Thomas J. Dodd Papers

Collection

Identifier: 1994-0065

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Thomas J. Dodd Papers illuminate the diverse public life of a self-styled crusader. The collection consists primarily of material from Dodd's Senate years (1959-1971) and the Nuremberg war crimes trial before the International Military Tribunal from 1945-1946. Materials documenting his career prior to the Nuremberg Trials and the Senate are to be found only in the scrapbooks of clippings found in Series IX. There is almost no personal material in the collection.

Dates

Creation: undated, 1919-1971

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions to materials described in this finding aid with the following exceptions: Materials in fragile physical condition have been photocopied and the originals are restricted from public access. Use of motion picture film requires production of viewing copies.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

Biography

Thomas Joseph Dodd, the third generation of his family to reside in Connecticut, was born in Norwich on 15 May 1907. Young Thomas received consistent training in Roman Catholicism, a regimen that significantly shaped his world view as an adult. He attended Norwich public schools and graduated from St. Anselm's Preparatory School in 1926. The future two-term Democratic senator earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College in 1930 and received a law degree from Yale University in 1933. He served as the president of the Yale Democratic Club and led a group of young liberals, the "Flying Wedge", to speak on behalf of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

In 1934 Dodd married the former Grace Murphy of Westerly, Rhode Island and the couple proceeded to raise a family of six children: Thomas J., Jr., Carolyn, Jeremy, Martha, Christopher, and Nicholas.

In the same year U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings, another Connecticut native, was so impressed with Dodd's work at Yale that he convinced the young attorney to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dodd became a Special Agent and participated in the apprehension of such notorious criminals as John Dillinger, "Babyface" Nelson, and the Bremer kidnappers.

In 1935 Dodd was appointed Director of the National Youth Administration for Connecticut, a position future president Lyndon B. Johnson held for Texas. The NYA aimed to create educational and employment opportunities for young people struggling through the Great Depression. Dodd served as a delegate to the 1936 Democratic national convention. His meteoric rise continued in 1938 with entry into the U.S. Justice Department as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the department's first Civil Rights Division. Dodd's more noteworthy cases included prosecuting the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina and defending labor's right to organize and bargain collectively in Georgia.

During World War II, Dodd handled cases involving espionage and sabotage that helped cripple Nazi fifth column efforts to destabilize the United States war effort. His work led to the convictions of Reverend Kurt Molzahn, Wilhelm Kunge, Otto Willimanti, and Count Anostase Vonsiatsky on spying charges. Dodd also helped uncover industrial fraud by American firms supplying military hardware, including such New England companies as Anaconda Wire and Cable, Collyer Insulated Wire, Arrow Machine Tool, and Lincoln Machine.

As the war ended, the Allied Powers prepared to convene a military tribunal to prosecute accused Nazi war criminals. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, the head of the American legal team, requested that Dodd join the jurists assembling at Nuremberg, Germany. Dodd served as Vice-Chairman of the Review Board and Executive Trial Counsel. The latter position rendered Dodd the second ranking U.S. lawyer and supervisor of the day-to-day management of the U.S. prosecution team. He shaped many of the strategies and policies through which this unprecedented trial took place and frequently dealt with other Allied legal notables such as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe of Great Britain and Lieutenant General Roman Rudenko of the Soviet Union. Dodd concentrated upon proving the charge of conspiracy to wage aggressive war and consequently cross-examined German industrialists as well as military and political leaders. He reconstructed the will of the last president of the Weimar Republic, Paul von Hindenburg, to reveal that the Nazis had falsified this document to help justify Chancellor Adolph Hitler's consolidation of power.

Dodd presented portions of virtually every aspect of the prosecution's case. He developed a degree of notoriety for displaying the shrunken head of a concentration camp inmate during the trial. Some attorneys deemed such behavior grandstanding and they did not appreciate Dodd's flair for the dramatic. As one of the few civilian lawyers among the U.S. prosecutors, Dodd privately expressed an acute self-consciousness of his unique status. He also experienced the intense loneliness common among Nuremberg staffers separated from their families.

