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Marlis Gildemeister papers

Notifications

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
MC.1297
Repository:
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Extent:
1.7 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation:
Marlis Gildemeister papers (HC.MC.1297), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.
Date:
1946-2007 (inclusive)
Creator:
Gildemeister, Marlis, 1917-2017
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Marlis Gildemeister, a graduate of Haverford College's master's program in Relief & Restoration and a volunteer with American Friends Service Committee in Austria after World War II. The materials in this collection span the years 1946 to 2007, and are mostly related to relief work and aid to refugees in the turmoil following the second world war. Some of the materials are in German.

Marlis Gildemeister was born on May 16, 1917 in Miraflores, Peru, the daughter of Anita B. Gildemeister. Her full name was Maria Luisa Gildemeister, but she went by Marlis. She graduated in 1945 from the Relief & Reconstruction graduate program at Haverford College. In this program, she was was a student of Douglas Steere, who created the program. Gildemeister served with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Austria for 18 months beginning on March 13, 1946. She served again in Vienna, Austria, starting in November of 1956, for three or more months. Some of her assignments included helping displaced persons in Germany who had received their American entry papers prepare for the adjustment to life in the United States. After working with AFSC, she raised beef and grew timber on her family's alpine farm in Austria. By 1961, she was back in Peru and involved with family and business matters there, including caring for her parents, so she did not continue working with AFSC. Gildemeister remained connected to Haverford College by providing support to the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship and a gift to help fund the Douglas and Dorothy Steere Professorship in Quaker Studies. She died on May 11, 2017 in Austria.

This collection contains the papers of Marlis Gildemeister, a graduate of Haverford College's master's program in Relief & Restoration and a volunteer with American Friends Service Committee in Austria after World War II. The materials in this collection span the years 1946 to 2007, and are mostly related to relief work and aid to refugees in the turmoil following the second world war. The collection contains correspondence, reports, photographs, pamphlets, and other manuscript and published documentation relating to Gildemeister's relief work in Austria, and relief work more generally. Some of the materials are in German, particularly some of the correspondence and reports about relief work in Austria and Germany.

This collection is arranged into two series, Correspondence and World War II Relief Efforts. This second series is divided into five subseries: Work and Travel, American Friends Service Committee, Exhibition Materials, Seminar Materials, and Photographs. Within each subseries, materials are arranged chronologically.

Processed by Madison Arnold-Scerbo; completed July, 2018.

Master thesis from 1945 Gildemeister, Maria Luisa: American relief and reconstruction work in Austria, 1918-1923; Douglas V. Steere and Dorothy M. Steere papers, HC.MC.1174.

Subject

Publisher
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Finding Aid Author
Madison Arnold-Scerbo
Finding Aid Date
July, 2018
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. Correspondence and reports, 1947-1948.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence and reports relating to Gildemeister's work, Also includes a publication called "Report from Hamburg" and "...wie es weitergin"

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1948.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence relating to Gildemeister's relief work

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1949.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence relating to Gildemeister's relief work

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1957-1960.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence about a variety of service organizations and projects from 1959 and 1960, notes about loan program, memos and notes on the Hungarian refugee relief program in Austria UNHCR-related correspondence, Report on a visit from 1957.

Archival Resource Key. Douglas and Dorothy Steere's travel letters, 1957-1960.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Letters from Douglas and Dorothy Steere recounting their travels for AFSC

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1958-1961.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence pertining to work, from 1960 and 1961. Including letters mostly from Julia Branso and Frank Hunt. Includes AFSC medical exam reminder July 1960, International Seminars sponsored by AFSC -- correspondence with John Seybold, director; seminar materials, 1959 work correspondence relating to finances, 1958 correspondence about taking time off work, because of father's illness, materials about Hungarian refugees Austria program 1958, 1958 correspondence about Quäkerhaus (in Vienna), A few miscellaneous work-related materials at the end.

Archival Resource Key. Correspondence and reports, 1958-1962.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence and reports relating to Gildemeister's work in Austria

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1961-1965.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence mainly about AFSC work and Gildemeister's issues with income taxes.

Archival Resource Key. Correspondence and report, 1968.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Two letters from G.V. Catharin providing a report about Quaker relief efforts from 1951 to 1967.

Archival Resource Key. Professional correspondence, 1976-1980.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Correspondence between Gildemeister and members of AFSC in Philadelphia regarding accounts from the relief work in Austria and a new fund to be used for prisoners who were refugees.

Archival Resource Key. Personal correspondence, 1976-1981.
Box 1

Archival Resource Key. Personal records and AFSC correspondence, 1946-1954.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes permits, passports, subscription details and other personal records of Gildemeister. Also includes AFSC correspondence mostly relating to loans

Archival Resource Key. Work documents, 1947-1949.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, reports and other documents relating to Gildemeister's relief work

Archival Resource Key. Relief work and travel documents, 1948-1949.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, travel authorizations, equipment list, and other materials pertaining to Gildemeister's travels and work in Austria

Archival Resource Key. Relief work and travel documents, 1948-1949.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Medical documents in preparation of service, fingerprints, tax return, tickets, travel permits, equiptment list, and service agreement

Archival Resource Key. Relief work documents, 1948-1949.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes an agreement for her service overseas in Austria starting in November 1956, statement from Nansen Medal Award Ceremony by Director of the European Office of the United Nations, AFSC correspondence, newspaper articles, forum presentation about Psychological insights and religious growth by Barbara Graves, and other reports related to relief work for refugees.

