Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ms-293: Gillilan Family Letters, Jessica A. Cromer, Carly A. Jensen, Merlyn Maldonado Lopez

All Finding Aids

This collection contains approximately 90 letters written by various letters of the Gillilan family, including Lewis, his parents, wife, and children. The bulk of the letters are written by Lewis between 1909 and 1910, but there are also a significant amount written by his daughter, Lois, in 1939. These letters provide insight into the life of a stagecoach driver and a young woman studying medicine in Europe during the rise of the Nazi party, amongst other things. Many of the early letters also depict Lewis and Ellen navigating their personal relationship as it was contested by their families.

All of …

Before Barbarossa: The Nazi Occupation Of Western Poland, September 1,1939-June 22, 1941, Lauren R. Letizia

Student Publications

The Nazi invasion and occupation of Western Poland was a vital first step to the development and fulfillment of the genocidal processes of the Holocaust. The utilization of mass arrests, executions, and shootings led to the persecution and death of hundreds of thousands of Poles and Polish Jews prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union and inception of the Final Solution in the summer of 1941.

The Constant Struggle Of Life And Death During The Siege Of Leningrad, Anastasia N. Semenov

Student Publications

In 1941 during the Second World War, Hitler began Operation Barbarossa, in which he invaded the Soviet Union in order to repopulate it with Germans and expand German territory. The city of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, was one of Hitler’s main objectives because if Leningrad fell to the Germans, they would then be able to go south and capture Moscow, which would possibly lead them to win the war. Additionally, Leningrad was a Baltic seaport, which was useful for trade, and it was home to some of the USSR’s main munition factories. When Germany attacked Leningrad, the people of the …

Ms-238: Prisoner Of War Letters From World Wars I And Ii, Kelly A. Murphy

All Finding Aids

This collection consists of various correspondence between POWs and their families, including 86 letters, 174 postcards, and about eight package slips during both world wars. Most of this correspondence was authored by the prisoners and sent to their families from camps in Europe, although it contains some correspondence from camps in Asia and Africa. The collection also contains correspondence from prisoners in concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, and from interned civilians in France and Germany. Because these letters were the main way to contact family members, most of the POW correspondence contain thoughts of homesickness and loneliness along with updates …

Besatzungskinder: Die Schweigenden Geister Des Zweiten Weltkrieges (Besatzungskinder: The Silenced Ghosts Of The Second World War), Aimee C. Bosman

Student Publications

Diese Forschungsarbeit konzentriert sich auf die Erfahrung von Besatzungskindern in Deutschland nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Sie diskutiert die Exposition oder mangelnde Sichtbarkeit von Besatzungskindern in der Gesellschaft und wie sie kulturell dargestellt wurden. Diese These stellt die Frage, wie Besatzungskinder in der Gesellschaft gesehen wurden, und ob die Gesellschaft ihnen half, eine deutsche Identität zu entwickeln.

Ms-220: Homer W. Schweppe Papers, Abigail E. Metheny

All Finding Aids

This collection is made up of a vast variety of materials pertaining to Homer William Schweppe’s experiences during World War II. Schweppe compiled various items during his initial military service in the United States, such as his Seattle Port Officer I.D. badge and his uniform patches. There are also items from his time at Camp Ritchie, including his glossary of “Nazi Deutsch” terms and a book on the Order of Battle of the German Army, to which he contributed. Schweppe also included items he collected while overseas, such as a German Map of the D-Day Invasion area, a welcome pamphlet …

"A Delirious Welcome To Anyone In Uniform:" The Gi Experience In Paris, July - September 1944, Bridget E. Ashton

Student Publications

Previous studies of relationships between American GIs and the French population during and after Liberation paint two extremes: one of a perfectly handsome American man doling out candy, cigarettes, and kisses, and the other of a rapist and conqueror. In reality, the situation proved to be somewhere between these two realities. In this paper, I will argue that the Franco-American relationship in the months of July, August, and September 1944 was one of utility and necessity that left the French vulnerable and powerless. Because of factors such as preexisting conditions left behind by German soldiers, language barriers, and material needs, …

A Different Way Of Touring Europe; One Aid Man's Journey Across Europe During World War Ii, Abigail M. Currier

