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World War II Materials - Barnard College War Service , 1940-1995; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College.
The acquisition date and source is unknown.
No additions are expected.
This collection was processed and the finding aid written by graduate assistant DiAnn Lai in July, 2011.
Descriptive Rules Used: Finding aid adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Encoding: Machine readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002.
Finding aid written in English.
The Barnard College World War II collection reflects the college community's attitude towards involvement in the war in Europe both before and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The student population, and the faculty, espoused strong viewpoints in defense of their positions which can be seen in the materials collected for the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies and the Barnard chapter of the British War Relief Society. However, with events at Pearl Harbor and a formal declaration of war by the U.S. government, Barnard undergraduates, faculty and alumnae enthusiastically supported the war relief efforts and national service commitments necessary to alleviate war time shortages in goods, services, and manpower. Barnard women joined many branches of the armed services during World War II including the WAVES, WACS, SPARS, WASPS and the American Red Cross Overseas to do their duty. The curriculum at the college was changed to an accelerated course of studies that emphasized science, mathematics and economics. The National Service Committee offered courses in First Aid, Motor Transport, Women's Voluntary Services, Ambulance Driving, Map Reading, etc., to ensure that the Barnard graduate would have practical and beneficial skills to offer if they chose to enlist in a branch of the military either abroad or at home. As the war drew to a close, Barnard College was honored by the Maritime Commission with the commissioning of a warship in its name, the S.S. Barnard Victory, and later in the century, in 1995, with the dedication of a Peace Altar in Columbia University's St. Paul's Chapel to the students from Columbia University (including Barnard College) who died in World War II.
This collection consists of newspaper clippings, flyers, booklets, publications, record books, meeting minutes, reports, brochures, articles,petitions, correspondence, posters, ephemera, and photographs. These materials relate to committees,curriculum, clippings from newspapers and other publications, and correspondence about activities takingplace during the war years and the work done by undergraduate students, alumnae and faculty at Barnard College.
The materials in the World War II collection are arranged into five series, and 5 suberies:
Series 1, Clippings, 1941-1995
Subseries 1, Newspaper Clippings, 1941-1948 Subseries 2, Barnard Honor Rolls 1942-1945 Subseries 3, Peace Altar at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University 1995
Series 2, Course Catalog Supplements, 1942-1944
Series 3, Committees, 1940-1981
Series 4, Correspondence, 1945
Series 5, Photographs, 1940-1945
The newspaper clippings in this file focus on the activities and efforts of the Barnard College community to aid the war relief efforts. In addition, a few articles speak to the wartime courses offered by the institution to provide vocational training in war-specific industries.
The Honor Rolls are lists of alumnae who had enlisted in the armed services. Specifically in the WAAVEs, WAACs, SPARs, Marines,WASPs, Army and Red Cross Overseas.
This subseries includess the correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings and the program from the dedication ceremony related to the Peace Altar donation to St. Paul's Chapel in memory of the dead from Columbia University and Barnard College from World War I and World War II.
The Faculty Committee on National Service and Dean Gildersleeve recognized that the most valuable assistance that Barnard could provide for the country was an educated student. Accordingly, the college was proactive in establishing a curriculum emphasizing "War Majors" such as science, mathematics, and economics, and a selection of "War Minors" that trained the undergraduates in war-specific vocational courses in First Aid, Motor Transport, Women's Voluntary Services, Ambulance Driving, Truck Driving, Air Raid Precautions, Map Reading, Spherical Geometry in Preparation for Aerial Navigation, Canteen, Codes, etc. In addition, Barnard and Columbia University both recognized that an accelerated course of study was advisable to ensure that undergraduates did not drop out early in order to enlist in the armed services. The materials in this series reflect the wartime curriculum.
The materials in this series reflect the wartime curriculum. Included are Flyers, Booklets, and Admissions Office materials, items from summer sessions, and Columbia University Accelerated Programs materials.
