United States History 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 …

Our Monuments, Our History, Temma F. Berg

English Faculty Publications

Beginning with Toni Morrison's concept of "rememory" and the recent completion of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers on the University of Virginia campus, this essay explores the current monuments controversy by focusing on four Viennese monuments which have much to tell us about how new memorials might contextualize and reframe history. The first Viennese monument, a celebration of a series of fifteenth-century pogroms, was built into the wall of a house opposite the Judenplatz, a square in the center of what was once a thriving Jewish community. Four hundred years later, from 1998 to 2008, three additional memorials were built …

"I Am Not A Prisoner Of War": Agency, Adaptability, And Fulfillment Of Expectations Among American Prisoners Of War Held In Nazi Germany, Jessica N. Greenman

Student Publications

In war memory, the typical prisoner of war narrative is one of either passive survival or heroic resistance. However, captured service members did not necessarily lose their agency when they lost their freedom. This study of Americans held in Germany during the Second World War shows that prisoners generally grounded themselves in their personal and national identities, while compromising ideas of heroism, sometimes passing up opportunities for resistance in order to survive.

Ms- 241: Harry Dravo Parkin Wwi Memoir, Joy Zanghi

All Finding Aids

This small collection includes five bound volumes of a memoir written by Harry Dravo Parkin. The collection contains information regarding his experience in WWI as a wounded prisoner of war as well as everyday life as a major.

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-232: Edward A Frederick Papers, Joy Zanghi

All Finding Aids

This collection is a small collection mostly comprised of postcards written by Edward A. Frederick to his family. The postcards follow Frederick from his training with the Aero Squadron in San Antonio Texas at Kelly Field to his service overseas in the UK and France. The collection also contains photographs, a newspaper clipping, and a ring and pins from the US Aero Squadron. Overall, the postcards and the collection as a whole do not provide much insight or detail about the life of a soldier during WWI.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe …

Ms – 198: Letters Of Leonard G. Roberts, Olivia R. Simmet

All Finding Aids

The letters from Leonard (Mike) Roberts to Geraldine Smith Roberts are very much the correspondence of a young, homesick husband in love. The first series of the collection includes five letters from Mike dated 1937 and two notes presumed to be circa the same time, marking the progress of their teenage courtship. The collection resumes in 1944 when Roberts begins his military service. Drafted late in the war, Roberts was not posted overseas until January, 1945. The letters detail his deployment and military life with a hiatus between February 3rd April 6th as Roberts is taken prisoner by the Germans. …

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, …

The Great War Then And Now: Reflections On America’S Declaration Of War, Thomas S. Potter

Student Publications

This short essay explores the many impacts of the 1917 U.S. entry to World War I on the author's hometown of Pennington, NJ, and the reaction of its residents at the time.

The Letters Of Stewart Winfield Herman Jr. An American Pastor In Berlin, 1936-1941, Lucy A. Marks

Student Publications

This paper provides an analysis of the experiences of Stewart Herman Winfield Jr based on a collection of his letters on loan to Gettysburg College from the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. This paper discusses Herman’s experiences as a student in Strasburg and Gottingen, and as the pastor of the American church of Berlin from 1936 – 1941. Born in Harrisburg, Herman attended Gettysburg College, and the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. Herman’s letters provide both a pastoral and an American perspective on the start of WWII and Nazism in Germany. Herman traveled frequently and witnessed the changes that Berlin faced during World War …

The Centennial Of The Great War, Thomas J. Crafa

Student Publications

A personal reflection on the centennial of America's entry into The Great War.

A Moment In History Relevant To The Modern Era, Brandon R. Katzung Hokanson

Student Publications

April 6, 1917 is a date that deserves great recognition and remembrance in the United States. On that day, the United States chose to enter a war that it had previously so ardently tried to avoid. Upon entrance, the United States forged a new national identity that looked past racial and religious barriers with a new mission to protect global democracy. On April 6, 2017, the 100th anniversary of America entering the First World War, news and other media throughout the United States seemed to care so little about the significance of the date and unfortunately passed over an excellent …

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 …

“A Terrible Beauty Is Born”: A Panel On The 1916 Easter Rising, Meg A. Sutter

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Gettysburg College students and faculty gathered in Penn Hall Lyceum to acknowledge the centennial of the Easter Rising. On April 24, 1916, the day after Easter Sunday, an armed rebellion led by Irish Republicans seized the General Post Office and other major buildings in the center of Dublin, and declared a “Republic of Ireland.” Approximately 1,600 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army participated in the six-day rebellion. The Rising was an act to overthrow the British government in Ireland and provoke a full-out revolution. After a week, however, British forces squashed the …

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2016

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

No abstract provided.