Dodd's Nuremberg work enhanced his stature and visibility back in the United States. He received a Presidential Citation, the U.S. Medal of Freedom, and the Czechoslovakian Order of the White Lion for his outstanding efforts. In 1949 the Polish government, then dominated by Moscow, offered him a prestigious award for service at Nuremberg. Dodd responded with a scathing, public denunciation of Communism in which he refused to accept honors from a regime that he perceived as barely distinct from National Socialism.

Upon his return to America in 1946, Dodd began the private practice of law in Hartford and entered Connecticut politics. He sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1948 against a better-known candidate, Chester Bowles, without ever formally announcing his candidacy. Democratic State Chairman John M. Bailey threw his support behind the more liberal Bowles for fear that the potential third party presidential bid of Henry Wallace would splinter Democrats through the People's Party in Connecticut. Bailey then began a "Draft Dodd" movement for lieutenant governor, but Dodd refused to join what he perceived as a sellout to Communist sympathizers. He focused instead upon civic, charity, and service work. In 1950 Dodd returned to public life to campaign vigorously on behalf of Connecticut Senator Brien McMahon against Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's efforts to unseat him. Despite his ardent anticommunism, Dodd resisted the overly zealous red-baiting of the Cold War. McMahon triumphed in the ensuing election and Democrats encouraged Dodd to pursue a political career.

Dodd won election to Congress from the First Congressional District in 1952 and was reelected two years later. He was the only Connecticut Democrat to sit in the U.S. House during this period. Dodd served on the Government Operations and Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as the Select Committee to Investigate Communist Aggression. After unsuccessfully running for the U.S. Senate in 1956 against Republican incumbent Prescott Bush, Dodd ran again and defeated Republican William A. Purtell in 1958. Earlier that year he had received the Commander of the Order of Merit award from the President of Italy for counsel provided to help prevent a Communist seizure of power.

Dodd served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chaired its Internal Security Subcommittee. He sat on the Judiciary Committee and chaired its Juvenile Delinquency Subcommittee. A brief tenure on the Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee completed Dodd's legislative assignments.

Dodd championed a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's gun control legislation long before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with a mail-order rifle. He eventually secured passage of a firearms bill in 1968, legislation that fell far short of his initial expectations. He ardently supported the civil rights legislation of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, particularly with respect to anti-lynching and voting rights laws. Dodd strove to protect children through measures such as curbing the violence on television and stemming the traffic of illegal drugs.

Dodd vigorously opposed Soviet Communism, which he considered the moral equivalent of German Nazism. He similarly warned against admitting Communist China to the United Nations and advocated the formation of "freedom academies" to raise anticommunism to a scholarly level. Although an early and ardent supporter of the United Nations, Dodd grew increasingly disillusioned with this organization as it gradually became more representative of Third World interests. In 1968 he called for the resignation of U.N. Secretary General U Thant for opposing the U.S. presence in Vietnam.

President Johnson briefly considered naming Dodd as his vice-presidential running mate in 1964, but opted instead for Senator Hubert Humphrey. The publicity surrounding the vice-presidential selection may have served as a reward for Dodd's support of Johnson during the 1960 presidential campaign. In 1964 Johnson enthusiastically endorsed Dodd during a campaign swing through Connecticut and Dodd won his second Senate term with a landslide victory over former Republican governor John D. Lodge. Dodd evolved into a sort of unofficial foreign policy spokesman in the Senate for the Johnson administration. When the President authorized an incursion into the Dominican Republic in 1965, Dodd emerged as one of the administration's most outspoken defenders. Such behavior exacerbated a growing feud between Dodd and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The two exchanged condemnatory press releases and subsequently clashed over Vietnam.