This series consists of materials from two committees, the National Service Committee and the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. The materials in this collection were the working files of the Barnard chapter of the CDAAA and were assembled by Helen Baker Cushman '42, the president of the Barnard chapter.
The National Service Committee was formed to provide training in vocational courses to the Barnard women, increase social service work, and to fill the labor shortage in industries adversely affected by the young men enlisting in the army to fight in World War II. The Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies (CDAAA)was formed in November 1940 and was a proponent of providing assistance to the allies in the European war through donations of munitions and food, but was vehemently opposed to sending troops to fight in the war or becoming directly involved in the war. This isolationist sentiment prevailed until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The S. S. Barnard Victory was a cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Commission that was christened on March 31st, 1945. Since Dean Gildersleeve was unavailable to attend the launching, another Barnard alumna, Mrs. Susan Minor Chambers '11, was persuaded to act on behalf of the college and christen the ship. The correspondence in this series was primarily between Helen Erskine, assistant to Dean Gildersleeve, and Mrs. Chambers although there are other letters interspersed in the collection. A detailed agenda for the Launching event and a copy of the corresponding Program are also included.
The photographs in this series are organized chronologically from 1940 through 1945. The 1940 file houses one photograph of Madame Novotna in her dressing room on December 31, 1940, with 3 Barnard undergraduates – Winifred Beck '42, Patricia Lambdin '41, and Marjorie Madden '42, prior to a performance of the opera "Manon" which was performed for the benefit of the Barnard scholarship fund and British war relief on January 10, 1941.
The photographs from 1941 include three photos of an exhibit of soldiers' paintings sponsored by the Fine Arts Department and attended by Dean Gildersleeve, and several photos of Baranard undergraduates in the Motor Transport class. The students identified on the back of the photographs of the Motor Transport class are Anne Stokesberry '41, Janet Campbell, Flora Wovschin '43, Isabel Davis, (?) Graham, and (?) De Antonio.
There are three folders of photographs for 1942 contains photographs of undergraduates participating in National Service Training Courses for nursing and civil defense. The students identified on the back of the civil defense photographs are Florence McClurg '44, Mary Jane Graham '42, Monica Wyatt '44, Joann McQuiston '42, Evelyn Kelley '43 and Gloria Monahan '44.
Folder #5.d. contains several photographs depicting a War Bond Drive at Barnard on 4/13/1942 with participants Dean Gildersleeve and Pauline Washburn, chairman of the student committee.
Folder #5.e. houses photographs showing National Service Training Courses in Airplane Spotting taught by Warren Lane and Lawrence Campbell and attended by several Barnard students including Glafyra Fernandez '42.
In addition, there are photos depicting Control Room Procedures and Mapping, American Red Cross Training with instructress Mrs. Stuart Crocker and students Enia Alter, Anne Stubblefield, and Mary Hayes, Motor Mechanics with instructor Mr. Cohman and student Nathalie Fallon '43, and Technique of Public Discussion.
Two folders house the World War II photographs for 1943. Folder #5.f. contains several pictures pertaining to the Technique of Fingerprinting course included in the National Service Training. The instructor was Mrs. E. M. Hirshberg and Barnard students identified on the back of the photos were Denise Donegan, Olga Dietz, Martha Livesay and Virginia Harrington. Dean Virginia Gildersleeve is also photographed being fingerprinted. One photograph in this folder shows a victory gardener in the summer of 1943. Folder #5.g. includes photos of Dean Gildersleeve attending a New York Times Conference on 10/7/1943, Dean Gildersleeve with the leaders of several of the branches of the Women's Armed Services at Barnard College on 11/30/1943. There are two photographs of members of the U.S. Naval Training School and band at Barnard in 1943, and a photo that includes undergraduate Ruth Lyttle '44.
In the 1945 folder there are photographs showing the ceremony and launching of the SS Barnard Victory in Richmond, California, on 3/31/1945. Mrs. Susan Chambers '11, Barnard alumna, was the college representative for the ceremony. Additionally, there are photos of Dean Gildersleeve at events with several members of the armed services.