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Robert Bell Bradley enlisted in the United States Army in October of 1942 as an aid man. He spent several months training to be a first responder on the front lines of combat and learning how to deal with a variety of issues. He was then attached to the 30^th Infantry Division and sent to England in preparation for operation OVERLORD and the D-Day Invasion. Two months later, he was captured by the Germans and this event began a year long journey filled with death and near misses. [1] While Bradley’s experiences cannot speak for all prisoner of war …

Bodies In Conflict: From Gettysburg To Iraq, Laura E. Bergin

Schmucker Art Catalogs

The exhibition Bodies in Conflict: From Gettysburg to Iraq not only conveys an ambitious geographic and historical range, but also reflects the sensitivity, ambition, and thoughtfulness of its curator, Laura Bergin ’17. In examining how the human figure is represented in prints and photographs of modern war and political conflict, Laura considers how journalistic photographs, artistic interpretations, and other visual documentation of conflict and its aftermath compare between wars and across historical periods. Specific objects include a print and photographs from the Civil War, propaganda posters from World Wars I and II, photographs and a protest poster from the Vietnam …

Eisenhower And Montgomery: Strategy, Leadership, And Tension At The End Of World War Ii, Bradley J. Klustner

Student Publications

In late 1944, two legendary generals stood at the helm of the Allied Expeditionary Force as it plunged into Nazi Germany in an effort to end the Second World War. While the relationship between the United States and Britain, and more specifically the relationship between Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery are portrayed as cooperative, smooth, and friendly, personal memoirs of the two men and their close confidants reveal that these myths could not be further from the truth. A debate between the two men, which began as one regarding military strategy, escalated into a full blown feud; this tension …

Battle For The People: Ideological Conflict Between Soviet Partisans, The German Military, And Ukrainian Nationalists In Nazi-Occupied Ukraine, David L. Heim

Student Publications

Soviet historiography discusses the People’s War during the Second World War, the idea that all of the Soviet people rallied to the cause and fought off the Nazi invaders, but this is far from the truth. Within the western borderlands of the Soviet Union multiple conflicting groups fought for control of and support from the people. This was especially true in Ukraine where the German Army, Soviet Partisans and Ukrainian nationalists all fought ‘for the people’ and for their own ideologies. This paper is an attempt to discuss the ideological conflict between the Nazis, the Soviets, and the Ukrainian nationalists, …

Ms-177: Lillian Quinn Letter Collection, Avery N. Fox

All Finding Aids

The collection consists primarily of letters written from Lillian Quinn to Lillian Carling. The letters span from January 27, 1937 to August 8, 1949 and focus on family health, activities, and troubles of the Quinn family, as well as their opinions about World War II and how it impacts the family.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.

Ms-178: David Woods ’52 Papers, Kathryn Shirey

All Finding Aids

The David Woods Collections consists primarily of letters Woods wrote during his time serving in the Army, stationed in the Philippines. The letters are from August 1, 1946 to September 10, 1947. He was a consistent writer and sent letters home usually at least once a week. A concerned man, he frequently apologizes to his parents, and for not writing more often. All of the letters, except one, are addressed to his family, including his mother, Margaret McGaughy Woods, his father, David Walker Woods II and his little brother, William A. Woods. He liked to take photos and send them …

On The Fields Of Glory: A Student’S Reflections On Gettysburg, The Western Front, And Normandy, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

I’m very fortunate to have had no shortage of opportunities to get out into the field and put my classroom learning into practice. I am especially lucky to have twice had the opportunity to travel to Europe. Two years ago, I went with my first-year seminar to explore the Western Front of World War I in France and Belgium. This year, I travelled with The Eisenhower Institute to tour the towns and beaches of Normandy where the Allies launched their invasion of Hitler’s Europe during World War II. Having experienced these notable sites of military history, and having taken a …

Ms-171: Corporal Luther Jacob “Jake” Thomas Papers, Margaret J. Meyers, Jenna E. Fleming

All Finding Aids

This collection consists of letters, photographs, documents, and artifacts relating to Luther J. “Jake” Thomas’s military service during the Second World War. The majority of the collection features correspondence between Thomas and his family, particularly his mother Anna Thomas, between 1943 and 1945. While serving as an MP in the Army Air Corps, Thomas regularly mailed letters and photographs home detailing his training, travels, and experiences as a soldier. The collection also includes Thomas’s military documentation (for example, induction and separation papers), training materials, wartime souvenirs and artefacts, and post-war awards and honors. The collection includes documents related to Thomas’s …

Ms-173: Leo Jarboe Papers, Abby M. Rolland

All Finding Aids

This collection consists of many, diverse documents, in both English and Japanese, about the USS Callaghan (DD-792) and other ships, newspaper articles, letters, recollections, and other personal items from Kaoru Hasegawa and Leo Jarboe, reunion and exchange program information, material about the second USS Callaghan (DDG-994), images, and veterans information.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.

