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Guide to the San Francisco Women for Peace Records, 1943-[on-going]
BANC MSS 89/132 c
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Table of contents
Collection Title: San Francisco Women for Peace records,
Date (inclusive): 1943-[on-going]
Collection Number: BANC MSS 89/132 c
Compiler:
Hamburg, Alice
Grossman, Hazel
Extent:
19 cartons, 1 oversize folder
23.85 linear feet
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: The San Francisco Women for Peace Records, 1943-[ongoing] contain materials from the San Francisco and East Bay branches of
both Women for Peace and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The collection documents yearly and extended
campaigns for numerous issues including nuclear test bans, anti-Vietnam war protests, draft resistance, amnesty, citizen diplomacy,
anti-ballistic missile bans, and conflict resolution in the Middle East and South America, as well as supporting progressive
political candidates and legislature. The collection presents a panorama of the women's progressive movement in the Bay Area.
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must
be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and the copyright.
[Identification of item], San Francisco Women for Peace records, BANC MSS 89/132 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Cody, Pat. Pat Cody: her contributions in health, peace, and politics: oral history transcript / interview conducted by Alice
Hamburg. Berkeley, Calif. c1986. BANC MSS 87/161 c. The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
East Bay Women for Peace: The starting of the women's peace movement [videorecording] [Berkeley, Calif.: East Bay Women For
Peace, 1993] VHS format. Motion picture 799 D. University of California, Berkeley. Bancroft.
East Bay Women for Peace: Newsletter. Berkeley, Calif.: East Bay Women for Peace. fF868.S156.9 W6.E3. The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley
Hamburg, Alice. Grass Roots: From Prairie to Politics: The Autobiography of Alice Sachs Hamburg. Creative Book Arts Company,
Berkeley, CA. 2001.
Hamburg, Alice. Sam Hamburg, agricultural pioneer in California and Israel: a biography. Western Jewish History Center, Judah
L. Magnes Museum. Berkeley, Ca. 1989.
International Peace Update: WILPF. [1995- ] Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Geneva, Switzerland). JX1901.P24
Main Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Pax et libertas. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. 1950-1994. JX1901.P3 (Merged with: International news
(Geneva, Switzerland), to form: International peace update.) Main Library, University of California, Berkeley.
San Francisco Women for Peace: Newsletter. fF869.S3.98.W6.S3. The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Swerdlow, Amy. Women Strike for Peace: traditional motherhood and radical politics in the 1960s. University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, IL. 1993.
Women for peace / Harvey Richards. [videorecording] Oakland, Calif.: Estuary Press, 1991.VHS. Harvey Richards Film Collection.
Peace movement films. Media Center VIDEO/C 2793. University of California, Berkeley.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section. Berkeley-East Bay Branch. [newsletter] (Mar 1990-) fJX1965.W644.
The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section. San Francisco Branch. [newsletter] fJX1965.W645. The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hamburg, Alice.
Grossman, Hazel.
Herring, Frances W.
Women Strike for Peace.
East Bay Women for Peace.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section. Berkeley-East Bay Branch.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section.
Nashim be-shahor (Organization : Israel).
Zene u crnom (Organization : Serbia, Yugoslavia).
Women and peace.
Peace movements.
Antinuclear movement.
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975--Protest movements.
Hamburg, Alice.
Grossman, Hazel.
Herring, Frances W.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section. San Francisco Branch.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section. Berkeley-East Bay Branch.
Women Strike for Peace.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. U.S. Section.
The San Francisco Women for Peace Records were compiled by Alice Hamburg and Hazel Grossman. Hamburg and Grossman donated
the original collection The Bancroft Library in 1988, including the collected papers of Frieda Wolff and Frances Herring.
Alice Hamburg also donated her personal papers. Additions were donated in 1990, 1998 and 2001. Ann Spake donated additional
material in 1999.
The women's peace movement coalesced in the Bay Area around the founding of the San Francisco Women for Peace (WfP) by women
from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) in 1961. The national "parent" organization of WfP, known
as Women Strike for Peace (WSP), was established at the same time. The San Francisco branches of WfP and WILPF have maintained
a joint office, the Women's Peace Office ("the WPO") since 1962. The two group's membership and activities often overlapped,
and the organizations often joined forces on numerous yearly and extended campaigns.
Many of the women in these groups developed their organizing skills working in labor and civil rights battles of the 1930's
and 1940's, as well as defending against leftist witch-hunts by the federal and California governments in the 1940's and 1950's.
