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| Creator: | Telford Taylor (1908-1998) |
| Title: | Telford Taylor Papers |
| Dates: | (1918-1998) (Bulk, 1949-1992) |
| Quantity: | 132.7 cu. ft. |
| Identification: | Diamond 1 |
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| 1909 | DATELINE: Washington, DC, March 4. William Howard Taft (1857-1930) is inaugurated the 27th U.S. President. |
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| 1928 | Recipient: AB degree from Williams College, Williamstown, MA. |
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| 1928-1929 | Instructor, History and Political Science, Williams College, Williamstown, MA. |
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| 1932 | Recipient: AM degree from Williams College, Williamstown, MA. |
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| | Recipient: LL.B. from the Harvard Law School. |
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| 1932-1933 | Law Clerk to Judge Augustus N. Hand (1869-1954), U.S. Court of Appeals, New York, N.Y. |
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| 1932 | DATELINE: Chicago, IL, July 2. At the Democratic Party Convention, the Presidential nominee, Franklin
D. Roosevelt declares: "Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by men." and:
"I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people." (See, Bennett, James O'Donnell,
"The Nominee in Action - As He is Seen by Bennett: Roosevelt Meets 20,000 with Chuckling Calm,"
Chicago Daily Tribune (July 3, 1932): Part 1, pg. 3. |
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| 1933 | DATELINE: Washington, DC, March 4. Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated the 32nd U.S. President. In his inaugural address, Roosevelt proclaims to a nation reeling from economic depression: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." |
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| | In April 1933, Benjamin V. Cohen (1894-1983) (Lawyer and U.S. Presidential Advisor (1933-1952)) entered the “New Deal,” when Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965)
(Professor Harvard University Law School (1914-1939) and Associate Justice U.S. Supreme Court (1939-1962)) brought him together with James Landis and Thomas G. Corcoran to write the Truth in Securities Act (1933). |
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| | In December 1933, probably at the suggestion of Felix Frankfurter, Benjamin Cohen, who is occupied with railroad legislation, asks Telford Taylor and I.N.P. Stokes to prepare a preliminary draft of the stock exchange bill.
(See, Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal (1959) at 456.) For an example of one of these preliminary
drafts, please see, Telford Taylor Papers at TTP-CLS: 2-3-2-15. |
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| 1934-1935 | Senior Attorney, Agricultural Adjustment Administration. |
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| 1935-1939 | Associate Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce. |
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| 1939-1940 | Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General. |
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| 1940-1942 | General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission. |
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| 1942 | Went on active duty as a major in Military Intelligence. |
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| 1945-1946 | Member Staff, Chief of Counsel and U.S. Representative for Prosecution of War Criminals. |
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL
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| 1946 | Recipient Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) |
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| 1946 | Promoted to Brigadier General. |
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| 1946-1949 | Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, U.S. Office of Military Government (U.S.-OMGUS). |
NUREMBERG MILITARY TRIBUNALS
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| 1949 | DATELINE: Washington, DC, May 9. In a statement to the International News Service, Brig. Gen. Telford Taylor announced the official end of the
Nuremberg Military Tribunals. Taylor declared: ". . . I venture to predict that as time goes on we will hear more about Nuremberg rather than less, and that in a very real sense the
conclusion of the trials marks the beginning, and not the end, of Nuremberg as a force in politics, law and morals." . . . "Nuremberg was part of the process of enforcing law-law that
long antedated the trials, and that will endure into the future; law that binds not only Germans and Japanese, but all men."
(See, TTP-5-1-1-1 [TMs] (May 9, 1949).) |
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| | Recipient: Williams College, LLD (June 19, 1949) |
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| | In the fall 1949, Martin Popper, Esq. (1909-1989) confers with Telford Taylor about the possible legal
representation of the "Hollywood Ten". (See, Telford Taylor Papers at TTP-CLS: 7-1-1-8.)