Encounters With Eisenhower: Personal Reminiscences Collected To Mark The 125th Anniversary Of The Birth Of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Michael J. Birkner, Devin Mckinney

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

The general who orchestrated the greatest amphibian invasion in history, and led Allied forces in the great crusade to crush Adolf Hitler’s armies, subsequently became a popular two-term president of the United States. In the annals of American success stories, it’s hard to beat the life that Dwight D. Eisenhower made.

Yet this heroic figure was also a “natural man,” as one of the contributors to this volume of personal reminiscences suggests. Lady Dill was referring to Eisenhower’s humanity and lack of pretense. Unlike other leading figures of his day—including a certain five-star general who orchestrated the American island-hopping campaign …

In Her Own Right: A Study Of Freya Von Moltke In The German Resistance 1940-1945, Sarah E. Hayes

Student Publications

Freya von Moltke was a member of the Kreisau Circle resistance group in Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1944. This intellectual group planned for the future of Germany after the anticipated downfall of the Nazis and was led by Helmuth von Moltke, the husband of Freya, and Peter Yorck. Despite the significance of her resistance in comparison to the majority of the German population, the resistance story of Freya von Moltke is often overwhelmed by that of her husband. The examination of Freya von Moltke’s interviews, letters, and memoirs as well as a variety of secondary sources reveals that she …

Banished From The Present: Musicians In Nazi Germany, Thomas G. Bennett

Student Publications

This essay analyzes musical life in the Third Reich. More specifically, the focus will be on the Nazis’ regulation of music and the role that musicians themselves played in determining and enforcing cultural coordination. While some evidence extends into the war years (1939-1945), the bulk of the information presented here took place in the pre-war Nazi era (1933-1939). The purpose here is to show that those musicians who worked with and under the Nazis were affected in different ways and had varying levels of agency within the National Socialist system. Some have been branded collaborators, others victims, and this paper …

Ms-157: Donald Brett Collection Of Eisenhower Memorabilia, Katy Rettig

All Finding Aids

The collection consists of items relevant to all aspects of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s life and career. Most prevalent are Ike’s years as president with numerous artifacts from his 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns as well as commemorative pieces. These artifacts include a significant collection of campaign buttons, jewelry, and postcards along with other miscellaneous campaign artifacts. There is also a series of photographs mostly relating to his Army career in World War II with others from his two terms as president. Of particular interest are the 1915 and 1945 Howitzers, the United States Military Academy at West Point’s yearbook and …

“Long Live Freedom!”: Moral Motives Behind The White Rose Resistance, Katelyn M. Quirin

Student Publications

This paper examines the motives behind the White Rose resistance group. Active from 1942-1943, the White Rose consisted primarily of university students who produced anti-Nazi leaflets. By examining documents such as letters, diaries, the leaflets themselves, and Gestapo interrogations, the motives of the group are evident. The members resisted the Nazi regime for moral and ideological reasons, specifically in relation to the failures World War II, atrocities committed by Nazis in Poland and the Eastern Front, the restriction on personal rights, and an inner duty to oppose the regime.

Voices From D-Day, June 6, 1944, Musselman Library

Other Exhibits & Events

Seventy years on from D-Day, we still marvel at the stoic heroism of the men who contributed to the success of what remains the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. The Normandy campaign would, in one way or another, prove a pivotal moment in the ongoing world war. A disaster in the campaign to liberate France would set back Allied hopes for crushing Nazism in Western Europe. It would also fray the alliance with the Soviet Union that was essential to defeating Hitler’s forces. By contrast, success would mark not just the end of the beginning of the …

Ms-142: World War Ii Correspondence Of Clarence And Helen Haldeman, Devin Mckinney

All Finding Aids

The bulk of the letters in the collection were written by Clarence and Helen Haldeman between 1943 and 1946, while Clarence was being trained at various bases by the Army Air Corps, and later serving in a bomber squadron in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.

