Helen Begley Nixon Papers, 1945-1951 : Scope & Contents of the Collection

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Helen Begley Nixon papers consist of 1.5 linear feet (4 document boxes) of correspondence, photographs, printed material, and memorabilia reflecting her professional life. In addition there is material she collected on subjects that were of interest to her, mostly about women. The Papers are arranged in three series (I. Korea, II. Germany, and III. Vietnam) by country in general chronological order. Approximately one quarter to one third of the material is in German, and an additional quarter in Vietnamese, Korean, and French. There is virtually no personal material.

The smallest amount of material is from Nixon's time in Korea and consists of four folders. These contain printed material and reports about women in Korea, reports, and one photograph of the General Federation of Korean Women, plus correspondence and printed material from the Women's Bureau of the Office of the Military Governor, 1946-55. In this series there is also a folder of printed material about women in China and Japan that Nixon obviously collected while in Korea.

The largest portion of the Nixon papers is from Germany, most of which is contained in 10 linear inches of reports and related material (1945-53) collected while Nixon was associated with the Women's Affairs Branch of the U.S. High Commission for Occupied Germany. These cover a wide range of topics, including, education and culture, exchanges with women in the United States, women's organizations, employment and the position of women in Germany after World War II. Included also in this series is general printed material (clippings, articles, periodicals) about women in Germany, plus one photograph (1952) of Dr. Dorothy Fosdick and Dr. Else Ulich-Beil President of Deutscher.

The final series is from Vietnam and reflects Nixon's role as Refugee Settlement Advisor of the International Cooperation Administration in Vietnam. This consists of five inches of material, including articles, clippings and printed material about women in Vietnam, 1954-1957; reports, memos and correspondence about orphanages, International Women's Association, refugees and voluntary agencies. This series also contains 27 photographs.