Title: Bruno V. Bitker Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1898-1985

Creator:

• Bitker, Bruno V. (Bruno Voltaire), 1898-1984

Call Number: Local History Manuscript Collection 354

Quantity: 11 cubic ft. (23 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

Bruno V. Bitker was an attorney and a Milwaukee native active in local government and strong advocate for the United Nations, Human Rights and World Peace. He was very active in civic affairs, serving on many city, state and federal boards and commissions. He received his law degree from Cornell University in 1921, and he practiced law in Milwaukee up until his death on April 12, 1984. This collection consists of correspondence, speeches, photographs, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings about his life and work.

Note:

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Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-lhmc0354

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Bruno Voltaire Bitker was born in Milwaukee on February 5, 1898. His parents were Jacob L. Bitker and Sara Rubin and he had a younger brother, Pierce. His father opened two stores in Milwaukee; the Bitker Department Store and the Bitker-Gerner Store. During World War I, while a student in college, he enlisted in the Army and served as a Lieutenant in the Infantry. He received his law degree from Cornell University in 1921, and he practiced law in Milwaukee up until his death on April 12, 1984. He was very active in civic affairs, serving on many city, state and federal boards and commissions. Some of those include the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission 1931-1953, the Governor’s Commission on Human Rights 1947-1956, and the Mayors Committee on Human Relations 1948-1952. In 1948 he was appointed, by Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler, special counsel for the City of Milwaukee on a John Doe investigation into gambling in Milwaukee County. He was district director of the Office of Price Administration (OPA) from 1942-1968, chairman of the Governor’s Commission on the United Nations 1959-1968, chairman of the Wisconsin Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1960-1971, and chairman of the Wisconsin Bicentennial Commission. He received many awards and citations for his activities.

Bitker married Elizabeth Worden in 1936 and they were divorced in 1951. They had no children together but Bitker adopted Elizabeth’s son from a previous marriage, Robert. Bitker married Marjorie Marks in 1957; she had three children from a previous marriage. They remained married until his death.

This collection consists of correspondence, speeches, photographs, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings about the life and work of Bruno V. Bitker. The collection had been previously arranged into the following series: Human Rights, Law and Peace, Local Committees, Memorabilia, Newspaper clippings, Personal, Photographs, Speeches and writings, United Nations.

Scope and content notes of each series are provided in the contents list.

The collection is arranged into the following series:

1. Human Rights, 1948-1980
2. Law and Peace, 1926-1984
3. Local Committees, 1932-1981
4. Memorabilia, 1921-1982
5. Newspaper Clippings, 1931-1981
6. Personal, 1898-1981
7. Photographs, 1905-1987
8. Speeches and Writings, 1944-1979
9. United Nations, 1946-1984

The series are arranged alphabetically. Within each series, folders are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each folder.

Bitker, Bruno V., Papers, 1898-1985, Collection 354. Local History Manuscript Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Archival Collections

• Bitker Family Papers. Local History Manuscript Collection 27.

• Progress: Human Rights Scrapbook. Local History Manuscript Collection 36.

• Marjorie Marks Bitker Papers. Local History Manuscript Collection 31.

• Wisconsin Election Ephemera. Local History Manuscript Collection 33.

Publications and Other Items

Application of the United Nations' Universal declaration of human rights within the United States

Report of the Commission on the Economic Study of Milwaukee

United Nations universal declaration of human rights in the United States

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view Local History Manuscript Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Currently, there is no acquisition information for this collection. Materials were accessioned as Local History Manuscripts.

Processing Information

Inventory by Helen Vaeth, Humanities staff, 1990. Processed by Casey Lapworth, Archives Librarian, 2018.