Archival Resource Key. Haverford College alumni materials, 1948-1980.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes alumni materials and correspondece with Gildemeister about her contributions to a Relief and Reconstruction Scholarship for foreign students to attend Haverford.

Archival Resource Key. Relief and Reconstruction materials, 1951-1955.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Contains newsletters with updates from people associated with Haverford who were connected through relief and reconstruction efforts. Also contains a pamphlet about Haverford College's graduate program in social and technical assistance.

Archival Resource Key. German Neighborhood Association materials, 1957-1958.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Directory and minutes from an organization called "Verband Deutscher Nachbarschafttsheime E.V." or "German Neighborhood Association" of which Gildemeister was a part.

Archival Resource Key. Austria feeding program, 1946-1947.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Contents of food packages cards, Inventories of supplies, Austrian feeding program 1940s, including travel orders from AFSC, records of supplies distributed to elderly people as part of feeding program in Austria in 1940s.

Archival Resource Key. Pamphlets about refugees, 1947-1955.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Reports on refugees, 1949-1960.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Reports from various countries about refugees

Archival Resource Key. Reports on Germany mission, 1953-1955.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Reports from AFSC missions in Germany

Archival Resource Key. Relief work reports, 1953-1960.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous materials from AFSC work in Austria and Germany

Archival Resource Key. Relief work in Austria and Germany, 1953-1960.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

Includes reports and other documentation about relief work

Archival Resource Key. AFSC manual for overseas administration, 1955.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

A guidebook manuscript for all aspects of serving abroad with AFSC

Archival Resource Key. Hungarian refugee relief in Austria, 1956-1960.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Materials relating to refugee relief in Austria, mostly by AFSC

Archival Resource Key. Austria and Germany reports, 1956-1959.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Materials relating to volunteer work in Austria and Germany

Archival Resource Key. Reports about AFSC Austrian aid, 1957-1958.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Reports about aid received by AFSC, visits to various refugee camps/housing facilities, and supplies.

Archival Resource Key. AFSC publications, 1958-1963.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Newsletter and annual report

Archival Resource Key. AFSC in Peru, 1962-1972.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Contains documents including blueprints and supply lists pertaining to a building project due to an earthquake in Peru. Also contains a document from 1962 about setting up a program for AFSC work in Peru

Archival Resource Key. Voluntary international service assignments program, 1963.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Voluntary international service assignments informational pamphlet and correspondence

Archival Resource Key. Italy Program manuscript, 1970.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

A description of the work of AFSC in Italy from archives in Quaker and Special Collections at Haverford College, written by Louise H. Wood.

Archival Resource Key. Refugee profiles and correspondence, 1976-1979.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Correspondence with Otto Cornides regarding refugees, mainly Hungarians, who were helped by AFSC relief efforts. Includes profiles about the refugees and a financial record from 1977-1978.

Archival Resource Key. Correspondence and reports of refugee families, 1979-1981.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Corrspondence and corresponding reports relating to refugee families that were helped by AFSC

Archival Resource Key. AFSC reports and publications, 1996-2000s.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Includes thank you messages for work or gifts to Quaker organizations, reports on Europe Program (early 2000s), Solicitations for peace campaigns (2000s), A few photopgrahs, Documents relating to "Stille Helfer" trip to Germany, 1996 Magazine articles, pamphlets and newspaper clippings about AFSC work.

Archival Resource Key. Quiet Helpers Quaker Relief exhibit materials, 1995-1996.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Letters and pamphlets about the exhibition called "Stille Helfer" or "Quiet Helper", which documented three periods of Quaker Service in Germany, after World War I, during the nazi era, and after World War II.

Archival Resource Key. Quiet Helpers Quaker Relief exhibit materials, 1999-2007.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

A few materials about Stille Helfer exhibit, A few cards and photographs, one document called 'in memory of Maya Campionen'

Archival Resource Key. Ways to Reconciliation exhibit brochure, 1997.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Brochure for the exhiition to commemeorate the 50th anniversary of the award of the Noble Peace Prize to Quaker relief organizations in 1947

Archival Resource Key. Casework principles with refugees seminar, 1951-1958.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Refugee casework seminar schedules and some materials, including a text about public welfare in Austria

Archival Resource Key. Austrian Seminar for Voluntary Agency Consellors, 1958.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Materials for a seminar for voluntary agency counsellors sponsoed by the Committee of International Voluntary Agencies working in Augstura in cooperation with the United Staets Escapee Program and the Office of the United nations High Comissioner for Refugees

Archival Resource Key. Counsellor and Supervisor seminar materials, 1958.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Seminar for counsellors and supervisors of voluntary agencies in Austria, 1958

Archival Resource Key. Quaker Relief photographs, 1946.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. Photographs of relief work in Austria, Late 1940s.
Box 4
Archival Resource Key. AFSC Relief photographs, Late 1940s.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Photographs of relief workers and children in Austria or Germany

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