International Committee for Political Prisoners records

Description data TOP

physdesc

{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"7.25 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"8 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}

unitid

{"value"=>"*ZL-281 [Microfilm]", "type"=>"local_call"}

{"value"=>"1515", "type"=>"local_mss"}

unitdate

{"value"=>"1918-1942", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1918/1942"}

{"value"=>"1924-1938", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1924/1938"}

date_inclusive_start

1918

date_inclusive_end

1942

keydate

1918

unittitle

{"value"=>"International Committee for Political Prisoners records"}

repository

{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. <span class=\"subarea\">Manuscripts and Archives Division</span></span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}

abstract

{"value"=>"The International Committee for Political Prisoners was founded in 1924 to to agitate for the release and raise funds for the relief of political prisoners throughout the world. The ICPP dissolved in 1942 once the advent of World War II made assistance to political prisoners nearly impossible. The records consist of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, typescripts, financial statements, and supporting printed matter."}

prefercite

{"value"=>"<p>International Committee for Political Prisoners Records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.</p>"}

origination

{"value"=>"International Committee for Political Prisoners", "type"=>"corpname"}

bioghist

{"value"=>"<p>The International Committee for Political Prisoners (I.C.P.P.) was established in 1924 to agitate for the release and raise funds for the relief of political prisoners throughout the world. Its chairman and the moving force behind the committee was Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. Among the first committee members were Henry G. Alsberg, Felix Frankfurter, Louis Gannett, Arthur Garfield Hays, Paul Kellog, Freda Kirchwey, and Oswald Garrison Villard.</p> <p>An impetus to the committee's formation was the imprisonment of Menshevists, Social Revolutionaries, Maximalists, Anarchists, and other dissenters in the U.S.S.R. Consequently, the committee's first major effort was the publication of <span class=\"title\">Letters from Russian Prisons</span> in 1925. This book profiled imprisoned revolutionaries, and its criticism of the Soviet government generated controversy in leftist circles.</p> <p>The committee did, however, form expressly to address oppression of opinion all over the world and rapidly extended its fact-gathering missions to other parts of Europe, particularly Italy and Poland. Two other I.C.P.P. publications resulted from this activity: <span class=\"title\">The Fascist Dictatorship in Italy</span> (1926) and <span class=\"title\">Political Prisoners in Poland</span> (1927). The committee also fought against dictatorship in Latin America and for the cases of nationalists in India. Its work of appeal letters and relief funds eventually stretched to 40 some nations. Noted liberals and reformers - such as Clarence Darrow, John Dewey, and Waldo Frank - aided the committee in these matters throughout its years.</p> <p>As the world situation worsened in the 1930s, the number of political prisoners increased dramatically, and the I.C.P.P.'s ability to provide relief was thwarted. With the advent of World War II, its work became even more difficult, and the committee chose to dissolve in 1942.</p>"}

scopecontent

{"value"=>"<p>The records of the International Committee for Political Prisoners (I.C.C.P.) span the years 1918 to 1942, with the bulk of the material dating from the period of 1924 to 1938.</p> <p>The records consist of typewritten and handwritten correspondence - mainly between chairman Roger Baldwin and other individuals and organizations - memoranda, telegrams, minutes, typescripts, financial statements, and supporting printed matter, such as press releases, newsletters, clippings, pamphlets, periodicals and a few photographs.</p>"}

{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The International Committee for Political Prisoners records are arranged in three series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1515#c180130'>Series I. Administrative Records</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1924-1942</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The administrative records include minutes of executive meetings, membership lists, financial statements, reports and memoranda.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1515#c180139'>Series II. Country/Geographic Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1918-1942</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Country/Geographic Files, 1918-1942, make up the bulk of the collection and are arranged by country name. Some printed matter is interfiled with correspondence, as was the I.C.C.P.'s practice.</p> <p>The largest country file, the U.S.S.R., contains substantial correspondence from liberals and leftists in the United States including Henry G. Alsberg and Harry F. Ward. It also includes a large number of case files on individual prisoners and refugees, notably the cases of Leon Trotsky, Serge Trotsky and Zensl Muhsam. Canada, Germany, Hungary and Italy also include a large number of case files. Certain country files are particularly rich in information about the political situations in their respective nations. Ireland contains many letters from the Irish nationalist Maud Gonne MacBride, and the files for India document the independence movement in correspondence with Jawaharlal Nehru and case files for M.N. Roy and Chaman Lal. Other notable files are those of Agnes Smedley (China), Alexander Berkman (France and the U.S.S.R), Jacques Romain (Haiti) and Gaetano Salvemini and Giacomo Matteotti (Italy).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mss/1515#c180381'>Series III. Printed material</a></div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}

arrangement

{"value"=>"<p>The International Committee for Political Prisoners Records are organized in the following series:</p> <ul> <li>Series I. Administrative Records, 1924-1942</li> <li>Series II. Country/Geographic Files, 1918-1942</li> <li>Series III. Printed material</li></ul>", "supress_display"=>true}

acqinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Gift of the International Committee for Political Prisoners, 1942</p>"}

altformavail

{"value"=>"<p>Entire collection available on microfilm, *ZL-281.</p>"}

relatedmaterial

{"value"=>"<span class=\"archref\"> International League for Human Rights Records. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library.</span>"}

physloc

{"value"=>"MssCol 1515 [Text]", "type"=>"local_call", "supress_display"=>true}

langmaterial

{"value"=>"English"}

processinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Claudia Funke; machine readable finding aid created by FAKER.</p>"}

extent_statement

7.25 linear feet (8 boxes)

date_start

1918

date_end

1942

date_bulk_start

1924

date_bulk_end

1938

Update Collection TOP

Update from EAD XML File

Child components TOP

1. Series I. Administrative Records [8/1]
2. Series II. Country/Geographic Files [56/1]
3. Series III. Printed material