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Lochner (Robert H.) papers
2007C33  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternate Forms Available
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Related Material

  • Title: Robert H. Lochner papers
    Date (inclusive): 1933-2003
    Collection Number: 2007C33
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: In English and German
    Physical Description: 5 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 37 digital files (0.081 GB) (2.2 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Printed matter and photographs, relating to American radio broadcasting to Germany. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 
    Creator: Lochner, Robert Hoyer, 1918-2003
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    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

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2007.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Robert H. Lochner Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternate Forms Available

    Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 

    Biography

    1918 Born, New York
    1923 Family moves to Berlin when father, Louis P. Lochner, is appointed bureau chief of Associated Press
    1936 Assists father in coverage of Olympic games, then leaves Berlin to begin studies at University of Chicago
    1940 Bachelor's degree, political science, University of Chicago
    1941 Master's degree, economics, University of Chicago
    1941-1945 Worked on German broadcasts over short-wave service, NBC radio, New York
    1945 Summer Conducted studies for U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Germany, on effects of bombing on civilian morale
    1945-1947 Director of news broadcasting for radio in the U.S. occupied zone of Germany, based in Bad Nauheim
    1945-1955 Translator and interpreter for Military Governor Lucius D. Clay and High Commissioner John J. McCloy
    1947-1949 Chief control officer for Radio Frankfurt
    1949-1952 Editor in chief, Neue Zeitung, Frankfurt
    1952-1955 Head of the press office of the American High Commission, Bonn
    1954 Translator for former President Herbert Hoover on his visit to Germany
    1955-1957 Head of the Information Division, U.S. Embassy, Saigon
    1958-1961 Head of the European Division, Voice of America, Washington
    1961 Translator for Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson during his visit to Berlin, after construction of the Berlin Wall
    1961-1968 Director, RIAS (Radio in the American Sector), Berlin
    1963 Translator for President John F. Kennedy during his visit to Berlin
    1968-1971 Press and cultural attaché, American Embassy, Berne
    1971-1996 Director, International Institute of Journalism, Berlin
    1972-1989 Correspondent in Berlin for American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and Swiss News Agency
    1972-1991 Berlin representative, American Chamber of Commerce in Germany
    2003 Died, Berlin

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Robert H. Lochner papers consist largely of photographs that Lochner saved over the years, documenting his many activities as part of the U.S. occupation forces in Germany following World War II, as translator to several high-ranking U.S. officials and dignitaries who visited Germany during the 1940s through the 1960s, and as head of the RIAS broadcast service, based in West Berlin, during the 1960s. Lochner was credited with preparing John F. Kennedy for his June 1963 trip to Germany, and at the president's request, coached him in several German phrases, including "Ich bin ein Berliner." Photos of this trip are included in this collection. Many of these photos were also used in his 2003 memoir, Ein Berliner unter dem Sternenbanner [A Berliner under the Stars and Stripes].

    Arrangement

    Organized into two series, Biographical File and Photographs.

    Related Material

    Related collections include the papers of his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent Louis Paul Lochner, which are located in several collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives in Madison, the Milwaukee Public Library, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A further collection, the Louis P. Lochner family papers, is housed at the Concordia Historical Institute (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) in St. Louis. At the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, a further group of documents collected by Louis P. Lochner in Germany during and following World War II is available as the Louis Paul Lochner collection.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Journalists
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Propaganda
    Radio broadcasting -- Germany
    Propaganda, American -- Germany
    Rundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor (Berlin, Germany)