mnsss17 Virginia Heim George Papers, 1925-1981 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Susan Boone. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

2003

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Brook Hopkins. 2003-06-05 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mnsss17 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Virginia Heim George Papers, 1925-1981 Finding Aid 221 Susan Boone 1990 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview George, Virginia Heim, 1908- Virginia Heim George Papers1925-1981 221 2 boxes (1 linear ft.) Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

YWCA executive, YWCA overseas secretary, and USO official. Most material in the George papers pertains to her foreign secretary work in South America and Czechoslovakia and her USO work in the Caribbean. Personal letters and travel diaries include descriptions of life in Brazil and the Caribbean and in post-war Czechoslovakia and West Germany. Material also includes speeches, clippings and photographs. English. Biographical Note 1908 Born in St. Joseph, Missouri 1929 University of Wisconsin, major in economics 1929-40 Program Director, YWCA, working with industrial workers, Kansas City, Utica, Pittsburgh Camp Director, YWCA 1937 Carnegie Institute of Technology, graduate study in group work 1940-43 Executive Director, YWCA, Rio de Janiero, Brazil 1943-45 Regional Assistant Director of USO, Brazil, Caribbean Area 1946-48 Program Consultant, YWCA, Czechoslovakia, with two-week special 1948-51 National staff, YWCA, Community Division, working with business 1951-53 Group work and recreational director, YWCA, Oakland, California 1953-56 Executive Director, YWCA, Yakima, Washington 1956-66 Executive Director, YWCA, Utica, New York 1962-64 Advisor, YWCA, Taipei, Taiwan 1966-71 Advisor, YWCA, Colombia, with three short periods in Lima, Peru 1971 Executive Director, YWCA, Omaha, Nebraska 2003? Virginia Heim George died circa 2003 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Virginia Heim (right) and others in Bogota, Columbia, circa 1966-71

The Virginia Heim George Papers consist of one linear foot of correspondence, diaries, clippings, and photographs. The inclusive dates are 1925 to 1981, but the major portion of the material dates from 1940 to 1948, related to her foreign secretary work for the YWCA in South America and Czechoslovakia and her USO work in the Caribbean.

The papers are divided into two series, PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL. The PERSONAL material contains correspondence and diaries, both ranging from 1940 to 1981. The correspondence consists of letters to her family, mostly to her mother, with a small amount of incoming correspondence from family and friends, 1945-50. The nine diaries consist of six written between 1940 and 1948, plus three travel accounts from 1953, 1965, and 1981. Both the letters and diaries provide a detailed description of George's life while working for the YWCA and the USO. She was an eager and enthusiastic participant in her work and also took advantage of the opportunities it provided to travel extensively. She was a keen observer of the countries she visited and the people she met. Her wartime letters as well and those from postwar Czechoslovakia reflect the mail censorship of the times. As a result the diaries and the occasional letters that she was able to write freely are more candid. The diaries written from her two trips to Czechoslovakia in 1965 and 1981 contain particularly interesting accounts of life there, and the 1965 account reports earlier arrests and trials, particularly an incident involving the YWCA in 1948.

The PROFESSIONAL material consist of clippings and articles about George and her work, 1925-1975, three reports from her Czechoslovakia and Germany experiences, 1948, and a nine-page speech on the USO, ca. 1945. In this series are also fifteen photographs, five of the USO, six related to the YWCA, and four of women in Puerto Rico.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into two series:

I. Personal II. Professional Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The collection is open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to unpublished works of Virginia Heim George. Copyright to materials created by others may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission must be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use."

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Virginia Heim George Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Additional Formats

Selections from the Virginia Heim George Papers can be viewed in the Web exhibit "An Ever-Widening Circle of Friendship": YWCA Overseas Secretaries from China to Liberia.

History of the Collection

The Virginia Heim George Papers were a gift of Mrs. George in 1989.

Processed by Susan Boone, 1990.

Search Terms Czechoslovakia--History--1945-1992--Sources George, Virginia Heim, 1908- Brazil--History--20th century--Sources Caribbean area--History--20th century--Sources United Service Organizations (U.S.)--History--Sources Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A.--History--Sources Young Women's Christian Association--South America--History--Sources Young Women's Christian Association--World War, 1939-1945--War Work SERIES I. PERSONAL Correspondence Outgoing to family 1 1 1940 1 2 1941 1 3 1943 1 4 1944 Feb-Jun 1 5 1944 Jul-Dec 1 6 1945 Jan-Jun 1 7 1945 Jul-Dec 1 8 1946 Jan-Jun 1 9 1946 Jul-Dec 2 10 1947 2 11 1948 2 12 1951-81 Incoming 2 13 Mildred Heim Gumm (sister), 1945-50 2 14 Friends, 1945-46, n.d. 2 15 Miscellaneous Diaries 2 16 Jul-Nov 1940 (Brazil) 2 Jan-Feb 1941 (Brazil) 2 17 Jan-Feb 1943 (Brazil-San Francisco River trip) 2 1945-46 (Puerto Rico, Czechoslovakia) 2 18 1946-47 (Czechoslovakia) 2 1947-48 (Scandinavia, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland) 2 19 1959? (U.S. trip itinerary) 2 1965 (Czechoslovakia) 2 1981 (Czechoslovakia) SERIES II. PROFESSIONAL 2 20 Clippings, articles, 1925-75 2 21 Reports, speech, 1945, 1948 Photographs 2 22 YWCA 2 23 USO 2 24 Puerto Rico