In the end, after much consultation, Taylor does not participate in the "Hollywood Ten" litigation. |
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| 1949-1950 | Recipient: Lateran Cross, 3d Class (Vatican); Legion of Honor (France); Order British Empire (England); Order of
Orange-Nassau (Netherlands); and Order Polonia Restituta (Poland). |
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| 1951 | DATELINE: Frankfurt am Main, Germany, January 31. U.S. High Commissioner
for Germany John J. McCloy and Chief of the U.S. European Command Gen. Thomas T. Handy (1892-1982) today commuted 21 death sentences, reduced the sentences of 69 other individuals and released 33 other war
criminals, including Alfried Krupp (1907-1967) the former head of the Krupp munitions works. Commissioner McCloy and Gen. Handy also restored Krupp’s property rights. (See, "U.S. Saves 21 Convicted Nazi
War Criminals From Gallows, Confirms 7 Death Sentences," Washington Post (Feb. 1, 1951): 3.) |
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| | Throughout 1951, Telford Taylor speaks out against the release of Alfried Krupp. (See , "The Nazis Go Free: Justice and Mercy or Misguided
Expediency?" The Nation, 172:8 (Feb. 24, 1951): 170-172 at TTP-CLS: 8-1-2-36 and TTP-CLS: 14-4-3-53. See also, “The Krupp
Trial-Fact v. Fiction,” Columbia Law Review, 53:2 (Feb., 1953): 197-210 at TTP-CLS: 8-1-2-47.) |
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| 1951-1952 | Director, Small Defense Plants Administration. |
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| 1951-1961 | Counsel for the Joint Council for Educational Television. |
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| 1952 | Publication: Sword and Swastika: Generals and Nazis in the Third Reich. |
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| 1953 | On May 4th, Telford Taylor presents his argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of
Harry Bridges (1900-1990), the founder and president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). In 1945, Bridges had been
convicted of perjury for denying in a 1945 citizenship proceeding that he had ever been a Communist. On June 15th, the U.S. Supreme Court
by a 4-3 vote lifted Bridges' five-year prison sentence holding that the U.S. Government had waited a year too long to indict
the "stormy West Coast labor leader". (See, "Bridges' Citizenship Upheld, Sentence Lifted by Top Court," Washington Post
(June 16, 1953): 1, 13. See also, "Editorial: 'Bridges Fiasco'", Washington Post (June 17, 1953): 14.) |
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| | In 1955, Taylor would again defend Bridges in the U.S. Government's final attempt
to strip the labor chief of his U.S. citizenship. On July 29, 1955, however, Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman ruled that the
prosecution had not proved its charges that the longshore leader had been a member of the Communist party. (See, "Court
Rejects Plea To Deport Bridges," New York Times (July 30, 1955): 1, 10. See also, Larrowe, Charles P., Harry Bridges: The
Rise and Fall of Radical Labor in the United States (1972) at 336-340.) |
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| 1953 | On Nov. 27th, in an address before the U.S. Military Academy Cadet Forum (West Point, NY), Taylor
criticized U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's (1908-1957) investigation of espionage at Ft. Monmouth, NJ as "a most dangerous threat to the
morale and efficiency of the Army." |
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| | Taylor asserted further: "As yet, nothing has been disclosed to back up [McCarthy's] accusations." "Unless the Senator can prove these grave charges ...
he will stand condemned as a dangerous adventurer who does not hesitate to gamble with the national security in order to gratify his own ambitions
and craving for publicity." Taylor declared, in turn, that episodes such as this are a menace to national unity, for internal disunity is the only
thing that can lead to an American military defeat." (See, "Gen. Telford Taylor Assails McCarthy's Monmouth Probe," Washington Post (Nov. 28, 1953): 11.) |
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| 1953 | At a Dec. 5th press conference, Senator McCarthy charged that Taylor had left government service in 1952 with a
flag signaling an "unresolved question of loyalty" in his civil service file. (See, "McCarthy Says West Point Critic Has 'Unresolved' Loyalty Record,"
New York Times (Dec. 6, 1953): 2H. See also, "McCarthy Questions Taylor's Loyalty,
Has Own Veracity Hit in Counter Blast," Washington Post (Dec. 6, 1953): 5M. and Telford Taylor Papers at TTP-CLS: 10-0-3-45.) |
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| | Throughout December 1953, McCarthy threatened to subpoena Taylor to appear before his committee.
By December's end, however, McCarthy publicly backed away from his original implication of Taylor's disloyalty and withdrew his subpoena sword. |
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| 1955 | Publication: Grand Inquest: The Story of Congressional Investigations. |
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| 1955 | Taylor retained to appeal the Smith Act (1940) conviction of Jack W. Hall (1915-1971) (Regional Director, International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) in Hawaii.). In 1958, Hall's Smith Act conviction on charges of seeking the overthrow of the U.S. Government was
overturned by U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (See, "Jack W. Hall, 56, Union Vice President," Washington Post (Jan. 4, 1971): B10. See also,
TTP-CLS: 7-1-15-[190-204].) |
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| 1956 | On Oct. 10th, Telford Taylor presented his oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Junius I. Scales, Jr. (1920-2002). (See,
TTP-CLS: 7-1-22-315.) Scales was arrested for violating the Smith Act (1940), which made it a felony to lead or be a knowing member of an organization dedicated to the violent overthrow of the United States government. |
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| | Mr. Scales, a former Communist, was the only individual convicted and imprisoned under the clause that made it a crime to be a member of such a group. Taylor argued that the U.S. Government had been
compelled "to read things into the law that are not there" in order to defend its constitutionality. Taylor maintained that the U.S. Government was attempting to treat the Scales case as a
conspiracy case. (See, "Smith Act Challenged: Supreme Court Hears Argument on Its Constitutionality," New York Times (Oct. 11, 1956): 29.) U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) commuted
Mr. Scales's sentence on Dec. 24, 1962. (See, "Editorial: Commutation," Washington Post (Dec. 28, 1962): A18.) |
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| 1956 | Publication: Merrily the Throstle Sings (musical composition) (Words by Sir Edward
Bulwer Lytton and music by Telford Taylor.) |
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| 1957-1976 | Appointed Visiting Lecturer, Yale University, School of Law, New Haven, CT. |
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| 1958 | Publication: The March of Conquest: The German Victories in Western Europe, 1940. |
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| 1958-1963 | Appointed Visiting Lecturer, Columbia University, School of Law, New York, NY. |
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| 1959 | On April 16th, Judgment at Nuremberg airs on the CBS television program "Playhouse 90".