Dodd consciously cultivated an image of himself as a party maverick. In part this stance reflected his poor relationship with John M. Bailey. He championed electoral reform during his 1958 Senate campaign in order to, in effect, "democratize" the nomination process against better known candidates such as Abraham Ribicoff. His proposals included a direct primary for all major state offices, the election of the party chairman by the state convention, a binding presidential preference primary, public hearings before creating a party platform, court reform, and reduction of patronage. Dodd's independence from his party extended beyond the state level. In the Senate, he displayed a relatively low degree of partisanship as measured against his Democratic colleagues. Dodd did not hesitate to criticize the Kennedy administration for waging what he perceived as an ineffective campaign against the Castro regime in Cuba. He provided strong support to the Nixon administration over Vietnam at a time when the Democratic Party experienced deep divisions over this and other issues. He never enjoyed particularly amiable relations with Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield because Dodd often publicly questioned his party's leadership and policies.

In 1966 allegations of financial impropriety surfaced against Thomas Dodd. The Senate began holding hearings the following year to investigate Dodd for his alleged transgressions. Senator Russell Long (D-La.) conducted a vigorous and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to clear Dodd's name. The Senate voted 92-5 to censure him for diverting public funds for private use (primarily through the use of testimonial dinners). He escaped censure on the charge of double billing the government by a vote of 51-45.

In 1970 Dodd withdrew his name from consideration by the Democratic State Convention after learning that he would not receive renomination for the Senate. He proceeded to mount an unsuccessful independent campaign against Republican Lowell Weicker and Democrat Joe Duffy. Dodd retired from public life following Weicker's triumph. He died in his Old Lyme home on 24 May 1971, at the age of 64.

Extent

260.3 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

Arrangement

Series I: Outgoing Correspondence (1959-1970) houses responses from Thomas Dodd and his staff to constituents, individuals from outside Connecticut with particular policy agendas, state political leaders, members of Congress, and representatives of the executive branch. These letters generally deal with such routine constituent issues as service academy appointments, bureaucratic errors, legal predicaments, immigration and naturalization problems, requests for social security benefits, and postmaster appointments. Subjects of national and international interest, however, are also discussed. In letters to Marjorie Brown, Thomas Gaines, and Robert Simmons in 1959, Dodd discusses the Senate filibuster rule and the seniority system. He addresses his views on inflation in a July 1960 letter to Anne Dalton; his views on the Berlin crisis and the necessity for nuclear weapons in a twelve page April 1960 letter to C. Douglas Dillon; his reasons for supporting Lyndon Johnson for the 1960 presidential nomination in letters to such persons as Allen Bell, J. Gerard Flynn, Gerald Oaksmith, and Perry Shafner in 1959-1960; his opposition to Nikita Khrushchev's visit to the U.N. in a 1959 letter to Arthur Carroll; and his support for a federal anti-lynching law in a 1959 letter to Alfred B. Lewis. In 1960 letters to Harper's, the Providence Journal, and others, he responds to an article written by critic Kenneth Tynan describing his appearance before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. In a March 1963, letter to Adrian Fisher, Deputy Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Dodd outlines in considerable detail his misgivings over the draft nuclear test ban treaty between the United States and Soviet Union. A file of "Statements by Thomas J. Dodd" for 1965 includes requested insertions into the Congressional Record and drafts of speeches and press releases. A letter of August 9, 1967, to Mrs. Horton O'Neil, enumerates Dodd's views on the Cold War in Asia and his support of U.S. policy in Vietnam. Another detailed exposition of Dodd's opinions of events in Asia can be found in a February 29, 1968 letter to Steven Anderson. Dodd defends recent elections held in South Vietnam and distinguishes between different variations of Communism, such as Soviet, Chinese, and Yugoslavian.

The outgoing correspondence is arranged alphabetically by year. Those constituents who received eight or more replies in a single year are listed by name in the box and folder list. Dodd's Senate office retained two carbon copies of all outgoing correspondence. Series I contains yellow carbons, while appropriate white copies are located in Series II and other portions of the collection.

