Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred Citation

Diary (Germany), Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information

The materials were acquired by Special Collections Research Center on 08/31/2009.

Processing Information

Accessioned and processed in August 2009 by Ute Schechter.

Scope and Contents

Diary of an unidentified  member of the U.S. Army, who spent 1943-1945 in Germany as an interpreter. He describes the trip from New York City to Europe, training in England, and finally his tour of duty in the Rhineland, passing through France and Belgium on the way.German cities mentioned are Aachen, Duisburg, Muelheim and Essen. The author was accompanying a battalion of engineers and he describes their work on bridges, checking for sabotage like mines and booby traps. He also talks about meeting and questioning locals, and gives descriptions of the destruction and conditions he encounters.

Index Terms

Genre/Form of Material:

• Diaries

Geographic Name:

• Germany--History--Allied occupation, 1945-

Topical Term:

• World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Aachen
• World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Duisburg
• World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Essen
• World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Muelheim an der Ruhr Region
• World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Ruhr (Region)

Additional Information