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2015, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

From the Dean (Robin Wagner)

Avian Flew! (Peter Morgan)

First-Year Book Group

Library News

Students Help Make History Public (Steven Semmel '16, Andrew Dalton '19)

Student Exhibit Exemplifies Liberal Arts (Rebecca Duffy '16)

Report Cards Reveal More Than Grades

Interview with Lawrence Taylor: Case Map Collection

Research Reflections: Eisenhower's Correspondence (Michael J. Birkner '72)

Musselman Likes Ike

Eisenhower in Focus

Hammann Honored (Louis Hammann '51)

Rare Document on Holocaust

GettDigital: The Beauty of a Book (Rachel Hammer '15)

Focus on Philanthropy: Kimberly Rae Connor '79

Gifts to Musselman Library

Research Help Desk: Different Name, Same Great Service!

"Pray For The People Who Feed You": Voices Of Pauper Children In The Industrial Age, Rebecca S. Duffy, Jill Ogline Titus

Schmucker Art Catalogs

Following the Industrial Revolution in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, countries such as the United States and England experienced a widening gap between the rich industrialists and the impoverished working class. As a result, poverty quickly shifted from a localized problem to a national epidemic. Each country was faced with the challenges of addressing and alleviating poverty on a national scale. With a limited amount of resources, questions arose about who should receive relief. What should it look like? How should it be administered? And how would poverty and policy affect political, economic, social and familial structures? [ …

Oral History: Kathleen Iannello, Abigail M. Finan

Student Publications

This research essay captures the reality of what it means to assimilate into American culture as an Italian and how the dynamic of identifying with a certain heritage has changed throughout the years. For my project I interviewed Kathleen Iannello, the granddaughter of two Italian American immigrants. By talking with Kathleen I was able to a gain a sense of the hardships and sacrifices her family made and connect them to the information I had learned in class.

The Lives Of Soldiers In World War Ii, Caroline M. Bosworth

Student Publications

An examination of soldiers' quality of life during World War II. This is done through comparing and contrasting the letters of two different soldiers.

Oral History: William Iannello, Andrew I. Dalton

Student Publications

Research paper devoted to the life of my grandfather, William Iannello, a second-generation Italian American. His parents came to the United States during the first decade of the 1900s from Calabria, the southernmost region of the Italian mainland.

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.

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 …

Memory On Parade: The Gallipoli Centenary And Anzac Day Commemoration, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On April 25, 2015, record crowds were drawn from across Australia and New Zealand to the annual Anzac Day celebrations. This year’s commemoration was extra special, for it marked the one hundredth anniversary of the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign. Several of my primary news sources reported heavily on the festivities and it all got me thinking again about how people rally around these patriotic, semi-historical holidays even if the holidays are often distorted reflections of the historic events that they are meant to commemorate [excerpt].

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 …

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Spring 2015, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

From the Director: Open Access (Robin Wagner)

Global Perspective: Library Participation in College’s Internationalization Efforts (Lucy Marinova ’12, Munya Choga ’12)

Remembering Gale Baker

Library wins 2014 Best in Show

Summer Reads 2015 Launches

Eisenhower Exhibit

Birds of a Feather: Photography Exhibit (Sandra Blair)

Heads Will Turn: Student Exhibit (Mark Warwick)

Edible Books

Audubon Print - Carolina Parrot (Geoffrey Jackson ’91)

Life in Photos: William H. Tipton exhibit

50^th reunion Gift of First Editions (John E. Rogers, Jr. ’65)

Sharing the Past: Alumni Memorabilia (Jessica Casale ’18, Julia Hendon, Clara A. Baker ’30, Gary T. Hawbaker ’66)

19^{th …}

The American National Exhibition And Kitchen Debates: How The World's Superpowers Portrayed The Events Of The Summer Of 1959 To Meet National Needs, Kevin D. Bardin

Student Publications

An undergraduate research paper centered on the investigation of American and Soviet propaganda efforts during and immediately after the Kitchen Debate of 1959.

The Long Road: Eisenhower’S Inter-American Highway: The Path To Economic Investment, Political Stability, And Collective Security In Central America, Jacob A. Ross

Student Publications

This paper explores the anti-communist Cold War tactics of public diplomacy as undertaken by the Eisenhower Administration. The focus of this paper is the Inter-American Highway: a program which the U.S. government funded and constructed to develop Central America economically, politically, and beyond. Funding for this program was increased and supported by the president because it fit the axiom of spending as little money as possible in the Cold War, but spending it in a way to be effective in the battle against Soviet communism. The stance of the U.S. government was to provide Central America with increased infrastructure development …

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 …