Series II: Subject Files (1959-1969) primarily contains correspondence to Dodd and his Senate staff concerning critical issues like taxes, trade, Vietnam, social security, Medicare, and veterans' benefits. This series includes many pamplets, brochures, reports, newspaper articles, and promotional literature that constituents supplied to buttress their arguments. Some of the material was provided to Dodd to facilitate his committee work on foreign relations, space, internal security, judicial matters such as juvenile delinquency, and anti-trust regulations. Box 111, Trade: Imports, Miscellaneous, contains a copy of a September 11, 1962 letter recounting how the Japanese are taking over the American market for such manufactured products as hand tools, screws, nuts, and rivets while the Utilities file for that same year holds several documents protesting ABC's use of Alger Hiss to "sit in judgment" of Richard Nixon. A variety of public relations files include Dodd's thank you letters to supporters, letters of condolence, and congratulations notes to friends and acquaintances. In most cases Dodd's reply is filed with the incoming material. Several folders contain crank letters and other incoherent correspondence that went unanswered, including a photocopy of a five page 1965 letter attacking Secretary of State Dean Rusk for Communist sympathies. Subject files exist in significant numbers only for 1962 and 1966-1969. This material is arranged alphabetically by subject for each year.

The series concludes with four boxes of City Files from 1965-1970 arranged alphabetically by municipality. These papers deal primarily with efforts by local officials to secure federal urban renewal funding for such communities as Hartford, Willimantic, New London, Danbury, and Waterbury.

Series III: Administrative and Legislative Files (1949-1971) cover a wide range of political material from Dodd's tenure in Congress arranged into the following subseries: Correspondence with Members of Congress; Legislative Correspondence; Legislative Casework; Public Relations Files; Speeches, Articles, and Press Releases; Thomas Dodd Voting Records; Senate Voting Records; Schedules; and Miscellaneous Papers.

The series begins with Correspondence with Members of Congress (Box 156) from 1969-1970. Most of these letters deal with personal matters such as birthdays and retirements, but it also contains newspapers and other printed articles on the ethical transgressions of some of Dodd's colleagues. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by legislator.

Legislative Correspondence (Boxes 157-162) deals principally with efforts by senators to garner support from colleagues for their proposed legislation. For example, Edmund Muskie sought Dodd's co-sponsorship on a bill to overhaul federal lands policy in 1967. That same year Edward Kennedy contacted Dodd concerning legislation regulating congressional districts and residency requirements for voting. In 1970 John Tower hoped to win Dodd's approval of a bill to revamp the National Labor Relations Board. Draft bills accompany some of the letters. This material is arranged alphabetically by senator for 1969-1970.

Legislative Casework (Boxes 163-180) consists of correspondence and documentation of various issues for which Thomas Dodd proposed specific legislation or considered tackling due to requests by constituents. Many of the issues outlined reflect local or regional concerns. For example, several folders detail Dodd's efforts to secure an international airport for Connecticut. Other folders deal with proposed fare increases by the New Haven Railroad, oil pollution in the Thames River, and the Office of Economic Opportunity in Waterbury. This subseries contains many reports and other forms of evidenciary material. Matters such as judicial appointment confirmations and Senate committee work are also included. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by issue name and largely runs from 1967-1970 although some earlier files are included. A few Legislative Casework files for Dodd's House years are located in Box 222.

Public Relations Files (Boxes 181-185) deal with Thomas Dodd's responses to constituent letters deemed important enough to require a more lengthy, detailed response than typically found in Series I. In many cases, Dodd and his staff fulfilled requests for information on federal programs, key issues, copies of the senator's speeches, and the history of U.S. politics and government. Constituents would frequently offer suggestions on such matters as prosecuting the Cold War, registering automobiles, and fiscal policy. This subseries is arranged alphabetically be correspondent and is available only for 1962.

