The materials in the collection date roughly from 1937 to 1990, with the bulk of the materials documenting the period between 1946 and 1950. The major focus of the collection is Christoffel's defense against perjury charges after stating in front of the House Education and Labor Committee that he was not a Communist in hearings conducted to investigate the Local 248 strike of 1946-1947. The materials document the formation and activities of the Harold Christoffel Defense Committee, as well as defense proceedings and correspondence concerning day-to-day legal matters. Also documented are the strike activities of Local 248, as well as a union history up to 1946 and by-laws recorded while Christoffel was still president of the union. The collection consists of subject files, publications and pamphlets, correspondence, articles, loose news clippings, nine scrapbooks of organized news clippings, bound testimonies, and a DVD recording.
The materials in this collection are divided into four series, the first three being LOCAL 248 UNION MATERIALS, DEFENSE PAPERS, and PERSONAL PAPERS. The fourth series, VISUAL MATERIALS, consists of one DVD film. Christoffel's original filing system is largely intact. Due to the inextricable links between his union activities, defense trials, and personal interests, researchers may need to look in more than one series for information.
The LOCAL 248 UNION MATERIALS consists of four headings: General, Grievances and Rulings, Newspaper clippings, and Scrapbooks. The General heading includes materials relating to the history and organization of Local 248, including a History of Local 248 authored by Christoffel, Local 248 by-laws, several hundred pages of polling lists that act as a membership roster for 1946, and an account of the 1947 Local 248 strike. Grievances and Rulings contain bound volumes of grievances and referee rulings, as well as bound copies of documents studying the union's demands. Newspaper clippings cover union activities from 1941-1948, and Scrapbooks contains nine scrapbooks of chronologically ordered news clippings relating to the formation of Local 248 and the strikes of 1939, 1941, and 1946-1947. Aside from the scrapbooks and news clippings, little documentation of Local 248 as a fraternal and labor organization exists in this series.
The DEFENSE PAPERS encompass the records that Christoffel kept pertaining to his perjury trial defense. This series includes four headings: Defense correspondence, Harold Christoffel Defense Committee, Newspaper clippings, and Testimonies and Statements. Defense correspondence contains letters between Christoffel, his lawyers, and various judicial offices in the course of information request and provision that occurs during a trial. Researchers should note that in the course of correspondence, legal documents pertaining to the perjury cases were attached and are included in this file along with relevant correspondence. Harold Christoffel Defense Committee documents the formation of the committee, including correspondence within Local 248 and with other unions around the state and the country seeking support for the Defense Fund. Defense Fund account statements document expenses paid out and donations received between 1948 and 1953. Four receipt books document who donated money to the Fund between 1948 and 1950. Two trade union directories are annotated by Christoffel and include lists of contacts in New York State and nationally. Also included are press releases, newsletters, and advertisements funded by the Defense Committee to keep benefactors apprised of events, as well as to recruit new support. Newspaper clippings cover material from several local and national papers that followed the Christoffel trial and Local 248 activity during the time period. Testimonies and Statements include depositions, testimonies, and statements given by major and minor players in the perjury trial, including Christoffel, Robert Buse, R.J. Thomas, O. John Rogge, and Harold W. Story; these testimonies record both prosecution and defense witnesses. In addition to legal statements are several hundred questionnaires about Harold Christoffel and his alleged Communist activities administered to members of Local 248.
The PERSONAL PAPERS consist of six headings: the Army File, Biographical Materials and Research, Correspondence, Notebook of religious studies, the Prison File, and Speeches and Writings. The Army File includes materials Christoffel kept from his time in the Army, including training certificates, soldier pay records, and draft and discharge papers. Biographical Materials and Research contain materials that Christoffel kept regarding his personal interests and research in his post-union days, including economic democracy, his attempts to gain access to his records using the Freedom of Information Act, correspondence and transcripts relating to an interview he gave to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Fromkin Memorial Collections, information on union films shown by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, activities in the Wisconsin Historical Society Labor History Project, and correspondence and information about the Wisconsin Historical Society. Researchers should note that information obtained from the Freedom of Information Act contains many legal briefs and prosecution correspondence that was unavailable to Christoffel and his defense team at the time of his trial. Correspondence includes general correspondence with family and friends, with two files devoted specifically to Shel Schendel and H. Gunnar Mickelson, old friends from union days. The Notebook includes handwritten notes about religion and religious studies. The Prison File consists of materials from Christoffel's time spent in prison, including bond receipts, probation reports, correspondence, and handwritten notes from coursework. Speeches and Writings contain handwritten and typewritten speeches as well as unpublished written works. Some of these materials are annotated and were presumably written by Christoffel in preparation for union rallies and meetings.
VISUAL MATERIALS includes one DVD recording of an approximately 25-minute film about the history of labor organizations in Milwaukee. The original film date is not known but appears to be circa 1980. Harold Christoffel was interviewed for the film about the Local 248 Allis-Chalmers strikes of 1941 and 1946-1947.
