William L. Shirer Papers (Working draft last updated 19 October 2016) More information about Shirer can be found here: Coe LibGuides William L Shirer Papers William Shirer Reporting from Compiègne, June 21, 1940 The William L. Shirer Papers finding aid is a working draft. If you have any questions concerning the finding aid or William L. Shirer collection please contact Jill Jack ([email protected], 319.399.8017). Major funding for support of the Shirer Archives and Papers is provided through the generosity of Alan M. and Ann M. Anderson Class of 1978 and 1981 Collection Summary Creator: William L. Shirer (1904-1993) Dates: 1919-1993 Collection Number: zz2006.1 Quantity: 150 linear feet (approximate) Repository: George T. Henry College Archives, Stewart Memorial Library, Coe College Copyright: Copyright is retained by the Shirer family Restrictions on Access: Unrestricted Abstract: William Shirer was a journalist, news correspondent, and writer. He is most known for his broadcasts from Berlin during World War II, and for his books about that time period, most notably Berlin Diary, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and The Nightmare Years. Shirer was also one of only two western correspondents to cover the beginning of India's independence movement and whom Gandhi allowed into his inner circle. Shirer's collection contains diaries, broadcasts, manuscripts (fiction & non- fiction), news articles, lectures, correspondence, and other writings. This collection includes both Shirer's published and unpublished works. Language: English [bulk], German, French Biographic Note William L. Shirer (1904-1993) was a diarist, journalist, historian, novelist, and playwright. He was born in Chicago but, upon the death of his father in 1913, Shirer and his mother moved to his mother's hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There he attained his high school degree from Washington High (1921) and his Bachelor's Degree from Coe College (1925). Upon graduation Shirer immediately left for Europe where he became a copywriter for the Paris Tribune. In 1927 he became a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and in 1929 was promoted to Chief of the Central European Bureau. Over the next few years Shirer reported on India's independence movement, becoming one of the few western journalists with access to Mahatma Gandhi's inner circle. In 1934, Shirer became chief of the Berlin bureau for the Universal News Service and in 1937 moved to Vienna as CBS's European correspondent. The following year, Edward R. Murrow and Shirer began their now famous radio broadcasts as part of the European News Roundup, Murrow Reporting from London and Shirer from Berlin. As the war expanded throughout Europe, Shirer continued his broadcasts under heavy censorship from the German government. Shirer believed he was going to be arrested when he left Germany in December of 1940. After he returned to the United States he continued broadcasting for CBS and writing for the New York Herald Tribune. During this time he published his first book, Berlin Diary (1941), which became a best seller. In a dispute with CBS, Shirer quit the station in 1947, and joined the Mutual Broadcasting System. He continued to write both fiction and non-fiction, and in 1960 published The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich which won the National Book Award in 1961. William Shirer continued to write until his death in 1993. Some of his works include: End of a Berlin Diary, The Traitor, Stranger Come Home, The Collapse of the Third Republic, Twentieth Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times (three volume autobiography), Gandhi: a memoir, and Love & Hatred: The Troubled Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy. In all, Shirer published sixteen titles, thirteen non-fiction and three fiction works. Series List (click series title for more information) Series 1: Writings - Published & Unpublished Series 1 (top) Manuscripts Prose (articles, reviews, scripts, and other miscellaneous writings) Journalist/Correspondent (broadcasts, columns, speeches and other professional writings) Miscellaneous (unfinished works, ideas, research, and other miscellaneous notes) Series 2: Correspondence Series 2 (top) General Correspondence By Year (1920s-1990s in chronological order) General Correspondence A-Z (labeled by: correspondant's name, organization name, event, or book title for fan mail) Personal Correspondence (1940s-1990s labeled by Shirer) Series 3: General Files Series 3 (top) Series 3: General Files A-Z A-H I-Z Series 4: Diaries 1919-1993 Series 4 (top) Loose Pages 1920-1997 Garden Log 1971-1990 Bound Diaries 1919-1964 Address Books/Daily Diaries Calendar/To-do lists Series 5: Printed Material (collected by & about Shirer) Series 5 (top) Articles, Brochures, Pamphlets (incl. journals, magazines and reprints) Books (gifted to Shirer) Businesses (published by companies) Colleges & Universities (published by educational institutions) Governments (created by government entities) Organizations Other Material Series 6: Scrapbooks, Newspapers Series 7: Multimedia Series 8: Photographs Series 8 (top) Photographs from Correspondence (organized by year & A-Z) Photographs from General Files & Notes (includes book notes & articles) Promotional Photographs Personal Photographs Series 9: Awards & Honors ( this series has not yet been added to the finding aid. it includes 1 box.) Series 1: Writings – Published & Unpublished Manuscripts All The deaths in India - Fiction American Colony - Play Beneath High Heaven - Play Berlin Diary - Non-fiction Challenge of Scandinavia - Non-fiction Collapse of the Third Republic - Non-Fiction Consul's Wife - Fiction Consul's Wife - Play End of Berlin Diary - Non-fiction Gandhi: A Memoir - Non-fiction Indian Tragedy - Play Keeping Fit - Non-fiction Love & Hatred: The Stormy Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy - Non-fiction Mid-Century Journey - Non-fiction Rise & Fall of Adolf Hitler - Juvenile Non-fiction Rise & Fall of the Third Reich - Non-fiction Sinking of the Bismarck - Juvenile Non-fiction Stranger Come Home - Play Traitor - Fiction Traitor - Play 20th Century Journey Vol. 1: The Start 1904-1930 - Non-fiction 20th Century Journey Vol. 2: The Nightmare Years 1930-1940 - Non-fiction 20th Century Journey Vol. 3: A Natives Return 1945-1988 - Non-fiction Prose Articles Introductions & Prefaces Papers (1) Poetry Reviews Radio, Television, Newsreels Short Stories Journalist/correspondent Broadcasts 1935-1977 Cables, Dispatches, Mail Stories 1927-1939 Columns Lectures and Speeches 1940-1987 Miscellaneous (unknown, unfinished, ideas, research) # of # of Boxes Folders Manuscripts All the Deaths in India – fiction (alt. titles: flight to east, Water in series top the Ocean) 1 4 Typescript first draft, complete 2 2 Typescript first draft, misc. 2 Typescript with edits, notes (contains alternate versions) 2 Notes, edits 3 1 Typescript, final (bound) 4 2 Flight to the East – notes 1 Water in the Ocean – typescript, first draft 5 1 American Colony – play – notes 1955 (alt. title: Foreign Colony) series top Beneath High Heaven – play (alt. titles: Foreign Correspondent, Over There, Bury My Heart, Before High Heaven) 1 Before High Heaven – typescript 3rd review 1943 1 Beneath High Heaven – typescript with notes 1943 1 Bury My Heart – typescript 2nd review 1942 December Foreign Correspondent 1 Typescript with edits ca. 1940 1 Typescript corrected, inserts 1942 1 Draft, notes 1943 1 Notes, ideas n.d. Over There - Typescripts 6 1 5 scenes (copy) 1942 1 With edits 1942 October 1 Scene 6 1942 November 1 With notes 1943 1 With edits, 10 scenes 194_ 1 Corrected 194_ 7 1 Corrected n.d. 1 Draft, scene 6 n.d. 2 Typescript n.d. 1 Miscellaneous scenes Berlin Diary – non-fiction series top 8 3 Draft (crumbling, digitized copy available) 9 4 Manuscript 10 2 Duplicate Manuscript 2 Duplicate Manuscript pages 318-474 (2 copies) 11 3 Typescript, complete (includes cuts) 12 3 Typescript 13 2 Typescript 2 Carbon 1 Catalog Description, Dedication and Text Notes 1 Mercy Deaths 1 Miscellaneous 1 Outline 1 Used 1 War 1939 14-15 oversized Proof – authors 16 oversized Proof – duplicate 17 1 Manuscript Dummy 1 Spanish Addition – intro 1 Public Relations 2 Reviews 1 Clippings (about book) 1 Clippings (about Shirer) 18 Card Index Challenge of Scandinavia – non-fiction series top 19 4 First Copy, Original Manuscript – Chap. 1-4 20 1 First Copy, Original Manuscript – Chap. 5 1 Corrections and Cuts 21 3 Typescript 22 4 Carbon with edits 23 oversized Authors Proof 24 1 Reviews – 1955 1 Correspondence – Kauffmann, Henrik – 1954 3 Notes, correspondence 1 Used Notes 3 Notes Collapse of the Third Republic – non-fiction series top Manuscript – edits, corrections April 1969 25 1 Forward, acknowledgements, dedication 5 Chapters 1-14 26 4 Chapters 15-25 27 4 Chapters 25(cont.)-31 28 3 Chapters 31(cont.)-36 1 Revisions, Footnotes Original first copy – original edits, corrections March 1969 29 1 Forward, acknowledgement (2 copies) 1 Prologue, Chapter 1 4 Chapters 2-13 30 5 Chapters 14-21 31 5 Chapters 22-29 32 5 Chapters 30-34 33 2 Chapters 35-36 1 Unused Portions, Notes Original Carbon Copy – original edits, corrections 1968 34 6 Chapters 1-15 35 5 Chapters 16-26 36 5 Chapters 27-31 37 6 Chapters 32-36 1 Chapter 36 [second carbon] Typescript photocopy, edited 38 4 Chapters 1-16 39 3 Chapters 17-27 40 3 Chapters 28-34 41 3 Chapters 34(cont.)-36, Bibliography 42 Manuscript – miscellaneous 2 Bibliography – notes 1 Daily Writings, Work notes 1960-1969 1 Maps – correspondence, notes 1 Outline 1 Prefaces and Quotes 1 Table of Contents 43-44 oversized