Contents
Collection Overview
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Organization of the Collection
Search Terms
Series 1. Biographical and Bibliographical
1940-1984
Series 2. Correspondence
1945-1984
Series 3. Subject files
1955-1984
Series 4. Writings
1939-1984
Series 5. Research Materials
1940s-1980s
Series 6. Oral Histories
1974-1979
Series 7. Printed Materials
1949-1985
Series 1. Biographical and Bibliographical
1940-1984
Series 2. Correspondence
1945-1984
Series 3. Subject files
1955-1984
Series 4. Writings
1939-1984
Series 5. Research Materials
1940s-1980s
Series 6. Oral Histories
1974-1979
Series 7. Printed Materials
1949-1985
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Leon Shapiro Papers,
1939-1984
Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Linda Seidman.
Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.
2002
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Creator:
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Shapiro,
Leon |
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Title:
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Leon Shapiro
Papers |
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Dates:
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1939-1984 |
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Abstract:
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Historian,
author, Professor of Russian and Soviet Jewish History at
Rutgers University, who helped arrange the escape of Jews
from Europe during World War II and was active in several
organizations concerned with the emigration of Soviet and
Eastern European Jews to Palestine. Papers include
biographical materials, correspondence, legal documents,
writings, lecture and research materials, statistical data in
the world Jewish population before and after World War II,
oral history transcripts, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and
four photographs. |
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Extent:
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15 boxes(8.75 linear ft.) |
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Language:
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English and
French |
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Identification:
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MS 127 |
Acquired from Luba Shapiro, Leon's wife, via Michael
Wolff and Stanley Radosh, 1986.
Processed by Linda Seidman, December 1986.
Preferred Citation
Cite as: Leon Shapiro Papers (MS 127). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The collection is open for research.
Return to the Table of Contents
Leon Shapiro (1905-1984) was a historian and Professor of
Russian and Soviet Jewish History at Rutgers University;
author of
The History of ORT: A Jewish Movement for Social
Change
; a 35-year contributor of articles to "The American Jewish
Yearbook"; fluent speaker of Yiddish, Hebrew, English,
Russian, German, French, and Ukrainian; helped arrange the
escape of Jews from Europe during World War II; and an active
member in several organizations concerned with the emigration
of Soviet and Eastern European Jews to Palestine and other
issues related to Judaism.
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1905 |
Born July 14, in Hersun (Korsun, Korsoun,
Hersein), Kiev, Russia, to Mark and Freida Scheinblum
Shapiro. |
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1923 |
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1925 |
Exiled to Palestine. |
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1928 |
Diplome de Licencie en Droit, Social Sciences and
Law, University of Toulouse. |
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1935 |
Married in Paris to Leorfore Rita Willdorff;
divorced in 1940. |
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1940 |
Secretary General, Federation des Societes Juives
de France, Paris |
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1941-1949 |
Research Associate, American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee, New York. |
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1941 |
Immigrated to U.S. |
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1946 |
Married Luba. |
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1954-1956 |
Assistant Director, Cultural Department,
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against
Germany |
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1964-1967 |
Research Associate, Columbia University Seminar in
International Research Methods. |
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1964-1972 |
Assistant Executive Director, Memorial Foundation
for Jewish Culture. |
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1968-1978 |
Professor, Russian and Soviet Jewish History,
Department of Hebraic Studies and Soviet/Eastern European
Studies Program, Rutgers University. |
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1972-1973 |
Adjunct Professor, Queens College, School of
General Studies, City College of New York. |
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1973 |
Adjunct Associate Professor, Judaic Studies,
Brooklyn College, City College of New York. |
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1974-1975 |
Adjunct Associate Professor, Academy Without
Walls, Haifa University. |
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1978-1979 |
Professor, Empire State College. |
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1984 |
Died, December 25, New York City. |
Return to the Table of Contents
The Leon Shapiro papers (1939-1984) pertain primarily to
Soviet and Eastern European Jewry before and after World War
II and to the formation of the nation of Israel in personal,
research, and published materials.
The collection comprises biographical materials,
correspondence, legal documents, audio-tapes, four
photographs, writings, newspaper clippings, research
materials, oral history transcripts, printed materials, and
statistical data.
Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents
This collection is organized into seven series:
Return to the Table of Contents
Series 1. Biographical and Bibliographical
1940-1984
Shapiro's legal papers and official documents,
biographical information, two audio-tape interviews of
Mr. Shapiro, newspaper obituaries, and publication lists
are in Series 1.
Series 2. Correspondence
1945-1984
Incoming letters and typescript copies of outgoing
letters, mostly professional, some personal, are in
Series 2, alphabetically arranged. Notable are the
letters from Romanian Jews seeking immigration to Israel
(1970s). Series 2 also contains a photograph of a
painting titled "On Both Sides of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall
1943" sent by the artist, Israel Beinbauer, and three
other unidentified photographs, ca. 1931 Vienna.
Series 3. Subject files
1955-1984
Subject files in Series 3 are divided into two
sections, arranged alphabetically. The first contains
materials related to Shapiro's professional and personal
interests, and includes pamphlets and minutes of meetings
from the program for Jewish Studies Without Walls, his
two audio-tape lectures on the History of Soviet Jewry, a
certificate and badge of Honor from the American Jewish
Joint Distribution Committee along with Russian newspaper
articles, various committee materials, and independent
research projects. The second section is primarily
comprised of Rutgers University student papers,
correspondence, and lectures.
Series 4. Writings
1939-1984
Handwritten, typescript, and photocopies of various
articles about the Soviet Union submitted to the American
Jewish Yearbook for publication, along with their printed
versions, are arranged chronologically in Series 4. Also
present are statistics on the World Jewish Population,
correspondence relating to publishing, ORT papers, book
reviews, and an audio-tape of the 1980 ORT Rabbinic
Scholar Conference.
Series 5. Research Materials
1940s-1980s
Census and other statistical data on the world Jewish
population before and after World War II, together with
descriptions of French concentration camps and Jewish
life in occupied France, are in Series 5 in chronological
order. Notable are the materials regarding Irgun,
Haganah, and Palestine. This series contains a message to
British soldiers dated 1947, other Hebrew documents,
newspaper articles, and transcripts of political
broadcasts relating to the foundation of Israel. Also in
Series 5 there are reference materials on Jewish
resistance during the holocaust and in Palestine.
Series 6. Oral Histories
1974-1979
Series 6 contains transcripts and seven audio-tapes
from the Lautenberg Oral History Collection of Surviving
Eastern European Communities, listed alphabetically.
These describe Jewish life before Hitler and Stalin
assumed power.
Series 7. Printed Materials
1949-1985
Pamphlets, booklets, articles, and miscellaneous
ephemera relating to Soviet and European Jewry and
holocaust survivors are in this series.
Series 1. Biographical and Bibliographical
1940-1984
Box
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Folder
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| 1 |
1 |
Vita and Biographical articles
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3 |
Official Documents: Birth, Marriage
1940-1945
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4 |
Official Documents: Citizenship, Travel
1929-1946
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5 |
Official Documents: Education, Work
1940-1946
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7 |
Interview: LS interviewed by Rabbi Seligson
on "Message of Israel", audiotape
1980
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8 |
Interview: LS interviewed by Sheila Zucker,
WEVD-FM, audiotape
1980
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Series 2. Correspondence
1945-1984
Box
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Folder
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| 1 |
9 |
A - American Committee
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10 |
American Jewish Committee - American Jewish
Yearbook
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11 |
American ORT Federation
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16 |
Memorial Foundation for Jewish
Culture
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22 |
75th birthday greetings
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Series 3. Subject files
1955-1984
Box
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Folder
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| 2 |
23 |
Academy for Jewish Studies Without Walls
1973-1977
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24 |
American Council for Emigres in the
Professions
1979
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25 |
American Jewish Committee talk, Irving
n.d.