Speeches, Articles, and Press Releases (Boxes 186-221) includes nearly all of Thomas Dodd's public statements. This subseries is arranged chronologically and spans his Senate and House career (1953-57, 1959-71). The Senate material precedes that of the House. Each individual item from the Senate years is cited in the box and folder list. The Congressional Record provides Dodd's comments on the floor of the Senate. His press releases are all listed with some reference to their subject, regardless of whether or not they were titled. Some speeches may have gone undelivered, but the drafts are available for review. A few articles written about Thomas Dodd are included as well. This subseries begins with several boxes of indexes arranged chronologically and by subject, but they are not complete. House press releases and Dodd remarks in the Congressional Record are arranged chronologically, but without separate titles for each folder. The subseries concludes with a personal, bound copy of those portions of the Congressional Record from 1953-1957 in which Thomas Dodd made remarks.

Thomas J. Dodd Voting Records (Box 223) summarize his voting and attendance as a senator and congressman.

Senate Voting Records (Boxes 224-31) consist of reports on individual Senate votes published by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. This material is arranged chronologically for 1959-1961 and 1965-1970. Votes for 1962-1964 are arranged by subject. Each yearly section includes an index of all votes. Each voting report contains statistics on party unity and support of the presidential administration as well as a summary of the legislation.

Administrative and Legislative Schedules (Boxes 232-233) consist of diary sheets, engagement schedules, and guest books spanning Dodd's Senate years. All material is arranged chronologically.

Miscellaneous Papers (Boxes 239-240) begins with four bound volumes of the Summary and Special Reports of the Select House Committee on Communist Aggression from 1954. The subseries continues with what the Dodd staff designated as "Special Letters": publicized correspondence from Thomas Dodd to various notables and newspapers. Examples include letters on the death of John F. Kennedy, the nuclear test ban treaty, and Cold War confrontations in the Third World. Some "letters" constitute exchanges between Dodd and other statesmen on news programs such as "Meet the Press". This material is arranged chronologically with an index and primarily covers the years 1959-1965. The subseries concludes with about seventy bipartisan civil rights newsletters from 1964 arranged in the order of their publication.

Series IV: Investigative Files (1956-1970) contains four subseries: Insurance; Narcotics; Internal Security; and Congo. Each of these areas reflect work done by Dodd through his committee assignments.

The Insurance subseries (Boxes 241-242) contains material gathered on automobile insurance by the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee from 1965-1966. These files are arranged by subject and include newspaper and magazine articles, draft bills, correspondence, and insurance data.

The Narcotics subseries (Boxes 242-243) grew out of Senate Juvenile Delinquency Subcommittee hearings in 1969. This material is arranged by subject and consists primarily of the testimony of prominent public officials with an interest in eliminating drug use among youth. Press releases, office memoranda, and correspondence comprise the remainder of the subseries.

The Internal Security subseries (Boxes 244-248) consists of published reports by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee from 1956-1970. The material is arranged chronologically and covers a wide range of topics. Despite a nominal emphasis on internal security, most reports document Communist activity in the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Asia. The ideological reliability of U.S. State Department employees is the "internal" issue that receives the most attention in these files.

The Congo subseries (Boxes 249-62) reflects Thomas Dodd's great personal interest in this troubled land in the 1960s. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dodd visited the Congo in 1961 and compiled sizeable files on the controversies surrounding its political future. The subseries is arranged alphabetically according to the general subject matter, i.e. newspaper clippings, State Department material, correspondence. This material runs primarily from 1961-1965.

Series V: Foreign Travel Files (1954-1969) document Thomas Dodd's visits to four continents. This material is arranged chronologically by nation or geographic area and includes itineraries, speeches, receipts, expense reports, correspondence, and reports from Dodd's office on events back in America. Dodd's travels included West Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Congo, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Mexico. His 1954 diary sheets from Europe contain personal correspondence to Grace Dodd concerning his political and spiritual philosophy.

