William R. Perl papers

The William R. Perl Papers document the education, professional career and social activism of William R. Perl (1906-1998). The collection is stored in 10 manuscript boxes, 1 audio cassette box and 1 oversized box. A large portion of the collection consists of undated photocopies and photostats of original documents. The Papers are arranged into eight series: Biographical Files, Jewish Activism Files, Military Service Files, Professional Files, Legal Files, Miscellaneous Writings, Miscellaneous Correspondence, and Mixed Media. In terms of physical extent, the largest series are the Jewish Activism Files and the Military Service Files.

Earliest records in this collection relate to William R. Perl's high school and university education (1920s). Obituaries of Perl (1998) are the most recent documents. However, the bulk of the William R. Perl Papers date from the 1940s (after Perl emigrated to the United States), through the 1980s (when Perl received increased recognition for his work during the Holocaust). Early papers (and papers relating to the earlier part of Perl's life) are often written in German, while most papers dating after 1941 are in English.

Of particular interest to researchers are correspondence, copies of official documents, artifacts and other materials relating to Perl's involvement in transporting European Jewish refugees to Palestine. These papers are filed in the Rescue of European Jews Files sub-series of the Jewish Activism Series. To understand the context of the items, researchers are strongly urged to read Reuven Schlenker and Charles Goolsby's manuscript The World of Willi Perl, Perl's own books The Four Front War and Operation Action, clippings in the various Newsclippings sub-series of the Perl Papers, and other biographical treatments of Perl. Such secondary readings will help the researcher fill intellectual gaps and determine the basic facts of events prior to using original materials in the rest of the collection.

Also of note are affidavits and photographs of German soldiers who participated in the "massacre" of American soldiers in Malmedy, Belgium in 1944. Though many of the affidavits are incomplete photocopies of originals and their authors could not always be identified by the Manuscripts Librarian, some affidavits are original documents which may not have been accessible to the public until now. Most of the affidavits are handwritten in old German script (making them difficult to read) but for some documents a typewritten English translation is available. Whenever possible, the Manuscripts Librarian has identified the author and date of affidavits and listed such information in the Container List of this finding aid.

There are several notable gaps in the coverage of the William R. Perl Papers. There is little documentation of Perl's life prior to his emigration to the United States, though a major exception are documents relating to Perl's rescue of European Jews. The Perl Papers also contain little documentation of Perl's career as a psychologist (ca. 1950-1968) other than newsclippings and Perl's own writings and public speeches. Other than one folder of correspondence and some flyers and photographs, there is little evidence (meeting minutes or notes) about the Jewish Defense League, of which Perl was President. Most of the Correspondence files in the collection contain only one letter to or from a given correspondent, and many folders relating to Perl's public speeches and honors only contain a program, letter or other ephemeral item. Lastly, the Papers contain very little information about Perl's wife, Lore (Rollig) Perl, their children, or other members of the Perl family. Again, researchers are encouraged to consult secondary sources and other repositories for further information about the life and times of William R. Perl.

The National Archives and Records Administration (Washington, D.C.), the Simon Wiesenthal Center (Los Angeles), and the Public Records Office (Kew, Surrey, England) are three known repositories that have documentation relating to Perl's activities (copies of documents from these repositories can be found in the Perl Papers). The National Archives has documentation of War Crimes trials at Dachau, contained in Record Group 111 (United States Department of Defense, United States Army), Record Group 331 (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Judge Advocate Section, War Crimes Division) and other record groups. To date, the Manuscripts Librarian could not find information about relevant archival holdings at the Wiesenthal Center or the Public Records Office. Upon their arrival to the Special Collections Department, the William R. Perl Papers were largely unarranged (though some documents were grouped by topic), and the provenance of some documents was uncertain or difficult to establish. In order to make the Perl Papers more usable to researchers, the Manuscripts Librarian identified different aspects of Perl's career (e.g., Jewish Activism, Military Service, etc.). as series for the Papers. Thereunder, items documenting similar kinds of activities (writings, speeches, correspondence, etc.), were grouped together, and thereunder, most documents were arranged in chronological order. One exception to chronological arrangement are Correspondence sub-series, which are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.

Out of concerns for preservation, photographs, audio recordings and oversized materials were organized as a separate, "Mixed Media" series, and grouped together by media. As a preservation measure, most original newsclippings have been photocopied onto acid-free paper. Photographs have been placed in mylar sleeves to protect them from handling.

Several books were donated with the William R. Perl Papers:

Merlin, Samuel. Jabotinsky Returns to the Land of Israel. Tel-Aviv: Hadar Publishing Company, 1965. Seewann, Harald. Theodor Herzl und die Akademische Jugend. Graz: H. Seewann, 1998 (2 copies). Seewann, Harald. Zirkel und Zionsstern: Bilder und Dokumente aus der versunkenen Welt des Jüdisch Nationalen Korporationswesens : ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Zionismus auf Akademischem Boden. Graz: Harald Seewann, 1992 (2 copies).

These were removed from the collection, cataloged individually and shelved in the Special Collections Department's general stacks.

In the container list, the designation "n.d." is used to mark folders that contain undated documents, and such documents are filed at the end of folders. "WRP" is used to designate William R. Perl. The terms "unidentified" "unattributed" and "illegible" are used when a good-faith effort on the part of the Manuscripts Librarian to determine speakers, authors, or other identifying information failed.