Telford Taylor narrates the program and serves as its technical advisor. George Roy Hill (1921-2002) directs the teleplay, which
features such actors as Maximilian Schell (1930-) as a skillful German lawyer, Paul Lukas (1895-1971) as a former Minister of Justice and
Claude Rains (1889-1967) as an American jurist. (See, Shanley, John P., "Nuremberg Judgment," New York Times (April 17, 1959): 53.
See also, TTP-CLS: 9-3-3-64 [TMs] (December 20, 1957)). |
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| 1960-1963 | Chairman, New York City Advisory Board of Public Welfare. |
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| 1960-1965 | Member, Joint Council for Educational Television. |
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| 1961 | DATELINE: Jerusalem,
Israel, April 11. Adolf Eichmann, the wartime head of the Gestapo’s Jewish Affairs Office, who was charged with the responsibility for implementing the
Nazi plan for the annihilation of the Jews, will go on trial today. |
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| | During the Eichmann court proceedings, Taylor worked as a correspondent for radio station WNEW (NYC). He also wrote
a series of three articles for the The Spectator (London). These commentaries analyzed the trial’s use as a vehicle of historical education both within and
outside Israel, delineated the differences between the Nuremberg and the Eichmann proceedings in detailing the scope of the ‘final solution’ and discussed whether
the Eichmann trial would contribute to the healthy growth of international law and custom. |
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| | (See, TTP-5-4-1 (1-9) and TTP-5-4-2 (15-22) for Telford Taylor’s Eichmann trial notes
and related materials. See also, TTP-8-1-3 (69-70, 72) for Taylor’s articles written for The Spectator (London)) |
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| 1961 | Publication: Italia Eterna (musical march) (April 20, 1961). |
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| | On August 20th, Telford Taylor conducts Italia Eterna (Giuseppe Creatore
Memorial Concert presented by Local 802 Symphonic Band, Central Park Mall, New York City.). |
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| 1963-1966 | Member, New York City Advisory Board of Public Welfare. |
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| 1963-1974 | Appointed Professor of Law, Columbia University, School of Law, New York, NY. |
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| 1965 | On July 25th, Richard Franko Goldman (1910-1980) conducts Italia Eterna (Guggenheim Memorial
Concert, Goldman Band, Central Park, New York City.). |
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| 1967 | Publication: The Breaking Wave: The Second World War in the Summer of 1940. |
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| 1969 | Overseas Fellow Churchill College, Cambridge, England. |
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| | Publication: Two Studies in Constitutional Interpretation. |
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| 1970 | Publication: Nuremberg and Vietnam: An American Tragedy. |
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| 1972 | On December 16th, Taylor arrives in Hanoi, North Vietnam in order to deliver mail to and to receive letters from American prisoners of war.