Series VI: Campaign Files (1949-1970) cover a wide range of topics concerning Dodd's efforts to win elective office from 1952-1970. The bulk of the material, however, spans the period between 1955 and 1970. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within subjects where appropriate. Correspondence, press releases, delegate lists, and press clippings constitute the main portions of this material. The series offers a perspective into the day-to-day operations of congressional campaigns through mailing lists, drafts of promotional material, correspondence with campaign workers and constituents, and political commentaries on Dodd and the major issues of his day. Detailed summaries of his life and legislative triumphs reveal how Dodd hoped to present himself to voters. Much of the material deals with the composition and procedures of the Democratic Party in Connecticut.

Series VII: Nuremberg Trial (1919-1995, 1933-1947 bulk) provides considerable documentation of the proceedings of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) from 1945-1946 and the evidence used to prosecute Nazi leaders. The vast majority of these files are in English with some German and French. The trial briefs dispersed among these papers provide excellent summaries of various aspects of the prosecution case. This series is divided into five subseries: Common Plan or Conspiracy; Human Rights; Indicted Organizations; Defendant Files; and Conduct of Trial.

The Common Plan or Conspiracy (Boxes 282-284) refers to Count I of the IMT indictment, namely conspiracy to commit unlawful aggression. This subseries consists of trial briefs and German documents used by the Allied prosecution team. The papers are arranged thematically as the conspiracy charge had economic, political, and military dimensions. This subseries includes detailed German war plans for invading such nations as Poland, France, Russia, Norway, and Yugoslavia. The minutes of high-level economic meetings on the mobilization for war also highlight these files.

The Human Rights subseries (Boxes 285-289) documents the wide range of atrocities carried out in the name of National Socialism. This material is arranged thematically and consists primarily of trial briefs and translated German documents. The most thoroughly covered topics are the concentration camp and slave labor systems. Reports detail the implementation of Nazi anti-Semitism, medical experiments conducted in concentration camps, and the psychology of inmates. Other subjects include the plundering of art treasures, the suppression of Christianity, and the Germanisation of occupied territories.

The Indicted Organizations subseries (Boxes 290-295) chronicles the cases against the Reich Cabinet, German High Command, Sturmabteilungen (SA), Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo), Sicherheitsdienst (SD), and the Schutzstaffeln (SS). This material includes not only prosecution trial briefs and captured German documents, but also defense documents employed against Allied jurists. Files are thematically arranged according to the indicted organization.

Defendant Files (Boxes 296-318) encapsulate the prosecution and defense of the twenty-two primary Nazi defendants: Martin Bormann, Karl Doenitz, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Hans Fritzsche, Walter Funk, Hermann Goering, Rudolph Hess, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Constantin von Neurath, Franz von Papen, Erich Raeder, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Hjalmar Schacht, Baldur von Schirach, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Albert Speer, and Julius Streicher. The files are arranged alphabetically by defendant with trial briefs that include detailed biographies of each leader. Each set of defendant files is divided into the prosecution and defense portions of their trial. Although each defendant file contains a closing brief from the prosecution, a separate set of closing briefs is maintained as well for ease of reference in Boxes 317-318.

The Conduct of Trial subseries (Boxes 319-391) encompasses a wide range of subjects and is arranged thematically according to the following categories: General Administrative; Witnesses; Defense; Interrogations; Evidence; Thomas Dodd; Justice Robert Jackson; Transcript Indexes; Transcripts; Photographs; Other Trials; and Post-Trial.

