Guide to the Costa G. Couvaras papers, 1913-1987 (1943-1973)
Finding aid prepared by Christopher Rockwell
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
University Library
2000 State University Drive
Sacramento, CA, 95819-6039
916-278-6144
scua@csus.edu
March 2016
Title: Costa G. Couvaras papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2002/51
Contributing Institution:
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear feet
(2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box, 1 index card box)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1943-1973
Date (inclusive): 1913-1987
Language of Materials note: Materials are in English and Greek.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
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.
Preferred Citation note
[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.
Biographical/Historical note
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).
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.
Conditions Governing Use note
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.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Couvaras, Costa G., 1911-
Papandreou, Andreas George
Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection.
Correspondence
Cyprus
Espionage.
Greek Americans -- 20th century
Photographs
United States. Office of Strategic Services.
War relief--American--Greece--1940-1950.
World War II
Series 1: Biographical,
1913-1987
Box 1, Folder 1
Biographical Materials,
1913-1987
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence,
1940-1979
Box 1, Folder 5
Letters of Condolence,
1979
Series 2: Greek Politics,
1945-1978
Box 1, Folder 6
American Relief of Greek Democracy,
1946
Box 1, Folder 7
Articles on Greece,
1945-1978
Box 1, Folder 8
Articles on Cyprus,
1945-1978
Box 1, Folder 9
Andreas Papandreou,
1967-1968, 1978
Series 3: Pericles Mission,
1943-1973
Subseries 1: Mission Reports & Notes,
Box 1, Folder 10
Original Notebooks (1 of 2),
circa 1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 11
Original Notebooks (2 of 2),
circa 1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 12
Correspondence with Base,
1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 13
Pericles Mission Letters,
1944-1945
Box 1, Folder 14
Cables from Pericles,
1944
Box 1, Folder 15
Cablegrams - CC to Cairo,
1944
Box 1, Folder 16
Cablegrams - Cairo to CC,
1944
Box 1, Folder 17
Military Position Reports,
6-9, 1944
Box 1, Folder 20
Reports,
April - May, 1945
Box 2, Folder 1
Reports,
June - July 1945
Box 2, Folder 2
Reports,
November - December, 1944-1946
Box 2, Folder 3
EAM - ELAS Appeals,
December 1944
Box 2, Folder 5
Reports on German Atrocities,
June 1944
Box 2, Folder 6
Quisling Government Reports,
June 1944
Box 2, Folder 7
Extra Copies - Original Reports,
1945, 1973
Box 2, Folder 8
Extra Copies - Miscellaneous,
1943-1945, 1973
Subseries 2: Books,
1946-1980
Box 2, Folder 10
Book Correspondence,
1976-1980
Box 2, Folder 11
Writings & Speeches on WWII,
1946-1978
Box 2, Folder 12
CIA Correspondence,
1947, 1976
Subseries 3: Stanford Collection,
1944
Box 2, Folder 13
Most Complete Roster of Cablegrams sent by Radio to O.S.S. HQ in Cairo by Lt. Costa G. Couvaras,
May - October, 1944
Box 2, Folder 14
Radiograms from Cairo O.S.S. to Lt. Costa G. Couvaras,
1944
Box 2, Folder 17
Situation Report,
7-8-1944
Box 2, Folder 18
Quisling Government Reports,
June 1944
Box 3-4
Series 4: Photographs,
circa 1940s
