Schaechter (Kurt Werner) collection, 1933-2006
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Kurt Werner Schaechter collection
- Dates:
- 1933-2006
- Creators:
- Schaechter, Kurt Werner
- Abstract:
- Acquired in 2007, the Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives consists primarily of photocopies made by Schaechter of documents from French state archives. These copies relate to the role played by the Vichy France government in the internment of refugees during the Second World War, and the deportation of many such refugees, especially Jews, toward Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.
- Extent:
- 54 manuscript boxes (21.4 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- In French and German
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection, [Box no]., Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Acquired in 2007, the Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives consists primarily of photocopies made by Schaechter of documents from French state archives. These copies relate to the role played by the Vichy government in the internment of refugees during the Second World War, and the deportation of many such refugees, especially Jews, toward Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps.
The son of Austrian Jews who were victims of the Nazis, Schaechter undertook a personal mission to document the complicity of the Vichy government in the Holocaust. He became particularly interested in the part played by the French national railroads in transporting interned Jewish and other refugees into German hands, and in the general subject of Vichy collaboration with the Nazis in this period. Schaechter's decision to file suit against the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) received wide media attention in France and elsewhere in the early 1990s, as did his decision to make public the documents he had photocopied. His lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful-a French court ruled that his case had been brought too long after the events themselves-and the charges he made regarding access to French archival sources were challenged by many French historians of the Vichy period, who maintained that Schaechter's assertions regarding French collaboration in deportations had already been largely revealed by French and other historians in the 1970s and 1980s.
The materials in the collection will be of value to researchers interested in the controversies surrounding Schaechter's lawsuit and his decision to make archival documents available by copying and publishing them. The materials require some explanation as to their nature and Schaechter's description and arrangement of them. A large number of copies are stamped "secret," but are not considered to be classified. Furthermore, many of the photocopies cannot be assumed to be exact copies of French archival documents. Schaechter compiled and published large numbers of these copies under the auspices of his own foundation, E.T.H.I.C. (Enquête sur la Tragique Histoire des Internements dans les Camps en France). In doing so, he often combined documents or added his own descriptions. As a result, such copies must be considered facsimiles or composites, and need to be compared to the originals. Another factor that may cause confusion is Schaechter's use of the term "originaux", which he employed to describe the master copies that he later duplicated, and not the archival documents themselves. A large number of true copies are part of the collection, and these contain significant information about internments and deportations in the Vichy period.
It should be noted that there are many duplicates in the collection, as Schaechter made numerous sets of the same photocopied documents for use in his lawsuit and for other purposes. Different descriptions were added by Schaechter to these copies, depending on the circumstance, and they have been preserved inasmuch as they shed light on his polemics with others and his research activities in general.
The collection also contains correspondence, including some open letters addressed to French politicians, and a number of writings by Schaechter, including several historical plays. Details on Schaechter's lawsuit and other activities, as well as information on the fate of his parents, can be found in the Biographical File series.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Date Event 1921 Born, Vienna, Austria1938 Due to Nazi persecution of Austrian Jews following the incorporation of Austria into the German Reich, the Schaechter family leaves Vienna and settles in France1939-1940 Mobilized into French army, trained in North Africa, and sent to Narvik, Norway1943 Father is deported and killed in Sobibór1944 Mother is deported and killed in Auschwitz1950s-1970s Ran import-export company specializing in musical instruments1991-1992 Conducted archival research in Toulouse, France on Vichy-era internments and deportations1992 Went public with his copies of archival documents, becoming the center of a controversy regarding access to these and other documents2003 Lawsuit initiated by Schaecter against the Socié té Nationale des Chemins de fer Français is ruled invalid by a French court under the terms of a statute of limitations applying to such cases2006 Inaugurated plaque at a local railway station commemorating those deported by Vichy government2007 Died - Acquisition information:
- Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2007
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-10-30 15:12:41.254712
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box 20 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of 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.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Kurt Werner Schaechter Collection, [Box no]., Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563