Germans in Chicago: Special Collections and University Archives

The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations was organized in 1922 as a forum for the discussion of foreign affairs. Since 1922, the Council has sponsored well known American and international speakers and has published pamphlets on issues in foreign affairs. The collection consists of conference programs, minutes, public addresses, financial records, press releases, newspaper clippings, published material, and photographs. The materials pertain to issues in American foreign policy as well as to the functioning of the organization.

The Chicago German Hod Carriers' Union and Benevolent Society was founded in 1886. It was a charitable organization and trade union for construction workers of German descent in Chicago. The collection consists of constitutions, bylaws, insurance policies, agreements, contractor's statements, property documents, and various publications of the International Hod Carriers' Building and Common Laborer's Union. The materials relate to the administration of the organization.

Franz Joseph Beidel (d. 1943) was a native of Germany who became an American citizen in 1904. He was a musician, composer and choral director in Chicago. Franz Joseph Beidel (d. 1943) was a native of Germany who became an American citizen in 1904. He was a musician, composer and choral director in Chicago. This collection contains correspondence between Beidel and his wife Elisabeth Hentsch Beidel before and after their marriage. It also contains other correspondence and personal documents.

On July 25, 1938, the German-American League for Culture was incorporated under the laws of Illinois. At that time its stated goal was "... to oppose by lawful means subversive propaganda against the Constitution of the United States of America, and to its guarantees of liberty, of free press, free speech and free assembly, and further all cultural achievements of the American citizens of German origin and to disseminate American principles of liberty to German Americans." The collection contains nearly a complete run of the Volksfront (1935-1939), an account book, the articles of incorporation, German theses, German poetry, political memorabilia, brochures, newspaper clippings, notebooks, and scrapbooks of the German-American League for Culture, as well as notebooks and other personal memorabilia belonging to Eric Von Schroetter.

The German Aid Society, Deutsche Gesellschaft von Chicago, was established in 1854 to assist German-speaking immigrants in Chicago. The society was financed through private contributions in the form of membership fees and through larger donations from German industrialists. It provided small sums of money, clothing, and health care expenses to German-speakers in need. It also operated a small employment office. The German Aid Society, Deutsche Gesellschaft von Chicago, was established in 1854 to assist German-speaking immigrants in Chicago. The collection consists of correspondence, minutes, financial records, case histories, policy statements, and annual reports.

The German American National Congress (Deutsch-Amerikanischer Nationa-Kongress), a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of Illinois, was founded in 1958 with its main headquarters in Chicago. The goals of the organization included the fostering of friendship between the U.S.A. and Germany, unity of all Germany-Americans, reunification of Germany, the countering of anti-German propaganda, and the cultivation and preservation of the German heritage, culture and language. Membership is open to American citizens of German extraction, regardless of sex, or political/religious affiliation. The collection contains administrative documents and the newsletter of the German American National Congress.

The Germania Club was founded in Chicago in 1865 and incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1869. The Club's stated purpose is to bring together American citizens of German extraction, to foster and perpetuate German cultural ideals, and Gemuetlichkeit. The Germania Club Collection consists of an illustrated centennial book that includes information about the history, membership, and activities of the Germania Club, the centennial issue of the club's newsletter, and a brochure that discusses the April 25, 1965 Lincoln Centennial event observed by the club in Chicago.

The German Literary Society of Chicago or Literarische Gesellschaft Chicago was organized to foster the study and appreciation of German language, literature, philosophy and art. The German Literary Society of Chicago Collection includes articles of incorporation, by-laws, lectures, notes, correspondence, flyers, bulletins, minutes, historical material, a membership list, and printed schedules for lectures.

HOSPITES was established in 1933 to render assistance to German social work colleagues, both Jewish and Christian. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, receipts, Executive Committee meeting minutes, and a report.

