The Ernest Fischer Papers are organized into two categories designated as PERSONAL MATERIAL and EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS MATERIAL.
The PERSONAL MATERIAL consists of Fischer's papers from World War II, together with a single post-war item, a diary kept while working in London and Vienna in 1946. The section includes two other journals, 1941-1942 and 1945. The earlier diary deals with Fischer's experiences while interned at Bad Nauheim; the latter with his service as an AP war correspondent in Europe. Other material concerning his internment includes a short unpublished narrative, circa 1943, and two longer works, neither of which has been published: “The Other Shore” (1966), a play, and “The Kibitzers” (1957), a book. Use of the diaries, the book, or the play requires the permission of the director of the State Historical Society. Also part of the personal section are two chapters from an unpublished manuscript on Nazi war propaganda, several issues of the Bad Nauheim Pudding, and miscellaneous press passes and credentials. Some of Fischer's World War II stories are included in a “bureau journal,” November 1940 to November 1941, which is part of the Louis P. Lochner Papers.
The EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS MATERIAL, which totals 17 boxes, relates to Fischer's press coverage of the United Nations, 1946-1948; the 1948 Olympics; and several other international organizations during the post-war years. Included for each organization or event are press releases, dispatches, notes, and letters. The folders marked press releases contain documents used by Fischer, while those denoted as notes, dispatches, and/or letters contain materials he prepared. Occasionally, an agency is represented only by its own press releases.
The section on the 1948 Olympics includes dispatches by Fischer and other AP correspondents. These are located primarily in a file of stories on participants entered in the competition. There is also one folder of correspondence relating to the wire service's preparations for the game. In sum, this portion of the collection offers an extremely detailed description of events.
The third part of the events and organizations section is concerned with various other organizations with which Fischer came in contact as the result of his work as a reporter. Included are several clippings labeled “Rumanian Events” and a file of correspondence pertaining to the World Council of Churches.
