Preliminary Guide to the Eugene Davidson Collection

Preliminary arrangement and description by D. Tambo
Department of Special Collections
Davidson Library
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone: (805) 893-3062
Fax: (805) 893-5749
Email: special@library.ucsb.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/speccoll.html
© 2011
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Guide to the Eugene Davidson Collection, ca. 1917-2002

Collection number: Mss 185

Department of Special Collections

Davidson Library

University of California, Santa Barbara
Processed by:
Preliminary arrangement and description by D. Tambo
Date Completed:
Apr. 1, 2004
Encoded by:
A. Demeter
© 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Eugene Davidson Collection
Dates: ca. 1917-2002
Collection number: Mss 185
Creator: Davidson, Eugene, 1902-2002
Collection Size: ca. 23 linear feet (19 records containers, 1 document box, 1 oversize box, 1 audiotape).
Repository: University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Abstract: Books and papers of an historian and editor of Yale University Press, primarily relating to 20th century German history, including the Weimar Republic, Third Reich, Holocaust, Nuremberg trials, international war tribunals, and the Cold War period.
Physical location: Boxes 1-20 (SRLF); Box 21 (Del Sur Oversize); Audiotape (Annex 2).
Languages: English

Access Restrictions

None. Majority of materials stored off-site; advance notice required for retrieval.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred Citation

Eugene Davidson Collection. Mss 185. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Acquisition Information

Donation, 2002-2003.

History and Biographical Note

Eugene Arthur Davidson. Born: Sept. 22, 1902, New York. Died: Jan. 15, 2002, in Santa Barbara.
Graduate of Yale University, 1927.
Editor of Yale University Press, 1931-1957.
President and Director of the Foundation for Foreign Affairs (Washington, D.C.), 1957-1970.
Editor of Modern Age (Chicago, IL), 1960-1970.
Chair and Board of Directors, Conference on European Problems, 1970s-1990s.
Works include (in chronological order):
  • The Death and Life of Germany: An Account of the American Occupation (Knopf, 1959, 1961; Missouri, 1999)
  • The Trial of the Germans (Macmillan, 1966; Missouri, 1997)
  • Introduction to Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich (Macmillan, 1970)
  • The Nuremberg Fallacy: Wars and War Crimes since World War II (Macmillan, 1973)
  • The Making of Adolf Hitler (Macmillan, 1977; Missouri, 1997)
  • The Unmaking of Adolf Hitler (Missouri, 1996)
  • Reflections on a Disruptive Decade (Missouri, 2000)
  • The Narrow Path of Freedom and Other Essays (Missouri, 2002)
Also, contributions to: American Historical Review, American Mercury, Modern Age, Saturday Review of Literature, and Yale Review.
Copies of Eugene Davidson's major published works have been cataloged separately and may be searched on Pegasus, the UCSB Libraries online catalog.

Scope and Content Notes

The Eugene Davidson Collection contains both a manuscript section and a larger collection of books, both dealing primarily with modern German history, especially the period of the Third Reich and post-WWII events such as the Nuremberg trials and Allied occupation of Germany. The manuscript portion pertains mainly to Davidson's writings, much of it on modern German history, but also other political issues, and some early poetry. Included are drafts, correspondence, research files, dealings with publishers, and reviews.
Among the manuscripts is correspondence, primarily 1960s-1970s, with Albert Speer, Hitler's chief architect and minister of armaments from 1942-1945, and other related material such as an architectural drawing by Speer, inscribed to Davidson. Davidson wrote the introduction to Speer's autobiographical Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs (1970).
There also is correspondence with Luise Jodl, wife of WWII German general Alfred Jodl, who was tried at Nuremberg and hanged. Jodl is covered extensively in Chapter 9 of Davidson's Trial of the Germans.
In addition, there are a few other post-war letters from figures such as Admiral Doenitz.
There is very little material relating to Davidson's personal life or his professional career, aside from that as a writer.
The bulk of the collection came directly from Eugene Davidson's estate, but some materials which Davidson earlier had donated to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming were transferred from there to UCSB, and some materials bequeathed to Wyoming likewise were given to UCSB, upon agreement with the estate's trustees. The University of Missouri Press also transferred its remaining files to UCSB.

