The Papers of H. R. Baukhage cover primarily the years, 1941 to 1962. The majority of the collection is concerned with scripts of his broadcasts from 1944 to 1954; his journals, 1942 to 1953; and many of his speeches
for the years 1941 through 1962. There are a few items of correspondence, some letters to his wife when he was in Egypt, and others dealing with his autobiography. The correspondence covers the years from 1941 to 1961, but there are numerous gaps through those years. The collection contains two drafts from manuscripts: one concerned with his autobiography, Baukhage Talking, and the other with the Stars and Stripes publication.
The scripts for broadcasts are concerned with the second World War; Berlin, Germany; the Nuremberg Trials; the 1944 Democratic and Republican conventions in Chicago; numerous holidays; President Roosevelt's death and burial; Truman's inauguration; the Soviet Union; and many of Baukhage's regular programs.
The personal journals of Mr. Baukhage consist of diary formats, interviews, and general impressions of people, places and situations. Some of the material contained in his journals consists of recollections of meetings with foreign diplomats and State Department officials; World War I; observations of President Roosevelt and the New Deal; World War II; the political scene; Germany and Russia; and general sketches of the state of the country.
The remainder of the text collection consists of script and journal fragments; a folder of stories, articles and poetry (1906-1915), presumably written by Baukhage; and one folder of miscellaneous material.
In addition to the papers, the collection contains five tape recordings pertaining to a series of programs titled, “Report in Depth, F.D.R., the Man”, recorded in 1959. The collection also includes twenty-six disc recordings, chiefly broadcasts by Baukhage. The discs cover the years 1940 through 1951. Among the recordings are one of President Roosevelt's death and burial; broadcasts of the Nuremberg trials following World War II; news conferences, one of which was with Thomas E. Dewey after his defeat by President Truman; coverage of military maneuvers in the Caribbean; a speech by Andrei Gromyko before the Security Council in 1947; interviews with Secretary of Defense Stephen Early; and broadcasts of the Japanese surrender.