Taylor's delegation, which included the folk singer Joan Baez, Michael Allen the Dean of the Yale Divinity School; and Barry Romo, a Vietnam veteran and the national coordinator of Vietnam
Veterans Against the War, were escorted by the Committee for Vietnamese Solidarity. |
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| | DATELINE: Hanoi, North Vietnam, Dec 19. Last night, American
B-52's bombed the northeast suburbs of Hanoi. Fighter planes, in turn, conducted all-night bombing raids
against the city of Hanoi. (See, Thoraval, Jean, "B-52's Pound Hanoi Area 9 Miles From City Center,'
New York Times (Dec. 19, 1972): 1.) |
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| 1972 | December 31st, Taylor returns to New York City from Hanoi. |
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| | Beginning in late December 1972 and continuing into January 1973,
Taylor writes a four-part article about his Hanoi experience for The New York Times. (See,
TTP-8-1-4 (91-990) and TTP-8-1-5 (100-103)) |
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| 1973-1975 | In September 1973, Telford Taylor joined several legal colleagues in a project to obtain legal
relief for some Jewish citizens of the Soviet Union. These individuals had been convicted and imprisoned under Soviet criminal law for attempting to emigrate
to Israel. Some of the other American attorneys involved in the project included: Eugene Gold, Melvin Stein, Prof. George Fletcher, Prof. Alan Derschowitz,
Leon Lipson and Nicholas Scoppetta. |
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| | This project was based on the straightforward proposition that if privately submitted legal briefs, which demonstrated to
the Soviet authorities that law enforcement officials had violated their own constitution and statutes during the trials and in prison, the Soviets might reconsider the
emigration cases of and alleviate the prison conditions of Soviet Jews. |
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| | (For more information about this project, please see: TTP-7-3-51 (705-707), TTP-7-3-52 (713-717), and TTP-7-3-53 (723-727. See also, Courts
of Terror: Soviet Criminal Justice and Jewish Emigration (1976): ix-21, 65-70; and "Soviet justice, word and deed: Harrison E. Salisbury reviewing Courts
of Terror: Soviet Criminal Justice and Jewish Emigration (1976)" New York Times (April 18, 1976): 175.) |
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| 1974-1976 | Appointed Nash Professor of Law, Columbia University, School of Law, New York, NY. |
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| 1976 | Publication: Courts of Terror: Soviet Criminal Justice and Jewish Emigration (with Alan Dershowitz, George Fletcher, Leon Lipson and Melvin Stein). |
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| 1976-1998 | Appointed Nash Professor Emeritus of Law, Columbia University, School of Law, New York, NY. (July 1, 1976) |
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| 1976-1998 | Appointed Professor, Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, New York, NY. |
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| 1977-1978 | Appointed Visiting Professor, Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, MA. |
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| 1977-1982 | Federal Special Master, U.S. District Court for the Southern District, NY |
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| 1979 | Publication: Munich: The Price of Peace. |
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| 1980 | Recipient: National Book Critics Circle Award (Best Work of General Nonfiction) for Munich: The Price of Peace. |
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| 1987 | Recipient: Yeshiva University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoria causa (May 28, 1987). |
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| | Recipient: Union College, Doctor of Civil Law (Hon.) (June 14, 1987). |
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| 1992 | Publication: The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir. |
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| | Recipient: Monrad G. Paulsen Award (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University,
New York, NY (June 14, 1992). |
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| 1998 | Died May 23rd in New York City. |
Available for faculty, students, and researchers engaged in scholarly or publication projects.
Permission to publish or quote from any written
materials must be obtained in writing.
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| Subject Topics: |
| | Cartels -- Germany |
| | Educational television |
| | Germany (Territory under Allied occupation, 1945: U.S. Zone) |
| | I.G. Farben Trial, Nuremberg, Germany, 1947-1948 |
| | Industries -- Germany |
| | Krupp Trial, Nuremberg, Germany, 1947-1948 |
| | Law teachers |
| | Lawyers, Military |
| | New York (N.Y.) -- Politics and government, 1950-1967 |
| | Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946 |
| | Public television -- Law and legislation |
| | United States -- Army -- Lawyers |
| | United States -- Federal Communications Commission |
| | United States -- Office of Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality |
| | War Crime Trials, Nuremberg, 1946-1949 |
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| Document Types: |
| | Clippings |
| | Correspondence |
| | Minutes |
| | Pamphlets |
| | Proceedings |
| | Trial Transcripts |
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| Provenance : | Gift of Telford Taylor's wife, Prof. Toby
Golick, in December 1999. |
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| First Citation: | The first citation should take the following form: Telford Taylor Papers, Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia University Law School, New York, NY
(TTP-CLS: Series # - Subseries # - Box # - Folder #.) |
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| Second Citation: | After the first full citation, all additional citations my take the following form: (TTP-CLS: Series # - Subseries # - Box # - Folder #.) |
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| April 2000 | Inventory completed by Sara Elise Phang, Ph.D. | .
| Aug. 2000-Oct. 2004 | Papers processed and cataloged by Christopher M. Laico, Archivist. |
| Oct. 2000-Nov. 2000 | Papers of Telford Taylor, 1938-1993 (Bulk, 1945-1949) (4.2 linear ft.) transferred from the Library of Congress to
the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia University Law School. |
| Jan. 2001 | 1st Prototype electronic finding aid created by Christopher M. Laico, Archivist. |
| May 2003 | Technical expertise in the redesign of the 1st Prototype finding aid
for the revamped Columbia Law School web page provided by Thomas Baker, Systems Coordinatar (Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia University Law School). |
| May 2003 | 2nd Prototype electronic finding aid developed by Bogdan Caprita (Columbia University, BA). |
| June-July 2004 | Manuscripts and photographs scanned by Yelena Grinberg (Barnard College, BA; Juilliard School, MM; Juilliard School, DMA). |
| April 8, 2005 | Telford Taylor Papers Conference |
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