Arrangement

The collection contains eight series:
  • I. Biographical/Personal Files (Boxes 1-2). Mainly correspondence and Yale University.
  • II. Editor's Files (Box 3). Yale University Press and Modern Age.
  • III. Organizations (Boxes 3-5). Mainly Conference on European Problems and Foundation for Foreign Affairs.
  • IV. Publishers' Files (Box 5). Macmillan and University of Missouri presses.
  • V. Subject Files (Boxes 5-8). Includes Adolf Eichmann trial, files relating to Davidson's intro to Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich, and other files pertaining to the Third Reich, World War II, the Holocaust, and Davidson trips to Germany and elsewhere after World War II.
  • VI. Writings (Boxes 9-20). Research files, notes, drafts, correspondence, publicity, and reviews, mainly pertaining to monographs published by Davidson, but also poetry and shorter works such as articles, forewords, introductions, and reviews by him.
  • VII. Oversize (Box 21). Includes photographs and an inscribed architectural drawing by Albert Speer.
  • VIII. Audiotape (A6693/R7). Commentary by Eugene Davidson on an interview with Albert Speer for NET-TV.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Davidson, Eugene, 1902-2002
World War II
Third Reich
Speer, Albert, 1905-1981.
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Related Materials in UCSB Special Collections

Beddie [James Stuart] Papers, ca. 1930s-1960s. Beddie was an American scholar and Foreign Service Officer, who during WWII joined the Office of Naval Intelligence. He served in various posts in Washington, D.C., England, and occupied Germany. His assignments included aspects of research, translation and intelligence briefing. The largest part of the collection includes various State Department records, e.g. material on the German War Documents Project (post-WWII). (Bernath Mss 4).
Gahagan [G. William] Collection, ca. 1940s. Gahagan was public relations officer for the Office of War Information's Overseas Branch in San Francisco, and later was UCSB's Supervisor of Special Services in the Chancellor's Office. Collection includes propaganda magazines, pamphlets, and leaflets used both in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters of war; OWI outpost reports; U.N. Conference press releases, circulars, correspondence and photos (Gahagan was director of press relations). (Bernath Mss 8).
Gillett, Paul. 1 letter (ALS), clippings, and pamphlet re Manzanar Camp and Japanese role in World War II. (SC 496).
Hathaway [Charles Montgomery] Papers, 1912-1939. Primarily documents, reports, and correspondence of an American academic and diplomat who served in the Dominican Republic, England, Ireland, Budapest, Bombay, and Germany. Of particular note is Hathaway's April 13, 1932 report on "The Economic and Social Ideas of the National-Socialistic Movement of Adolf Hitler," and his August 5, 1933 dispatch to Ambassador William E. Dodd, on his "Visit to Dachau Concentration Camp," in which he describes the prisoners and conditions at that camp. (Bernath Mss 9).
Hopper [Bruce C.] Collection, 1913-1970. Newspaper reporter, government official, and university professor who during WWII was an Air Force historian and O.S.S. observer in Sweden. Also includes research files on Japan, China, Germany and USSR ca. 1920s-1930s. (Bernath Mss 10).
Hussey [Roland D.] Collection. Includes research and analysis reports from the Office of Strategic Services during WWII. (Bernath Mss 16).
Perutz [Fred W.] Collection. World War II era leaflets and newspapers issued by U.S. Psychological Warfare units. 12 items, mostly German language, ca. 1943-1945. (SC 631).
Snap [Mrs. Agusta W.] Oral History. Subjects include: Third Reich, Germany, World War II, Holocaust. (OH 111).
Stuurman [Douwe] Oral History. As a student at the University of Kiel, Professor Douwe Stuurman recalls his experiences in Nazi Germany and how Hitler's programs compromised the academic integrity of the university. He describes his military assignments during World War II, which led to his discovery of the Chancellery Papers and Hitler's personal library. (OH 13).
Wittenstein [George] Oral History. Includes account of the White Rose resistance movement in Germany during WWII. (OH 103).

 

I.  Biographical / Personal Files

 

Correspondence

Box 1: 1-15

General, 1920-1980

Box 2: 1

General, 1980-1989

Box 2: 2

ABC News - Interview for "20th Century" Project, 1994

Box 2: 3

America First Committee, 1938-1946

Box 2: 4

Beard, Charles A. (as subject), 1948-1971

Box 2: 5

Dönitz, Grand Admiral, 1963-1973

Box 2: 6-7

Ferrell, Robert H., 1968-1999

Box 2: 8

The Freeman, 1950-1953

Box 2: 9-11

Jensen, Arthur R., 1969-2001

Box 2: 12

Kertesz, Stephen, 1970-1986

Box 2: 13

Kieran, John, ca. 1938-1942

Box 2: 14

Kimmel, Adm. Husband E. (as subject), 1998-1999

Box 2: 15

Modern Age, 1959-1969

Box 2: 16

Park College Degree, 1977

Box 2: 17-19

Puleston, W. D., 1939-1949

Box 3: 1-5

Yale University (Class of 1927) - also includes later alumni material, ca. 1920s-1980s

 

II.  Editor's Files

Box 3: 6-8

Yale University Press, 1940-1959

Box 3: 9

Modern Age - Editorials and Index, 1961-1969

 

III.  Organizations

 

Conference on European Problems (CEP) - includes 1987 tribute to EAD on his 85th Birthday, 90th birthday greetings in 1992, and 1994 Freedom Award

Box 3: 10-23

1969-1985

Box 4: 1-14

1985-2000, n.d.