Hunt Unger was a German national who immigrated to the United States prior to World War II. He became a successful business executive and maintained an interest in the Allied war effort, and later in the American Democratic leadership. This collection consists of printed material, newspaper clippings, copies of correspondence, proceedings, and annual reports [National Archives and Records Service, The Franklin Roosevelt Library, 1943-1948, 1955] pertaining to the presidential campaigns of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his three successive terms of office; the political thought of Henry Agard Wallace; the Marshall Plan; the Great Depression of 1929; the Democratic Party in the U.S.; the Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York; and Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois.

Mary Hastings Bradley (1882-1976) was a Chicago author, lecturer, journalist and traveler. Bradley was the author of numerous pieces of short fiction and novels, several of which were inspired by her expeditions to Africa in the 1920s. In 1945, Bradley became a war correspondent for Colliers Magazine reporting on women in the military in Italy, France, and Germany. Her experiences touring concentration camps after the close of the war became the basis for a feature series on the Holocaust. Mrs. Bradley was also an active clubwoman in Chicago and was one of the few female presidents of the Society of Midland Authors. The collection contains correspondence, notebooks, diaries, clippings, photographs, published and unpublished writing, speeches, and subject files. The materials pertain to Bradley's travels in Africa, the Second World War in Europe, Chicago social and philanthropic organizations, and Bradley's career as a writer and lecturer.

Richard F. Casper graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science Degree from the Division of Special Services for War Veterans in 1949. Later in 1949 he began a career in the U.S. Army that spanned over 20 years. In 1961 he received his Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Illinois -Champaign Urbana. Casper was an avid collector of military history and memorabilia. His interests included the history of military uniforms, insignia, flags maps and weaponry. He was a member of the Military Miniature Society of Illinois, one of the country's largest and most important military miniaturist's organizations. His collections of miniatures are hand painted and represent troops from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution War. Richard E. Casper of Evanston, Illinois was a military historian who served in the US Army from 1949 to 1965.

Rudolf Beck lived from 1891 to 1972. He grew up in Vienna, where he also attended college and studied music under S. Storch, Guido Peters, and Joseph Hellmesberger. At some time, possibly in the late 1930s, he moved to the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois. Beck taught music, and several of his students went on to become well-known pianists, including Julius Buerger and Egils Elgut. Beck himself performed at several venues. In Europe, he traveled with the Sing Spiel Film Company. In Chicago, he performed at the Operahouse and at the Theater at McCormick Place. Additionally, Beck was an artist and at one time exhibited many of his paintings at the Todros Geller Art Gallery in Chicago.

The Swiss Benevolent Society of Chicago (Schweizer Wohltaetigkeits-Gesellshaft von Chicago) is a charitable organization providing assistance to people of Swiss descent in the Chicago area. The Swiss Benevolent Society of Chicago Records include annual reports, by-laws, correspondence, financial records and agreements, membership lists, minutes, and Swiss government publications spanning the years 1922-1989.

The Swiss Singing Society of Chicago was created during the U.S. Civil War. This organization, also known as the Schweizer Mannerchor and Swiss Male Chorus of Chicago, Inc., has played an active role in a number of local, state, and national cultural events such as the National Saengerfest of the Swiss American Singing Alliance. The Swiss Singing Society Records include bound ledgers, handwritten notes, financial records, membership information, attendance lists, song sheets, photographs, souvenir books, programs, certificates, awards, and issues of Der Jingo.

Semimonthly
v.49(2003)

v.1:no.1(2003)
v.1:no.3(2003)-v.1:no.12(2003)
v.2(2004)-v.5(2007)

Monthly
v.1(1948)-v.32(1979)

Quarterly
no.1, no.4-no.6, no.9
no.10/11-no.12/13

Quarterly
no.74(1968/1968)
no.75(1969)-no.79/80(1970),
no.83(1971)-no.104(1976),
no.106(1977)-no.143(1986),
no.145(1987)-no.240(2010)

no.2(1966)