Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Costa G. Couvaras papers
- Dates:
- 1913-1987, bulk Bulk, 1943-1973
- Abstract:
- The Costa G. Couvaras papers (1913-1987) consist of biographical materials, correspondence, photos, newspaper and magazine articles pertaining to Costa Couvaras. In particular, it contains materials relating to his involvement in the OSS Mission Pericles, which took place in Greece during 1944-1945. It also includes information regarding the book in which Couvaras wrote about the mission.
- Extent:
- 2.5 Linear feet (2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box, 1 index card box)
- Language:
- and Materials are in English and Greek.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item including date], [Folder Title], MSS 2002/51, Costa G. Couvaras papers, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, University Library, California State University, Sacramento.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Costa G. Couvaras papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, photos, newspaper and magazine articles. The materials are in both Greek and English. The collection is divided into four series: Biographical, Greek Politics, Pericles Mission and Photographs.
The Biographical series (Series 1) is made up of materials that relate to Couvaras' life in general. The series contains biographical materials, correspondence, obituaries, Couvaras' death certificate, last will and testament, and correspondence from his wife Maria regarding gifts bequeathed.
The Greek Politics series (Series 2) is made up of materials that relate to Couvaras' activities in Greek-American politics. Couvaras' activities consisted of the American Relief of Greek Democracy, which consists of materials about war relief efforts. It also contains articles on Greece and Cyprus, which Couvaras wrote about. In addition, it contains correspondence with Andreas Papandreou during 1967-1968, who was in exile at the time.
The Pericles Mission series (Series 3) is made up of four subseries. The first subseries is "Mission Reports and Notes", and it is made up of Couvaras' notes and correspondence from the Pericles Mission, and it is the largest group in the collection. The notes include mission reports and reports on German atrocities. (There is some redundancy in this group, as there are Couvaras' original notebooks, as well as transcriptions and photocopies of the original notes. There are some differences in the order, wording, and organization of the copies, so they have been kept.) The second subseries is "Books", and it is made up of materials concerning the two books that Couvaras wrote regarding his experiences. This includes reviews, correspondence and lists of books given away or sold. The third subseries is the "Stanford Collection". Before Couvaras' death, he sent some material to the Hoover Institution. Most of it consisted of photocopies of original material (e.g., Pericles Mission notebooks). Of the materials sent, only three items were not duplications, and the photocopies of mission reports (those sent by Couvaras to the Hoover Institution) are redacted versions of the originals.
The Photographs series (Series 4) is made up of photographs and scrapbooks pertaining to Couvaras' life and wartime experience. It includes biopics, professional pictures taken by Couvaras (touristic photos and photos of the Venizelos Revolution), War Relief organizations, and Greek Resistance fighters.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Costa G. Couvaras was a photographer, a spy, author, and an entrepreneur.
Couvaras was born in 1911, in Romania. When he was two, his family moved to Ithaca, Greece. While growing up in Greece he was able to attend the American school in Thessalonike. Through some of his contacts he made at this school, he was able to get a scholarship to Cornell University. In 1943 he became an American citizen, and soon he was serving his new country by returning to his former one. He joined the O.S.S., and was sent into occupied Greece as part of Operation Pericles. There he was the only allied operative to reach the headquarters of EAM.
After the war, Couvaras returned to the states and eventually he settled in Los Angeles where he opened a laundromat. He stayed active in the Greek American community. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 he helped form the Save Cyprus Council. In 1976 he wrote OSS: Me ten Kentrike tou E.A.M. (Athena: Exantas, 1976), also published in English in 1982 as OSS with the Central Committee of EAM (San Francisco: Wire Press, 1982), a book about his experiences in Operation Pericles. Shortly before his death in 1979, he published a second book, Photo Album of the Greek Resistance (San Francisco: Wire Press, 1978).
- Acquisition information:
- The papers were created and assembled by Costa G. Couvaras. After his death, they were donated to the Speros Basil Vryonis Center for the Study of Hellenism. After the closure of the Vryonis Center in 2000, they arrived at the CSUS University Library in 2003 as part of the Vryonis Center's library, which was renamed the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- March 2016
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-05-27T09:57-0700
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library, California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item including date], [Folder Title], MSS 2002/51, Costa G. Couvaras papers, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, University Library, California State University, Sacramento.
- Location of this collection:
-
University Library, MS 60396000 J StreetSacramento, CA 95819, US
- Contact:
- 916-278-6144