Irwin Abrams papers, 1900-2005

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Summary

Creators:
Abrams, Irwin, 1914-2010
Abstract:
Speeches and writings, correspondence, reports, minutes, bulletins, newsletters, curricular material, and other printed matter, relating to activities of the American Friends Service Committee, international volunteer work camps, conscientious objection during World War II, education in Germany, international educational and cultural exchanges, especially between the United States and East and West Germany, and the Nobel Peace Prize.
Extent:
38 manuscript boxes, 1 card file box (16.1 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Irwin Abrams papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Irwin Abrams papers contain speeches and writings, correspondence, reports, minutes, bulletins, newsletters, curricular material, and other printed matter related to activities of the American Friends Service Committee, international volunteer work camps, conscientious objection during World War II, education in Germany, international educational and cultural exchanges, especially between the United States and East and West Germany, and the Nobel Peace Prize.

Irwin Abrams, a peace scholar and historian, influenced the field of peace studies from the beginning of his career. In 1936, Abrams traveled to Europe to do research for his dissertation, A History of European Peace Societies, 1867-1899. Although the dissertation won the Charles Sumner Peace Prize in 1938 and was often quoted by scholars, the paper was never published in its entirety.

As a Quaker, pacifist, and conscientious objector during World War II, Abrams was committed to fostering peace through relief work and educational exchange programs. He wrote, "I became convinced that to change the world you had to change yourself." During World War II, Abrams left his teaching position at Stanford to work with the American Friends Service Committee, where he served as Director of Training from 1943 to 1946 and directed relief work camps in Europe from 1946 to 1947. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) File contains correspondence, diaries, memoranda, bulletins, and notes related to relief work and conscientious objectors. Of note are two travel diaries from AFSC missions--one from 1946 documenting volunteer work camps to rebuild after World War II, the other from a 1963 mission to Germany, where AFSC members visited East and West Berlin, as well as other parts of Germany, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The 1963 journal includes notes on meetings with government officials.

Throughout his career, Abrams wrote about issues of peace. After the publication of The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates, 1901-1987, Abrams became known as a leading authority on the subject. Throughout his life, he met many of the peace laureates, including the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Willy Brandt, Jimmy Carter, Jose Ramos-Horta, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The collection includes Abrams' Speeches and Writings on peace, ethics, and educational exchange programs. See also Incremental Materials for speeches and writings from the 1990s and 2000s.

In 1981, Abrams interviewed Adolf Ciborowski, Chief Architect of Warsaw, who helped rebuild the city after World War II. A recording of this interview is available in the Sound Recordings. Please note that a use copy is available.

In addition to being a peace scholar and professor, Abrams collected materials related to peace and international education. Over the years, Abrams sent many increments of materials to his collection at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. A large group of these materials was processed in 2017. The Incremental Materials are arranged in nine groups, some of which are continuations of series in the original accession of materials.

Within the Incremental Materials, the Academic Career and Peace Organizations File documents Abrams' work as a history professor, peace scholar, and advocate for peace. His work in academia often overlapped with his commitment to creating a more peaceful world, which is perhaps most clearly exemplified by his involvement with study abroad programs. This file includes correspondence, reports, notes, and evaluations related to Abrams' teaching career at Stanford University and Antioch College, his involvement in educational exchange groups, and materials related to his work for peace organizations. See also the Subject File of the original accession for more material related to Abrams' work with peace organizations, educational exchange programs with the Great Lakes College Association, and Antioch College international education programs.

These materials also include a variety of printed matter related to peace and international education, including World War II era pamphlets.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1914, February 24
Born, San Francisco, California
1934
B.A., Stanford University
1935
M.A., Harvard University
1938
Ph.D., Harvard University
1938-1943
Instructor, Department of History, Stanford University
1943-1946
Director of Training, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
1946-1947
Director, Quaker Overseas Work Camps (AFSC)
1947-1949
Assistant Professor, Department of History, Antioch University
1949-1951
Associate Professor, Department of History, Antioch University
1951-1979
Professor, Department of History, Antioch University
1953
Specialist, Exchange Program, U.S. State Department, Germany
1955-1971
Member, Board of Directors, Antioch Review
1956-1957
Chairman, International Student Seminars, AFSC, Switzerland and Yugoslavia
1956-1964
Educational Director, Shipboard Programs of Council on Student Travel
1961
Fulbright Lecturer, University of Cologne, Germany
1964
Chairman, International Student Seminars, AFSC, Hungary
1965-1967
Director, Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) Seminars, Yugoslavia
1970
Co-director, GLCA Seminars
1970-1973
Member, Board of Directors, Council on International Educational Exchange
1972
Coordinator, Curriculum Materials Team, GLCA Seminars
1972-1975
Director, GLCA-Antioch European Team in Comparative Urban Studies
1976
Co-director, Task Force on International Education of International City Management Association
1976-1978
Vice president, International Society for Educational, Cultural and Scientific Interchanges (ISECSI)
1978-1982
President, ISECSI
1979
Co-chairman, Project on International Exchange Research of German Academic Exchange Service and ISECSI
1979-1981
Distinguished University Professor, Antioch University
1981-
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Antioch University
1988
Author, The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates, 1901-1987
1990
Editor, Worlds of Peace
Acquisition information:
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1983.
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], Irwin Abrams papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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