Darius A. Davis papers

The bulk of the papers date from Davis's work during World War II in prisoner-of-war camps, mainly in Europe but also in the Far East. They reflect the efforts of Davis and the War Prisoners' Aid to check on the conditions of camps and to provide services for prisoners. There are numerous reports by War Prisoners' Aid workers on the conditions of camps, addressing issues of health, food, discipline, shelter, and morale. There are also reports and inventories of the various supplies that the YMCA was sending to the camps, including athletic equipment, musical instruments, games, and books. The latter was of special concern because of the difficulty of obtaining books in the many different languages of the prisoners, including Polish, Russian, and a variety of other Eastern European languages, as well as English and French. In addition to books, many other study materials were sent and used in an extensive education program which allowed prisoners to earn degrees and certification in academic and vocational courses.

Other materials in the collection relate to the efforts of the YMCA to educate the American public on its program for prisoners. These include pamphlets explaining the educational and recreational materials provided to the soldiers and also instructing how relatives could send letters and parcels. Others provide information about war prison life. A number of radio scripts used by Davis to publicize the prisoner-of-war program are included. There are also reports containing excerpts of prisoner letters thanking the YMCA for the services they provided. There are a few news articles outlining prisoner work and mentioning Davis.

Some of the materials dating from the 1943-1946 period relate to post-war planning by the YMCA. Included in these materials in "Preliminary Report of Past War Problems" Report on the European Area" (July 1943), which is a detailed analysis of the conditions of the civilian populations of war-torn countries and the potential for YMCA work in these areas.

Also included is one folder of World War I-era correspondence. This material consists of letters from "Mission Militaire Tchecoslavaque" to Davis concerning the "Medaille Revolutionnaire Tchecoslovaque" while Davis was stationed in the Foyers due Soldat in Paris.

A number of Davis's addresses are in these records, including "Serving Youth across the Centuries," which summarizes the first 100 years of YMCA work, and "Forty Years of Emergency Service with the YMCA in Europe," (1949), which reviews Davis's war relief work.

There are also a number of folders that contain letters from Davis and his wife, Maud (who were both living in Geneva, Switzerland at the time) to their daughter, Shirley, who was then a student at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. The correspondence is mostly personal in nature, talking about day-to-day life and activities, as well as reflections on politics and YMCA work that Davis was pursuing.