	Series: 1. Human Rights, 1948-1980 Scope and Content Note: The Human Rights series contains materials relating to Bitker’s work as an attorney and on commissions in regards to human rights. There are reports, meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence and memos, newspaper clippings, press releases, articles and speeches. This includes topics such as civil rights, personal privacy, capital punishment and religious freedoms, nationally and internationally. There are also materials on various conferences and commissions he participated in.
Box   1 Folder   1	American Bar Association, Committee on International Human Rights, 1974-1979
Box   1 Folder   2	American Conventions on Human Rights, 1969-1980
Box   1 Folder   3	Capital Punishment, 1971-1978
Box   1 Folder   4	Civil Rights, 1959-1971
Box   1 Folder   5	Helsinki Accord, 1976-1980
	Human Rights
Box   1 Folder   6-7	Miscellaneous, 1949-1980
Box   1 Folder   8	Year, 1968
Box   1 Folder   9	Year - Martha’s Vineyard Conference, 1968
Box   2 Folder   1-2	International Covenants on Human Rights, 1967-1980
Box   2 Folder   3	International Institute of Human Rights, 1970-1977
Box   2 Folder   4	International League for the Rights of Man/League for Human Rights, 1968-1971
Box   2 Folder   5-6	President’s Commission for the observance of Human Rights Year, 1968
Box   3 Folder   1	Privacy, 1965-1974
Box   3 Folder   2	Race and Racism – Correspondence, 1969-1975
Box   3 Folder   3-4	Race and Racism – Papers and clippings, 1950-1976
Box   3 Folder   5	Religious freedom, 1966-1970
Box   3 Folder   6-8	United Nations International Conference on Human Rights, 1968
Box   4 Folder   1	United States Foreign Policy and the International Bill of Human Rights, 1978
Box   4 Folder   2	United States House of Representatives – Committee on Foreign Affairs, 1973
Box   4 Folder   3	United States Senate – Foreign Relations Committee, 1979
Box   4 Folder   4	Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948-1979
Box   4 Folder   5	Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 20th Anniversary; 25th Anniversary, 1968, 1973
Box   4 Folder   6	Uppsala Colloquium on the Right to Leave and the Right to Return, 1972
	Series: 2. Law and Peace, 1926-1984 Scope and Content Note: The Law and Peace series contains materials relating to Bitker’s interest and work in international peace keeping. There is an emphasis on arbitration and materials from various government agencies, the International Law Association, the American Bar Association, City of New York Bar Association and on international arbitration. There are materials from conferences he attended, committee meeting agendas and minutes, reports, correspondence, reports, educational resources, speeches and press releases.	⇧
Box   4 Folder   7	American Bar Association – Committee on World Order Under Law, 1978-1981
Box   4 Folder   8-9	Correspondence, Miscellaneous, 1926-1983
Box   4 Folder   10	Correspondence - Proxmire, William, 1957-1971
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Education for Peace, 1963-1982
Box   5 Folder   3	Golda Meir International Week, 1980
Box   5 Folder   4	International Arbitration, 1969-1976
Box   5 Folder   5-6	International Cooperation Year, 1965
Box   5 Folder   7	International Union of Local Authorities Conference, 1949
Box   5 Folder   8	Law of Treaties, 1968-1969
Box   6 Folder   1	Miscellaneous, 1898-1975
Box   6 Folder   2	Sovereignty, 1945-1978
Box   6 Folder   3	Terrorism, 1969-1978
Box   6 Folder   4	World Peace Through Law, 1958-1984
	Series: 3. Local Committees, 1932-1981 Scope and Content Note: The Local Committees series consists of correspondence, clippings, publications, reports and proceedings from the many Milwaukee area committees Bitker was on or involved with. This also includes some ephemera, pamphlets and articles produced by or about the groups.	⇧
Box   6 Folder   5	Bicentennial material, 1972-1980
Box   6 Folder   6	Bicentennial Material – Correspondence, 1974-1980
Box   6 Folder   7	Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, 1967-1970
Box   7 Folder   1	Mass transportation, 1955-1969
Box   7 Folder   2	Mayor’s Committee on Cost of Living, 1947-1948
Box   7 Folder   3	Mayor’s Study Commission on Social Problems in the Inner Core, 1959-1960
Box   7 Folder   4	Milwaukee economic study commission, 1948-1949
Box   7 Folder   5	Milwaukee Sewerage Commission, 1932-1981
Box   7 Folder   6	Rapid Transit Lines, 1939-1976
Box   7 Folder   7	United States Office of Price Administration - clippings, 1942-1976
Box   7 Folder   8-9	United States Office of Price Administration – notes and papers, 1942-1945
	Series: 4. Memorabilia, 1921-1982 Scope and Content Note: This series includes general memorabilia such as scrapbooks, a yearbook, buttons, pins, ticket stubs and medals. The Campaign ephemera includes 5 small envelopes labeled the following: lapel pins, medals and ribbons, miscellaneous, campaign buttons, pins and buttons; also included are loose tickets, badges, passes and an oversized button. The miscellaneous items contain the following: a bronze medal, a wooden plaque and picture, cassette tapes, birthday telegram mounted on wood, leather billfold, lapel pin and pink satin garters.	⇧
Box   18	Campaign ephemera, 1921-1968, undated
Box   8	Miscellaneous, 1959-1982, undated
Box   20 Folder   1-2	Scrapbook I, 1931-1949