WSP successfully defended itself against the United States Congress Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1962.
WfP began by campaigning intensely to stop aboveground atomic testing, and succeeded in only two years. Since that time, the
group has struggled to achieve a Comprehensive Test Ban. The women have maintained continuous opposition to nuclear arms,
holding annual Hiroshima vigils and campaigning against U.C. Berkeley's management of the Livermore and Los Alamos nuclear
weapons labs. The women were among the first to protest at the Nevada nuclear weapons test site.
In the Vietnam era, WfP was continuously involved in protest throughout the war. WfP founded several coalitions and took action
on their own. They planned programs, fundraised, and participated in marches, rallies and vigils. They aided draft resisters,
fought for amnesty after the war, and worked for full diplomatic relations for post-war Vietnam. The San Francisco women influenced
national coalitions, insisting that the entire spectrum of political affiliations be included in efforts opposing the war.
WfP has worked for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East since the late 1960's and protested U.S. intervention in Chile,
Central America, and other countries. WfP were the first to participate in what became known as "citizen diplomacy" by exchanging
visits with women in Vietnam and the USSR.
In the 1970's and 1980's WfP fought to redirect money from military to civilian use, and protested US intervention in Central
America and Lebanon. They expanded the anti-nuclear protests to include nuclear power, supported SALT II (Strategic Arms Limitations
Talks) and demonstrated against the US Navy's plan to "homeport" the cruise missile armed Missouri battleship in San Francisco.
Still active in the 1990's, although many of the women involved are octogenarians, WfP demonstrated against the Gulf War,
supported housing for the homeless and fought for welfare rights, senior rights, and universal health care. The group continues
to advocate for disarmament, responsible care of nuclear waste, social welfare and environmental policies.
Throughout the years, the women campaigned for progressive ballot measures and candidates in local, state, and national elections
and were involved in neighborhood and city issues. WfP organized regular delegations to meet with elected officials in San
Francisco and Sacramento, and maintained correspondence with their representatives and the administration in Washington. The
organization has played a pivotal role in campaigns for peace, social justice, and the environment since 1961.
Scope and Content of Collection
The San Francisco Women for Peace Records, 1943-[ongoing] contain materials from the San Francisco and East Bay branches of
both Women for Peace (WfP) and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). The collection documents the
formation of WfP in 1961, yearly and extended campaigns for numerous issues including nuclear test bans, anti-Vietnam war
protests, draft resistance, amnesty, citizen diplomacy, anti-ballistic missile bans, and conflict resolution in the Middle
East and South America, as well as supporting progressive political candidates and legislature. The collection presents a
panorama of the women's progressive movement in the Bay Area.
The collection was compiled by Hazel Grossman, a representative for San Francisco WfP, and Alice Hamburg, a representative
the San Francisco WILPF. Grossman and Hamburg co-staffed the San Francisco Women's Peace Office (WPO) from 1961 until the
early 1970's, where the San Francisco WfP and WILPF shared office space. Hamburg was also active in the East Bay branches
of WfP and WILPF. Materials include newsletters, correspondence, statements, flyers, and clippings documenting activities
such as lobbying efforts, assemblies, walks, and boycotts. The majority of the collection consists of material from the San
Francisco WfP and their national organization, Women Strike for Peace (WSP) in many locations, the WfP and WSP names were
used interchangeably. There are limited records from the East Bay WfP, the national WILPF, San Francisco WILPF, East Bay WILPF,
the San Francisco WPO, and incomplete sets of newsletters. The collection also includes the papers of several notable women's
peace activists: Alice Hamburg, Frieda Wolff, and Frances Herring.
Researchers may be interested in the office records of the WfP and WILPH, two of the first women's peace organizations, as
well as information on campaigns for nuclear test bans, protesting the Vietnam war and aiding draft resisters, women's peace
conferences, and local interest work.
A glossary of the acronyms used in the finding aid follows:
- ABM Anti-Ballistic Missiles
- MX "Missile eXperimental", Intercontinental thermonuclear missile, the "Peacekeeper" missile
- NCUUA National Council for Universal Unconditional Amnesty
- WfP Women for Peace
- EB WfP East Bay Women for Peace
- SF WfP San Francisco Women for Peace
- WILPF Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- EB WILPF East Bay Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- SF WILPF San Francisco Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- WOSADA Women Organized for a Sane Approach to Drug Abuse
- WPO Women's Peace Office, San Francisco office of the local WfP and WILPF
- WSP Women Strike for Peace (National organization of WfP)