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Rose Szewc papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: IHRC2574

Abstract

Papers (1916-1919) of Rose G. Szewc, Executive Secretary of the American Association for the Education of Foreign-Born Soldiers in the United States, consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and miscellany concerning her life in Indiana prior to 1918 and as secretary in the law firm of Clement Rozanski of Brooklyn, New York. Also included are a letter from Herbert A. Miller identifying himself as Director, Committee for the League of Nations of Eastern Europe, Christmas cards and stickers, decorated eggs, short fiction drafts, invoices and financial records, photographs, correspondence with W. O. Gorski of Polish Victims' Relief Fund, engravings, newspaper clippings, and a copy of Il Cittadino (New York).

Dates

  • 1916-1929

Creator

Language of Materials

English, Polish, and Russian (one item)

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

OWNERSHIP & LITERARY RIGHTS

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

For further information regarding the copyright, please contact the IHRCA.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Rose Szewc was born in Warsaw in August, 1888. She immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of four. In the early part of the century, she taught English classes for Poles while living in Indianapolis. At this time, she worked as a stenographer at the law firm of Gavin and Gavin and managed the Fort Wayne Department of Western Life Indeminity Company. At the onset of WWI, she became interested in the plight of Polish soldiers in the U.S. Army, and the difficulties many of them faced due to their lack of knowledge of the English language. As Secretary of The American Association for the Education of Foreign Born Soldiers in the U.S. Army, she began language and assimilation classes at Fort Benjamin Harris, a nearby training camp. With the help of the YMCA National War Works Council, these classes were provided for all immigrant soldiers. Szewc, as well as Major-General E.F. Glenn of Camp Sherman in Ohio, also attempted to provide books and magazines in the different languages for the soldiers. This too was sponsored by the YMCA. Both Glenn and Szewc saw possibilities in using immigrant soldiers to provide anti-German propaganda in Eastern Europe, as well as the need to make the soldiers feel a part of this country. She continued this work through the spring of 1918. During this time, Major-General Glenn called on her to help him acquire any information about countries on the Eastern Front which could possibly be used in connection with promoting uprisings in those countries against Germany. Szewc was a strong supporter of establishing a free Poland after World War I, and much of her work and energy seemed to have been spent with this in mind. In the summer of 1918, Szewc moved to New York to work for Helena Paderewska, wife of Ignace Jan Paderewski, for the Polish National Committee. She spent the fall of 1918 in Washington D.C., acting as secretary of the Mid-European Union, headed by Professor Herbert A. Miller of Oberlin College. In 1919, Szewc worked as secretary for the Tratra Production Company. This company was created in the spring of 1919 by Frank O. Johnson to produce a film documenting the newly independent Poland, including clips of Ignace Paderewski as Premier. She later worked for many years for Clement F. Rozanski, a New York attorney who handled cases for many Polish-American clients as well as major local Polish institutions (The Polish National Alliance, Consulate General of Poland). Szewc worked for him until the spring of 1955, when she was hospitalized at Central Islip State Hospital, where she spent the remainder of her life.

Extent

1 Linear foot

Related Materials

More information relating to Szewc can be found in the papers of Clement Rozanski and the records of the Tatra Production Company, both housed in the IHRCA.

RELATED COLLECTIONS

A related collection at the IHRCA is the Records of Tatra Production Company.

Title
Inventory of the Rose Szewc papers.
Author
IHRC Archives
Date
2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding Aid in English

Collecting Area Details

Contact The Immigration History Research Center Archives Collecting Area

Contact:

612-625-4800