The Emil Schaefer papers are confined primarily to the years 1940-1973 and are concerned mainly with affairs of the Swiss American Historical Society. The papers offer extensive documentation of the activities of a small German-speaking ethnic group during the Second World War and post-war years. The collection is arranged in three series: Correspondence, Records of the Swiss American Historical Society, and Bulletins and Other Materials from Swiss Government Agencies.
Emil Schaefer's CORRESPONDENCE is arranged by correspondent and by subject. Within each file the letters have been organized in chronological order. One file of correspondence relates to Schaefer's radio program “Alpine Melodies” and a few items pertain to the Madison Swiss Club. The vast majority of the letters concern official matters of the Swiss American Historical Society, but over the years Schaefer developed personal friendships with many of his correspondents and some of the mail transcends purely business concerns. A typescript of a history of the Swiss American Historical Society is included in Schaefer's correspondence with Heinz Meier. In the correspondence with Lukas Burckhardt, the Swiss ambassador to the United States, issues of concern to Swiss Americans, such as attitudes toward use of the German language during the war, are discussed. The correspondence with the Swiss Embassy and the Swiss Consulate in Chicago illustrate the role of those institutions in the Swiss community of the United States. Biographical information on Schaefer is included in the correspondence with Heinz K. Meier (May 28, 1973) and in the general correspondence (January 27, 1970). A part of the correspondence is in German. The most important correspondents, with the exception of Burckhardt, were officers of the SAHS: Alfred Senn, Heinz K. Meier, and J. P. Von Grueningen.
The RECORDS OF THE SWISS AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY consist of organizational materials such as constitutions, lists of officers and members, and annual reports of officers. A file of form letters and bulletins consists mainly of announcements of meetings, projects, and publications. Other records include clipping files. A history of the Swiss American Historical Society appeared in the Society's Newsletter, vol. IX, numbers 1 and 2 (February and May 1973); the typescript of the history is filed in the correspondence series, as noted above. The Society's newsletters are available in the Historical Society Library.
Schaefer's collection of BULLETINS AND OTHER MATERIALS FROM SWISS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES is comprised of bulletins, newsletters, lectures, and essays distributed by the Swiss Embassy, the Swiss Consulate of Chicago, and the Office for Swiss in Foreign Lands.
