Paul B. Anderson Collection, 1920-1975

Collection context

Creator:
Anderson, Paul B., 1894-1985
Extent:
8 items (1 half manuscript box)
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

Photographs and a privately published memoir collected by Paul B. Anderson, YMCA official. Included are seven albums with photographs, taken by Charles Riley, from the YMCA mission in Siberia in 1920; and a privately published memoir Shifting Scenes in Siberia by Gail Berg Reitzel, discussing her experiences with the YMCA in Siberia in 1919-1920. Riley's albums specifically concern: the Czech legion, 1920; and YMCA service in Manchuria, Vladivostok, and Tomsk, 1920.

Biographical / historical:

Paul B. Anderson (1894-1985), American public figure and dedicated YMCA official.

Paul Anderson was born on December 27, 1894 in Madrid, Iova. He spent his 48-year career working with the YMCAs International Committee. He joined the YMCA staff while a third-year student at the University of Iowa. His first assignment was in China in 1913 as private secretary to the country`s YMCA secretary general.

Returning to the United States in the spring of 1917, he was appointed to a similar position with John R. Mott, general secretary of the International YMCA Committees, who was sent on a diplomatic mission to Russia by President Woodrow Wilson. Paul Anderson lived in Russia during the overthrow of the Czar and Bolshevik takeover. In 1920, he was appointed YMCA secretary for Russian living outside of Russia, with headquarters in Berlin and then in Paris. In 1921, he helped to organize and then provided leadership to the Russian language YMCA Press for twenty-six years. The Press published over 400 titles, including Russian Orthodox theologians, scholarly work related to Communism, and the original Russian text of three of Alexander Solzhenitzyn's novels.

Anderson returned to New York in 1947 to serve as the Associate Executive Secretary for World Service until his retirement in 1961. He was awarded the French Legion of Honor with Palms medal and the Officer of the British Empire in recognition of his WWII work with prisoners of war. In 1972, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented him with the Lambreth Cross for his work in promoting good relations between Eastern Orthodox Church and Anglicanism.

Paul B. Anderson died in Black Mountains, N.C. on June 26, 1985.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Paul B. Anderson Collection; Box and Folder; Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
rbml@library.columbia.edu