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[Side 1 - No Side 2], 1952
(Duration: 4:43)
Personal files, 1919-circa 1960s
2 linear feet
The Personal files (2 linear ft.; 1919-ca. 1960s) series consists of a subseries of personal correspondence covering the period from July 1945 to August 1946, when Pollock served as special adviser to General Lucius D. Clay, deputy governor of the American zone. The letters are written by Pollock to his wife, Agnes, and occasionally to his mother and sister, first from Berlin (location of the Central Control Council, a joint council made up of the military leaders of the four occupying powers) and later from Stuttgart (where the RGCO was located, and where the Länderrat met). The letters supplement Pollock's occupation diary for this period (found in Box 58) by providing a more personal perspective on his activities. They contain summaries of and observations about Pollock's work for the American Military Government, descriptions of the places he visited, and information about the practicalities of daily life and his feelings about being away from his family. There is also correspondence from Pollock's later visits to Germany in 1947 and 1948. The letters from his 1947 visit (Jan.-March) are particularly valuable because no occupation diary exists from this period. A folder of miscellaneous correspondence contains some letters from 1941, plus some written during later visits to Germany in 1950 and 1956. The scarcity of letters during these later trips is explained by the death of Pollock`s wife in October 1948.
This series also contains a miscellanea of personal materials, programs from public appearances, address books, presentation copies of some of the books given to Pollock throughout his career, and some of the student essays that he wrote while a student at Harvard and the University of Michigan. Included as well is a transcript of the oral history interview with Pollock conducted by Sidney Fine and relating to civil service reform in Michigan and Pollock's relationship to Governor Frank Murphy.