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26 |
American Joint Distribution
Committee--Certificate of Honor
1984
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27 |
Association for Jewish Studies
1976
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29 |
Columbia University
1965
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30 |
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture
c1982
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31 |
National Endowment for the Humanities
1979
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32 |
New York Association for New Americans
1975-1978
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33 |
ORT Jewish Book Fair, Detroit, packet
1980
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34 |
ORT: National Rabbinic Scholar Conference
1980
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34a |
Pasternak, Boris, clippings
1958
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35 |
Project on 100 Years of Jewish Life in
Russia and USSR
1919-1984
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36 |
Queens College
1972-1978
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37 |
Rutgers: class handouts
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38 |
Rutgers: course materials
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39 |
Rutgers: Hebraic Studies Department
1973-1977
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Box
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Folder
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40 |
Rutgers: Jews in Eastern Europe, Lecture
Notes and background materials
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41 |
Rutgers: Lectures-Eastern European Jews
1955-1967
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42 |
Rutgers (and Queens): Modern
Anti-Semitism--Lecture notes and suppl.
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43-46 |
Rutgers: University position--correspondence
and documents
1968-1978
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Box
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Folder
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47 |
Rutgers: Soviet and East European
Program--memos and correspondence
1970-1981
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48 |
Rutgers: Soviet and East European
Program--reports, lists, etc.
1971-1977
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49 |
Schwartz (?), Part I, edited ts draft
n.d.
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50 |
Society for Research on Jewish Communities
1981
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52 |
Stalin-Alliluyeva, Svetlana
1967
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Box
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Folder
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57 |
Students' papers
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63 |
Synagogue Council of America
1973-1981
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64 |
Union of Russian Jews
1975-1976
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65 |
World Union of Jewish Studies
1963-1980
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66 |
Zipperstein, Steven: "First Years of Jewish
Odessa" 1978
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Series 4. Writings
1939-1984
Box
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Folder
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68-80 |
American Jewish Yearbook --ms, typescript,
and printed versions of LS contributions
1939-1984
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Box
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Folder
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| 7 |
81 |
"L'Influence Juive Chez Marcel Proust" --ms;
also ms or notes on Charles Plisnier
c.1942
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82 |
"Foyer de la Bibliotheque de la Sorbonne"
--dialogue
1962
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83 |
Encyclopedia Judaica articles:
correspondence about and typescript
1964-1966
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84 |
"Russian Jewry after Stalin", in Russian
Jewry 1917-1967
1969
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85 |
"Passover Restrictions in the Soviet Union",
Jewish Telegraphic Agency Passover Release No. 9
1970
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86 |
History of the Jews in Russia and Polandby
Simon Dubnow, reissued--biog., intro., and outline
history by LS: correspondence., reviews, publicity
1975
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87 |
"Soviet Jewry since the Death of Stalin"
--typescript draft and reprint from American Jewish
Yearbook, 1979
1978
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88-91 |
History of ORT
1976-1980
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92 |
Guide to the Material on ORT's History
1981
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93 |
"Mid-passage--50 Years of ORT: Short
Comments"
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94 |
Speech: ORT Rabbinic/Scholar Conference,
audiotape
1980
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95 |
Speech: "ORT in Jewish Life"
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96 |
Speech: "ORT's Origins"
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97 |
Speech: "Jews and Jewish Communities in
Eastern and Central Europe--An Overview"
1980
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98 |
Jews Under Tyranny: The Soviet Union
-outline
1980s
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99 |
Additional notes re: USSR
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Box
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Folder
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100 |
Jewish Life in Russia and the USSR
--outline, chapter, ms, corresp.
1983
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101 |
One Hundred Years of Jewish Life in the
Russian Empire and Under Soviet Rule -outline
n.d.
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102 |
Soviet Russia/Russian Jewry in the 20th
Century--lecture notes (?),writing preparation
(?)
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103 |
Book reviews
1964-1984
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Series 5. Research Materials
1940s-1980s
Box
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Folder
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| 9 |
105-114 |
World Jewish Population
1940s-1980s
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Box
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Folder
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| 10 |
115-126 |
Soviet, Russian, and East European
Jewry
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Box
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Folder
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127-135 |
ORT, Gide
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Box
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Folder
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| 12 |
136 |
Irgun, Haganah, Palestine
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Series 6. Oral Histories
1974-1979
Box
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Folder
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| 13-14 |
137-140 |
Project documents, Transcripts A-Z, tapes
1974-1979
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Series 7. Printed Materials
1949-1985
Box
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Folder
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| 15 |
141 |
Printed versions of writings by others
1949-1985
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