Box 4: 15-20

Foundation for Foreign Affairs, 1945-1969, n.d.

Box 5: 1

Philadelphia Society, 1995-2002

Box 5: 2

University of Chicago Library Visiting Committee, 1974-1977

Box 5: 3

Volker Fund - National Book Foundation, 1952-1960

 

IV.  Publishers' Files

Box 5: 4-7

Macmillan - agreements, correspondence, royalty statements, Speer book, 1966-1994

Box 5: 8

University of Missouri Press, 2000

 

V.  Subject Files

Box 5: 9-18

Eichmann [Adolf] Trial - includes transcripts, minutes of sessions, articles, and related (from trip to Israel, 1961)

Box 6: 1-9

Eichmann (cont.)

Box 7: 1-3

Eichmann (cont.)

Box 7: 4-20

Speer [Albert] Files - correspondence (incl. some with Speer), research files, reviews, articles and other related material resulting from work on Davidson's Introduction to Speer's Inside the Third Reich, ca. 1962-1981

 

Miscellany - includes China diary (unknown author, 1917), European trip files (1947 and 1954), Goebbels invitation (1937), maps, newspapers

Box 8: 1

Articles, 1960s-1970s

Box 8: 2

Book Reviewing

Box 8: 3

China - Diaries, 1917, 1973

Box 8: 4

Christie's (art), 1996

Box 8: 5

Durer House - war damage

Box 8: 6

Elkins Caricatures, 1976

Box 8: 7

Funk

Box 8: 8

Goebbels, 1937

Box 8: 9

Holocaust

Box 8: 10

Legal Brief, re war

Box 8: 11

Linguistics (Chinese)

Box 8: 12-13

Maps

Box 8: 14

Medals and Pins

Box 8: 15

Morton (EaD's wife), 1997

Box 8: 16-17

Newspapers

Box 8: 18

Pearl Harbor

Box 8: 19

Photographs - incl. Hitler with Jodl and Hitler drawing

Box 8: 20

Politics

Box 8: 21

Postcards

Box 8: 22

Publications, 1960s-1970s

Box 8: 23

Röhm, Ernst

Box 8: 24

Social Democrats, 1962

Box 8: 25-26

Trip - England, Germany, Austria, 1947

Box 8: 27-28

Trip - Germany, 1954

Box 8: 29

Trips, 1954-1956

Box 8: 30

Trip - Israel, [1961]

Box 8: 31

Trip - Japan, 1965

Box 8: 32

Truman Correspondence (copies), 1937-1938

Box 8: 33

UCSB

Box 8: 34

Yale Literary Magazine, 1979, 1985

 

VI.  Writings

 

Monographs

Scope and Content Note

Includes research files, notes, drafts, correspondence, publicity, and reviews
Box 9: 1-22

The Death and Life of Germany: An Account of the American Occupation (Knopf, 1959, 1961; Missouri, 1999)

Box 10: 1-7

The Making of Adolf Hitler (Macmillan, 1977; Missouri, 1997)

Box 10: 8-29

The Narrow Path of Freedom and Other Essays - includes essays on the Nuremberg Trials, Charles A. Beard, Ezra Pound, and Albert Speer (Missouri, 2002)

Box 11: 1-9

The Nuremberg Fallacy: Wars and War Crimes since World War II (Macmillan, 1973; Missouri, 1998)

Box 11: 10-12

Reflections on a Disruptive Decade - introductory essays to each quarterly issue of Modern Age during the 1960s; includes an essay on Eichmann in Israel (Missouri, 2000)

Box 11: 13-15

The Trial of the Germans: An Account of the Twenty-two Defendants before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (Macmillan, 1966; Missouri, 1997) - includes Jodl material

Box 12-17

Trial (cont.)

Box 18: 1-12

The Unmaking of Adolf Hitler (Missouri, 1996)

Box 18: 13-21

Poetry

Box 19-20

Shorter Works

Scope and Content Note

Articles, forewords, introductions, poems, and reviews (mostly print copies, some manuscript drafts and related correspondence)
 

VII.  Oversize

Box 21

Hitler Calendar, 1940

Box 21

Photographs - mounted

Box 21

Speer [Albert] inscribed architectural drawing

 

VIII.  Audiotape

Tape No. A6693/R7

Commentary by Eugene Davidson on an interview with Albert Speer for NET-TV