Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/vhp.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2021655425
Finding aid written in English.
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English and French.
Accessioned, 2020.
Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
Collection is open for research; access restrictions apply. To request materials, please contact the Veterans History Project at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/vhp.contact
Harold Horwitz Collection (AFC/2001/001/119954), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Harold Horwitz was born on January 9, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York to Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Horwitz. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management at the University of Pennsylvania in 1942.
Horwitz enlisted in the Army on April 26, 1943. After basic training in Camp Crowder, Missouri, he was trained as a cryptographer at Vint Hill Farm Station in Virginia, and in Washington, D.C. He arrived in England in September 1943 and spent the remainder of World War II working for European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) - first for the Signal Operating Service; then for the Signal Security Division; then the 3217th Signal Service Battalion, and finally for the Signal Intelligence Division, Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Theater Service Forces European Theater. He was based in England until October 1944, then in Paris until September 1945, and finally in Frankfurt, Germany until returning to the United States in December 1945.
Following World War II, he worked as a manufacturer of arts and crafts materials. Horwitz died on October 28, 2011.
Collection includes correspondence and military papers related to Harold Horwitz's service in the United States Army during World War II. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between Horwitz and his family.
Collection is arranged in one series: Manuscripts. Manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by type, with correspondence arranged chronologically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2021655425
MS01: Letters between various correspondents, including Harold Horwitz and his parents, and between various of Horwitz’s acquaintances and his parents. Bulk of letters are between Harold Horwitz and his parents, who lived in Brooklyn, New York. Topics covered include: In-processing at Fort Dix, New Jersey; basic training at Camp Crowder, Missouri; being treated well during training and enjoying training; training at Vint Hill Farms Station, Virginia; attending Jewish religious services during training; receiving care packages from home; desire to be accepted into Army Specialized Training Program; training with the 2nd Signal Service Battalion in Washington, DC; secrecy regarding his duties; dental treatments received in the Army; gratitude for his parents’ support; arriving in England in September 1943; sightseeing in England; seeing friends from home in the military; shopping for the holidays; attending Jewish religious services in England; spending time with a Jewish English family; religious devotion; requesting clothing to be shipped to him; attending movies, theater productions, and musical concerts; opening a postal savings account in England; opinions of British radio programming; reading magazines and newspapers; giving food items from home to British friends; taking photographs in Europe; going to Torquay, England on leave; Armed Forces Network (AFN) radio; attending a lecture by Chaim Weizmann in London; seeing relatives of friends from home in England; receiving news of D-Day; adoption of American material culture in Britain; desire to go golfing with the family when he returns home; adapting to lack of material comforts; arriving in Paris, France in October 1944; conditions in Paris; German prisoners of war working for the Allies; learning French; living in an apartment in Paris; holding Christmas parties for French orphans; rationing in Europe compared to rationing in the United States; weather conditions; business affairs of his father’s company; sending gifts home from Paris; learning French from his friend Madame Boussac and assisting her in reconnecting with family members in Venezuela; taking French classes at the Sorbonne; requesting art supplies for friends; attending opera in Paris; seeing Mickey Rooney; ceremonies in Paris for the rededication of the regimental colors by Charles De Gaulle; sadness over the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; food shortages in France; possibility of being transferred to the Pacific Theater of Operations; spending time at a replacement depot in Rheims, France in August 1945; Madame Boussac’s efforts to hide Jews and others in danger during the war; meeting a Hungarian man who was in the Maquis; arriving in Frankfurt, Germany in September 1945; conditions and destruction in Frankfurt; impatience to go home; going to Switzerland on furlough; friends from home returning from the war; former German soldier assigned to work for him; sister Rhoda’s school life and dating life; searching for a cousin who lived in Austria through the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration; working with discharged servicemembers who took civilian jobs with the military; arriving in Le Havre, France on his way home; includes postcards from various sights in England, France, and Switzerland.
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MS02: Letters exchanged between Harold Horwitz and his sister Rhoda Horwitz.Topics covered include: experiences during training; Rhoda’s college plans; travels and sightseeing in England; Rhoda’s college experiences; horseback riding; travels and sightseeing in Paris, France; encouragement of Rhoda’s studies; shortages and rationing in France; Rhoda’s experiences working for college radio station; both learning French - Harold taking French classes at the Sorbonne; school politics; Harold’s decision to leave the Army after the war; includes letters written partially in French; includes postcards from various sights in England and Switzerland.
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MS03: Contents include copies of Separation Report, Separation Qualification Record, and Honorable Discharge Certificate; souvenir program from graduation ceremony from basic training at Camp Crowder; copy of memo from Brigadier General W. S. Rumbough, Chief Signal Officer, concerning operations in Europe, dated 04/12/1944; copy of memo from Colonel George A. Bicher dated 12/31/1943 wishing troops a Happy New Year; 48-hour pass issued while in London; orders to active duty; copy of leave orders dated 10/24/1945 and itinerary for furlough in Switzerland.
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