et René Bousquet 1939-1940

box 16, folder 2-6

Papon, Maurice 1942-1944

box 16, folder 7

Auschwitz 1943-1944

box 16, folder 8

Frydman, David 1942-1944

 

Dossiers références 1939-1949

box 16, folder 9

H-I

box 16, folder 10

J

box 16, folder 11

JL-1

box 16, folder 12-13

R

box 16, folder 14

T

box 17, folder 1

T

box 17, folder 2

U

box 17, folder 3

V

box 17, folder 4

VC-VD

box 17, folder 5

Papon, Maurice 1942-1946

box 17, folder 6

Îlot spécial 1940-1946

box 17, folder 7

Sarraut, Albert 1939

box 17, folder 8

Camp de Noé 1944-1946

box 18, folder 1

Le train fantôme 1944

box 18, folder 2

SNCF 1940-1950

box 18, folder 3-4

Îlot spécial 1944-1947

box 18, folder 5-6

Coinaud, Albert et famille 1940-1945

box 18, folder 7

Camps de Noé et Récébédou 1944-1946

box 18, folder 6

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

 

Dossiers originaux 1939-1946

box 19, folder 1-2

E

box 19, folder 2-11

F

box 20, folder 1-4

F

Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 20, folder 5-7

I

Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 20, folder 8

J

Conditions Governing Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 20, folder 9-10

JL

Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 20, folder 11

VS

Access

Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 21, folder 1

Sarraut, Albert 1939-1944

box 21, folder 2

Camp de Noé 1943

box 21, folder 3-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 22, folder 1-5

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 22, folder 6-8

Camps de Noé et Récébédou 1940-1946

box 22, folder 9

Bousquet, René 1943-1946

box 22, folder 10

Sarraut, Albert 1939-1940

box 22, folder 11

Le train fantôme 1944

box 23, folder 1-8

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 23, folder 9

Le train fantôme 1944

box 24, folder 1-19

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 25, folder 1-3

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

 

Dossiers généraux 1939-1946

box 25, folder 4

A

box 25, folder 5

B

box 25, folder 6

C

box 25, folder 7

D, H

box 25, folder 8

E

box 25, folder 9

F

box 25, folder 10

G

box 25, folder 11

K

box 25, folder 12

L

box 25, folder 13

N

box 25, folder 14

P

box 26, folder 1

Q

box 26, folder 2

R

box 26, folder 3

S

box 26, folder 4

T

box 26, folder 5

U, V

box 26, folder 6

W

box 26, folder 7

X

box 26, folder 8

Y

box 26, folder 9

Z

box 26, folder 10-11

AA

box 26, folder 12

BB

box 26, folder 13

CC

box 26, folder 14

EE

box 27, folder 1

HH

box 27, folder 2

JJ

box 27, folder 3

KK

box 27, folder 4

LL

box 27, folder 5

MM

box 27, folder 6

OO, SS, TT

box 27, folder 7

WW

box 27, folder 8

YY

box 27, folder 9

ZZ

box 27, folder 10

I

box 27, folder 11-12

II

box 28, folder 1

III

box 28, folder 2-3

IV

box 28, folder 4-5

V

box 28, folder 6-7

VI

box 28, folder 8-9

VII

 

Dossiers originaux 1939-1946

box 29, folder 1

D

box 29, folder 2

E

box 29, folder 3

F

box 29, folder 4

G

box 29, folder 5

H

box 29, folder 6-7

I

box 29, folder 8

M

box 29, folder 9-11

W

box 29, folder 12

X

box 30, folder 1-3

X

box 30, folder 4-5

Z

box 30, folder 6-11

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 31, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 32, folder 1-5

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 32, folder 6

Le train fantôme 1944

box 32, folder 7-11

Papon, Maurice 1942-1944

box 33, folder 1

Le train fantôme 1944

box 33, folder 2

Sarraut, Albert 1939-1940

box 33, folder 3-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 34, folder 1-12

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 35, folder 1-11

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 36, folder 1-12

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 37, folder 1-6

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 37, folder 7

Le train fantôme 1944

box 37, folder 8

Archives Klarsfeld 1944

box 37, folder 9

Organisation Todt 1943-1944

box 37, folder 10-11

Camps de Noé et du Vernet d'Ariè ge 1941-1944

box 38, folder 1

Camp de Noé

box 38, folder 2

Sarraut, Albert 1939-1940

box 38, folder 3-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 39, folder 1-11

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 40, folder 1-5

Îlot spécial 1944-1947

box 40, folder 6-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 41, folder 1-9

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 41, folder 10

Le train fantôme 1944

 

Dossiers références 1939-1949

box 42, folder 1-3

A

box 42, folder 5-10

B

box 43, folder 1

C

box 43, folder 2-5

D

box 43, folder 6-7

Belges 1943-1946

box 43, folder 8-9

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 44, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 45, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 46, folder 1-9

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 47, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

 

Dossiers originaux 1939-1946

box 48, folder 1

BB

box 48, folder 2

CC

box 48, folder 3

F

box 48, folder 4-5

J

box 48, folder 6-7

S

box 48, folder 8

U

box 48, folder 9-10

V

box 48, folder 11-12

W

box 49, folder 1

W

box 49, folder 2-9

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 50, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 51, folder 1-11

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 52, folder 1-10

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 53, folder 1-9

Internements et déportations 1939-1946

box 54

Incremental Materials