Neue Jugend - Einleitung, Henning Wrage

German Studies Faculty Publications

Book Summary: This book discusses research on the culture of postwar Germany (1945–1962), a topic that has become increasingly complex in recent years. Virulent topics such as war, destruction, homecoming, flight, expulsion, guilt, daily life, religion, etc., are explored systematically, using examples and by focusing on fiction, nonfiction, and film in the two German states. Historians and scholars in the field of literature and film have contributed to this compendium. They address various core questions concerning aesthetic representation and the formation of contemporary history.

“La Bretagne Aux Bretons?” : Cultural Revival And Redefinition Of Brittany In Post-1945 France, Gabriella L. Hornbeck

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

A sense of national identity in France is something that has been defined and redefined throughout the twentieth century. With a history that includes two world wars, the creation of the European Union, in addition the the notable action of decolonization on the part of France, particularly in Indo-China and Algeria, there have been evident increases in immigration into France in recent history. These actions have forced France, as a nation, to question what its identity really is, particularly in terms of its cultural identity. In addition to these immigrants who may arrive from former French colonies, however, there are …

Ms-123: Robert D. Hanson Papers, Meghan E. Kelly

All Finding Aids

This collection is mainly comprised of letters and telegrams of the immediate Hanson family during WWII (1942-1946, with gaps), though there is a selection of letters to members of the family from other authors and a small group of letters written from 1904-1924 to Elizabeth and Henry Hanson from Elizabeth’s parents F. V. N. (Franklin Verzelius Newton) and L. T. ( Laura Trimble) Painter. In the sub-series of other letters addressed to Robert Hanson there are several letters pertaining to Robert’s admission to law school, the bar, and the army in addition to personal correspondence.

Special Collections and College Archives …

Ms-120: Naviglia-Woncheck World War Ii Letters Home: A Family Separated By War, G. Ronald Couchman

All Finding Aids

The collection consists of 31 letters or postcards by service men to loved ones at home. Nearly all of the letters are from members of the Naviglia-Woncheck extended family including the four Naviglia brothers: Louis (14 letters), John (one letter), James (one letter), Joseph (7 letters), and “Check” Woncheck (5 letters) the brother-in-law of their sister Anne. The collection also includes one letter from PFC James Faulkner to his sister and one letter from Pvt. David R. Curry to his cousin, Frances Faulkner, a card address to Ford Peters, a war ration book, a Draft Classification Notice for William Thomas …

Ms-117: Papers Of George H. Sweet Jr. ’42, Elizabeth M. Ungemach

All Finding Aids

This collection gives insight into the pre- and inter-wartime life of George H. Sweet Jr. ’42 as a member and captain of L.S.T. 358 in the Mediterranean. It also provides general information about World War II in the Mediterranean and L.S.T.s. It further gives a glimpse of the experiences of Donald Sweet ’49 as an aircrewman in the Pacific theater, specifically about life and important happenings during the invasion of Okinawa in 1945.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about …

Ms-104: World War Ii Letters From Carl G. Ohmer And Richard E. Ohmer, Kate Boeree

All Finding Aids

This collection contains 109 letters written by soldiers in World War II. 98 of these are letters are addressed to the Ohmer family in Girard, PA from their sons, Carl and Richard, as well as a friend of the family, Ray O’Connor. 11 of the letters are addressed to Georgia Hitchcock in New York, NY from John V. Starr, as well as one letter signed “Don,” with no other distinguishing factors of his identity. All letters include their original envelope.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding …

Ms-077: Gladys Kennedy World War Ii Letters, Tara R. Wink, Andrew D. Royer

All Finding Aids

This collection of correspondence contains letters from all fronts and from many of Gladys’ “sweethearts.” It appears that she shipped her address out in the parts she made at the Depot and would get responses from some of the soldiers and sailors. Some of the letters are from soldiers and sailors abroad from her hometown of York Springs, Pennsylvania. Collection includes paperwork from a raise received by Kennedy in 1944.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in …