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Post-War World Council

Post War World Council Collection

1942-1961
1 box 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 307

Founded and chaired by Norman Thomas in 1942, the Post-War World Council sought to lay the groundwork for a democratic and anti-imperialist end to the Second World War. As the face of the organization, Thomas promoted the pacifist ideals of internationalism, disarmament, and decolonization, however his failing health in the early 1960s led to the decline of the Council and its formal dissolution in 1967.

This collection consists of pamphlets from the Post War World Council that document a range of opinions concerning the war and the world, including titles such as “Saboteurs of Victory,” “The Case Against Compulsory Peacetime Military Training,” “The Future of the Far East,” and “Disarmament in the Post War World.”

Background on Post War World Council

The Keep America Out of War Committee was formed in New York in 1938 as a pacifist and Democratic Socialist organization devoted to strengthening the anti-war movement. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the Second World War, the Committee was dissolved and re-organized as the Provisional Committee Toward a Democratic Peace. The committee continued to evolve in name and focus, and in February 1942, it took the name the Post-War World Council.

Founded and chaired by Norman Thomas, the Council sought to lay the groundwork for a democratic and anti-imperialist end to the war. As the face of the organization, Thomas promoted the pacifist ideals of internationalism, disarmament, and decolonization, however his failing health in the early 1960s led to the decline of the Council and its formal dissolution in 1967.

Contents of Collection

The Post-War World Council collection consists of 25 pamphlets published during and after the Second World War promoting the ideals of internationalism, peace, and anti-imperialism. With contributions by noted activists such as Norman Thomas, Pearl S. Buck, and Oswald Garrison Villard, the titles include “Saboteurs of Victory,” “The Case Against Compulsory Peacetime Military Training,” “The Future of the Far East,” and “Disarmament in the Post War World.”

Collection inventory
Buck, Pearl S. et al., Freedom for India Now!
1942
Photocopy
Folder 1
Thomas, Norman, Democracy and Japanese Americans
1942 Jan 2
Photocopy
Folder 1
Johnson, James Wood, The Coming Generation in Europe
1942 Dec. 5.
Photocopy
Folder 1
Thomas, Norman, World Federation: What are the Difficulties?
1942 July 8
Folder 1
Villard, Oswald Garrison, Disarmament in the Post War World
1942 Oct.
Folder 1
Chase, Stuart, Perspectives
ca.1942
Folder 1
Post War World Council, You can Win the Peace Now
April 1943
Folder 2
Rorty, James, Brother Jim Crow
1943 Jan 18
Folder 2
Buck, Pearl S., Freedom for All
1943 Dec.
Folder 2
Villard, Oswald Garrison, Shall We Rule Germany?
1943 June
Folder 2
Howard, Harry Paxton, The Future of the Far East
1944 Sept.
Folder 3
Corey, Lewis, Let’s Keep the Tools of Plenty
1944 Nov.
Folder 3
Post War World Council, International Cartels and World Peace
1944 Dec.
Folder 3
Thomas, Norman, Conscription: The Test of Peace
1944 Dec.
Folder 3
Conkling, Roscoe S., The Case Against Compulsory Peacetime Military Training
1945 Mar.
Folder 4
Rorty, Jame and N. Philip Norman, M.D., Food and the Cooperative Yardstick
1945 June 15
Folder 4
Barshop, Irving and James Rorty, Saboteurs of Victory
1945 May
Folder 4
Senior, Clarence, Self-Determination for Puerto Rico
1946 Apr.
Folder 5
Thompson, Dorothy, A Woman Says, You Must Come Into the Room of Your Mother Unarmed
1946
Folder 5
Thomas, Norman, The One Hope of Peace: Universal Disarmament
1947 Feb
Folder 5
Villard, Oswald Garrison, How America is Being Militarized, rev. ed.
1947 July
Folder 5
Thomas, Norman, World Government, War and Peace
1948
Folder 5
Arden House Conference, Report on Disarmament
1956 Dec. 14-17
Folder 6
Arden House Conference, Report on Disarmament
1958 Mar. 20-23
Folder 6
Gould House Conference on Economics of Disarmament, Report of the Gould House Conference on Economics of Disarmament
1961 Jan 28-30
Folder 6
Administrative information
Provenance

Gift of Stephen Siteman, 1990.

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, May 2015.

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: Post War World Council Collection (MS 307). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Gift of Stephen Siteman, 1990

Subjects

Anti-imperialist movementsPeace movementsWorld War, 1939-1945

Contributors

Post-War World Council

Types of material

Pamphlets