Record Groups
Metadata
Collection |
Charles W. Sydnor, Jr Papers |
Object Name |
Collection |
Catalog Number |
RG-25 |
Dates of Creation |
1933-2014 |
Extent of Description |
54.6 linear feet (92 boxes, 31 binders) |
Admin/Biographical History |
Dr. Charles W. Sydnor, Jr. graduated from Emory & Henry College in 1965, earned his MA and PhD degrees at Vanderbilt University in 1967 and 1971 respectively, and then was a DAAD Fellow at the University of Freiburg, Germany in 1968 - 69. He taught modern German and modern European history at Ohio State University, at Vanderbilt, and at Longwood University from 1972-1980. In 1980, he moved to Hampden-Sydney College as Assistant to the President, and then came to Richmond in January 1982 to serve as Executive Assistant and Speechwriter to Governor Charles S. Robb. From the Governor's Office, Dr. Sydnor returned to Emory & Henry and served as President for eight years. Then in March 1992 he became the President and CEO of Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Co, where he remained until May 2006. In July 2006, he accepted a joint teaching appointment as a Visiting Professor at Longwood and Hampden-Sydney, he then returned to Emory & Henry. Dr. Sydnor is a well-known historian in the fields of both modern German history and the history of the Holocaust. His doctoral thesis, "Soldiers of Destruction: A History of the SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945," was published in 1977 by the Princeton University Press and in a second revised edition in 1990. Between 1986 and 1989 he served on the Virginia-Israel Commission created by Governor Gerald L. Baliles as Chair of the Education and Holocaust Education Committee. From 1982 until 2006 he also served as an Expert Witness for the Office of Special Investigations in the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice, testifying in de-naturalization cases brought against former SS concentration camp guards who obtained US Visas and American citizenship fraudulently by lying about their wartime service as SS perpetrators. Eventually, 23 SS guards were either de-naturalized or deported, in part as the result of his testimony, affidavits, and expert witness reports. |
Language of Material |
English, German, Russian |
Scope & Content |
The Charles W. Sydnor, Jr. Papers is primarily comprised of material from his years as an expert witness for the Office of Special Investigations Division of the United States Justice Department. The majority of the collected material relates to the following proceedings: United States v. Demjanjuk United States v. Szehinskyi United States v. Kwoczak United States v. Negele United States v. Reimer United States v. Hajda United States v. Baumann United States v. Tittjung United States v. Schellong United States v. Schiffer United States v. Breyer United States v. Lindert United States v. Paal In the Matter of the Extradition of Bruno Karl Blach In the Matter of the Extradition of Kulle The files contain expert reports; depositions from defendants and witnesses; war crimes documentation; relevant Nazi decrees and regulations; relevant secondary research; and extensive original Reich documents. |