Collections

The collection consists of Dr. Dizer's correspondence and research files relating to nineteenth- and twentieth-century American popular children's literature, with particular emphasis on series books, story papers, and dime novels.  Notable are extensive files dealing with Edward Stratemeyer, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and the Boy Scouts of America.

Saul Alpern's oral history transcript describes in detail his experiences growing up in Romania before World War II, the beginning of the war, listening to Adolf Hitler on the radio, life in labor camps, forced marches, hiding during the war, anti-Semitism, liberation, Zionist youth organizations, and his memoir.

Jose M. Colon Collection (1928-2017), a Merchant Marine Veteran, this collection includes his service awards and medals, set of publications regarding the Merchant Marines. Although many of the publications memorialize fallen Marines and Merchant Marine Veterans, one publication goes into detail about the history of the Merchant Marines and their involvement in World War II. Mr. Colon served in both World War II and the Korea War.

This collection relates to Joseph G. Moretti who joined the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, Florida in September 1942. He served in the Navy's Construction Battalion (Seabees) and the 8th Underwater Demolition Team (UDT8) until his discharge on August 14, 1945. He was stationed in Fort Peirce, Florida until he transferred to the Aleutian Islands and, later, the South Pacific. His collection includes an oral history recorded in 2000, Moretti's naval logbook, miscellaneous government documents from 1941 to 1957, news clippings from the 1990s, and photographs.

This collection relates to Joseph Hrabovsky who served with the 1524th Quartermaster Laundry. Joseph Hrabovksy received quartermaster training in Camp Lee, VA before being assigned to the occupation of Japan. This collection contains a Camp Lee Quartermaster Training Pamphlet, a photograph collection of Japan and Korea, and other documents including a timeline of Joseph Hrabovksy's service in Japan.

This collection consists of an oral history interview transcript of Joseph Jennings, who was enlisted in the U.S. Navy and worked as an aircraft radio operator during World War II and served in the South Atlantic guarding the Brazilian coastline near Rio do Janeiro. The interview covers his duties and anecdotes, like his training in Norfolk, VA, his emergency appendectomy, and his time in Dutch Guyana. The interview also describes his early years during the Great Depression in Oklahoma.

This collection relates to Joseph L. Cittadini who served as a Navigator with the 384th Bombardment Group.  The collection includes photographs, letters, and official documents from his time as a navigator with the US Army Air Corp and his time as a prisoner of war during World War II. Photographs include several of Cittadini with his crew of the "Goin' Dawg" and "Nutalls Nut House" B-17 bombers. Cittadini was a prisoner of war for a year after being shot down on a mission over Berlin and was held in several POW camps, but primarily in Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany. His account of this is told in detail in both a manuscript and an oral history transcript.