Box   20 Folder   3	Scrapbook II, 1938
Box   20 Folder   4-5	Scrapbook III, 1942-1944
Box   21 Folder   1-2	Scrapbook IV, Milwaukee’s anti-inflation program, 1944
Box   21 Folder   3-4	Scrapbook V, 1950-1954
Box   21 Folder   5	Scrapbook VI, 1954-1958
Box   21 Folder   6	Scrapbook VII, Governor’s Commission on the United Nations honors Bruno Bitker and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1983
Box   22	Scrapbook VIII, Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign, 1958-1959 Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   21 Folder   7	Yearbook, West Division High School, Comet, 1958
	Series: 5. Newspaper Clippings, 1931-1981 Scope and Content Note: The Newspaper clippings series contains clippings mainly from 1931-1981. They are organized chronologically with the exception of clippings from a Human Rights conference in Tehran in 1968.	⇧
Box   9 Folder   1-7	Clippings, 1931-1981
Box   23 Folder   2	Clippings, Tehran Journal, Human rights conference, 1968
	Series: 6. Personal, 1898-1981 Scope and Content Note: The Personal series contains documents about or from Bitker’s personal life. Included are biographies, obituaries, his birth certificate, report cards and programs from his school days along with other ephemera, certificates, correspondence and clippings. There are also documents on his family’s history and correspondence from notable people such as Milwaukee’s Mayor Hoan and a Christmas card from President and Mrs. Carter. There are materials regarding professional appointments, positions, election campaigns, awards and honors received for his work and personal milestone celebrations such as his 75th and 85th birthdays.	⇧
	Biographical information
Box   10 Folder   1	Adulthood, 1924-1980
Box   10 Folder   2	Childhood, 1898-1916
Box   10 Folder   3	College and military life, 1917-1921
Box   10 Folder   4	General (biographies, obituaries, funeral papers), 1944-1985
Box   10 Folder   5	Birthday celebrations, 1973, 1983
Box   10 Folder   6	Bitker family, 1915-1957
Box   10 Folder   7	Bitker family - History of family names, 1929-1970, undated
	Certificates
Box   10 Folder   8	Appointments and memberships, 1922-1976
Box   21 Folder   7	Awards, 1921-1964
Box   10 Folder   9	Citations, tributes and awards, 1944-1978, undated
Box   10 Folder   10	Federal Judgeship, attempt, 1948-1949
Box   10 Folder   11	Grenville Clark Peace Prize and Commemorative Stamp, 1975-1981
Box   11 Folder   1	James L. Cross Estate papers, 1964-1965
Box   11 Folder   2	John Doe proceedings, 1948
Box   11 Folder   3	Search for appointments, 1957-1964
Box   11 Folder   4	United States Delegate to United Nations, attempt, 1960-1977
Box   11 Folder   5	United States State Department Consultant, 1968
Box   11 Folder   6	United States Supreme Court, 1927-1973
Box   11 Folder   7	Wisconsin Supreme Court Campaign, 1959
Box   11 Folder   8	Wisconsin Supreme Court Campaign – other candidates, 1958-1959
Box   11 Folder   9	World Federalist Dinner, 1969
Box   11 Folder   10	Zeidler, Frank, 1974
	Series: 7. Photographs, 1905-1987 Scope and Content Note: The Photographs series is a box of images from Bitker’s personal and professional life. They include childhood photos through portraits used in his professional career along with group images.	⇧
Box   12 Folder   1	Childhood (17 envelopes/20 photographs), 1905-1912, undated
Box   12 Folder   2	College/US Army (12 items/15 photographs), 1918-1921, undated
Box   12 Folder   3-5	Group photos, 1942-1987
Box   12 Folder   6-7	Group photos – oversized, 1941-1977
Box   12 Folder   8	Miscellaneous photos, undated
Box   12 Folder   9	Portraits and single photos, 1931-1976
Box   12	Signs, 2 District Court, undated
	Series: 8. Speeches and Writings, 1944-1979 Scope and Content Note: The Speeches and Writings series contains materials written or given by Bitker. They are organized chronologically.	⇧
Box   13 Folder   1-4	1944-1955, undated
Box   14 Folder   1-4	1958-1963
Box   19 Folder   1-3	1964-1979
	Series: 9. United Nations, 1946-1984 Scope and Content Note: The United Nations series focuses on Bitker’s work with the United Nations. It includes reports, speeches, resolutions, proposals, publications and articles, correspondence, copies of the U.N. charter, speeches and materials relating to specific people he worked with. There are also materials from conferences along with annual reports and minutes from the Governor’s Commission on the United Nations.	⇧
Box   15 Folder   1	Genocide – Correspondence, 1957-1980
Box   15 Folder   2	Genocide – Paper and clippings, 1950-1981
Box   15 Folder   3-4	Governor’s Commission on the United Nations, 1963-1984
Box   15 Folder   5	Marquette University, 1961
Box   15 Folder   6	Mid Atlantic Conference, 1978
Box   15 Folder   7	McHenry, Donald, 1977-1979
Box   15 Folder   8	Moynihan, Daniel P., 1975-1977
Box   15 Folder   9	Stassen, Harold, 1967
Box   16 Folder   1	Stevenson, Adlai, 1961-1965
	United Nations
Box   16 Folder   2	25th Anniversary, 1970
Box   16 Folder   3	Association, 1967
Box   16 Folder   4	Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, 1975
Box   16 Folder   5-7	Charter Review, 1954-1981
Box   17 Folder   1	Day, 1947-1982
Box   17 Folder   2	Vatican, 1959-1965
Box   17 Folder   3	War Crimes and Crimes against humanity, 1946-1973
Box   17 Folder   4	Yost, Charles W, 1968-1978