Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Dobriansky, Lev E.
- Abstract:
- Correspondence, messages, pamphlets, programs, proclamations, reports, resolutions, sound recordings, photographs, and clippings relating to American foreign policy, the National Captive Nations Committee, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, China, and Mao Zedong.
- Extent:
- 10 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 video cassette, 1 sound tape reel (5.3 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Lev E. Dobriansky papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Lev E. Dobriansky collection includes correspondence, messages, pamphlets, programs, proclamations, reports, congressional records, resolutions, photographs, and newspaper clippings relating to American foreign policy, the National Captive Nations Committee, the American Council for World Freedom, the Ukrainian Congress Committee, and the United States and China after Mao Conference Committee.
The Correspondence series includes incoming and outgoing letters from Dobriansky relating to his work with the Captive Nations Committee, the Ukrainian Congress Committee, and the American Council for World Freedom, as well as personal correspondence with friends and family members. Notable persons featured in the correspondence include Jimmy Carter, Jacqueline Cochran, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and Harry S. Truman.
The bulk of the papers are related to the National Captive Nations Committee and its efforts to advocate and lobby for nations controlled by non-democratic regimes. The National Captive Nations Committee File includes correspondence, memoranda, press releases, proclamations, resolutions, programs, general letters, and newspaper clippings relating to passing the annual Captive Nations Resolution through Congress, establishing celebrations for Captive Nations Week, and the struggles the Committee faced to fight for captive nations. The Speeches and Writings series captures Dobriansky's extensive efforts to advocate for non-democratic nations outside of the Committee. The majority of the speeches were delivered at congressional hearings and anti-communist conferences.
The collection also includes correspondence, newsletters, press releases, appeals, and memoranda from the years Dobriansky was involved with the American Council of World Freedom, the Ukrainian Congress Committee, and the United States and China after Mao Conference Committee.
The Printed Matter series includes pamphlets, newsletters, reports, press releases, and conference programs related to Dobriansky's support for other national anti-communist organizations and his close friendships with various members of Congress. Also included are copies of the Congressional Record, spanning the years 1959 to 1980, capturing the years Dobriansky spent advocating for captive nations to Congress.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Lev E. Dobriansky was an Ukrainian-American economist, anti-communist advocate, professor, and author, as well as president and/or chairman for the National Captive Nations Committee, American Council for World Freedom, Ukrainian Congress Committee, and the United States and China after Mao Conference Committee.
Dobriansky received his PhD from New York University in 1951 and taught economics at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. from 1948 until his retirement in 1987. He founded the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems in 1970 at Georgetown and taught courses on topics such as Soviet economics. Dobriansky also served on committees in the U.S. Congress and the American Security Council and acted as a consultant for the United States Department of State, the United States House of Representatives, and the Institute for American Strategy.
In 1959, he wrote the first Captive Nations Resolution, Public Law 86-90, which was signed into law by Dwight D. Eisenhower. This established the National Captive Nations Committee and introduced Captive Nations Week and the Captive Nations List, with the purpose of raising awareness of, and lobbying for, nations under non-democratic regimes, primarily Soviet-communist rule. Dobriansky remained president of the Committee for many years, and as a result of his activism, the resolution was proclaimed every year by each successive president from 1959 until 2008.
Dobriansky remained very active in Central and Eastern European ethnic communities throughout his life, serving as the president for the Ukrainian Congress Committee and as chairman for the American Council for World Freedom and the United States and China after Mao Conference Committee. Dobriansky spent the last years of his life fighting for captive nations, founding memorials for captive nations in Washington D.C., and finally, serving as the Ambassador to the Bahamas. He died in 2008.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1978.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
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], Lev E. Dobriansky papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563