Document lists, memoranda, and personnel lists dominate the general administrative material (Boxes 319-322). Witness files (Boxes 322-323) contain testimony from pre-trial questioning. Defense files (Box 323) consist primarily of applications for defense witnesses. Interrogations of the IMT defendants and lesser criminals awaiting other trials, such as General Franz Halder, comprise the next category (Boxes 323-325). Staff evidence analysis sheets and German General Staff documents predominate the subsequent section on evidence (Boxes 325-326). The Thomas Dodd category (Boxes 326-327) includes correspondence, memoranda, and information concerning Dodd's court appearances at various stages of the trial. Justice Robert Jackson's correspondence and documents (Boxes 327-328) used in his presentations shed light on his participation at Nuremberg. IMT transcript indexes (Box 328) arranged both chronologically and by defendant provide a convenient tool for cross-referencing. Forty-one bound volumes of IMT transcripts (Boxes 329-370) supply a day-to-day, verbatim account of the trial and twelve bound volumes entitled, "Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression", summarize the Allied case. Numerous photographs (Boxes 371-374) add an often poignant dimension to this collection. Most of them depict the Nazi defendants, trial proceedings, Thomas Dodd, other members of the prosecution team, and grisly scenes of Nazi brutality. The documents and trial briefs of other military tribunals (Boxes 375-386), including those in Asia, help set the IMT within the larger context of global war crimes prosecution. These papers also include post- Nuremberg material and related publications (Boxes 386-391) such as articles, editorials, and letters written to praise or defend this unprecedented trial. Box 390 contains a German propaganda book for children, Ein Bilderbuch Fuer Gross und Klein, which attempted to indoctrinate youth with anti-Semitism.

Series VIII: Personal Papers (1920-1971) consist primarily of personal correspondence between Thomas Dodd and acquaintances (1959-1970, bulk). Many of these individuals were Connecticut businessmen, community leaders, and other citizens with whom Dodd enjoyed more than passing contact during his political career. Although these letters are not intimate, they do convey a sense of the personal network that Dodd developed through a lifetime of public service. Some examples include Californian Karl Bissell, a close Dodd friend with whom he corresponded throughout his Senate years. Their letters discussed such matters as Dodd's ongoing battle to pass gun control legislation and opposition by the National Rifle Association. In 1963 Dodd appointed John Barber, president of the New Haven NAACP chapter, as an administrative assistant. A controversy ensued because Barber had stated that he would "like to tattoo my initials on his face with a switchblade" in reference to a visit to Connecticut by segregationist governor of Alabama, George Wallace. Barber ultimately declined Dodd's offer. Correspondence and newspaper articles detail this incident. Dodd maintained frequent contact with powerful New York lawyer Morris Ernst from 1960-1966. Ernst had connections with the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including Hubert Humphrey and President Johnson. Dodd and Ernst discussed a wide variety of major issues and how they might influence executive branch officials. A file of letters between Dodd and one of his staffers, David Martin, proves revealing in two respects. Martin helped the senator deal with charges of ethics violations in 1967 and his public battle with Senator J. W. Fulbright over Vietnam in 1969. This series includes several boxes of support letters written during and shortly after the 1967 Senate censure proceedings against Thomas Dodd. All correspondence is arranged alphabetically by sender. Brochures and reports of the Connecticut National Youth Administration (1935-1938) provide insight into this early phase of Dodd's professional life. Box 420 includes newspaper articles written by Grace Dodd from a column on Washington life that ran from 1963-1965. A variety of miscellaneous material including some of Dodd's diplomas complete this series.

Series IX: Scrapbooks (1935-1971) principally contain clippings from Connecticut newspaper articles that mention Thomas Dodd. Major world events, national news, and political developments receive modest attention. Fifteen scrapbooks and one box of unsorted clippings span a period from 1935-1971 with most of the coverage from 1945-1954. Gaps in scrapbook coverage run from 1938-1940, 1955-1958, 1962-1963, and 1966-1971. A box of unsorted press clippings does include some material from years omitted from the scrapbooks. All of the scrapbooks are in fragile condition with many loose clippings.

Series X: Photographs (1920-1970) includes numerous visual images from Thomas Dodd's life. The photographs are arranged thematically according to such categories as Thomas Dodd and his family, Dodd Senate portraits, Dodd with U.S. Presidents and other statesmen, and Dodd traveling in foreign countries.

Series XI: Awards and Memorabilia (1926-1970) contains the wide array of honors bestowed upon Thomas Dodd from 1947-1970. Notable among them are a Presidential Certificate of Merit (1947) and the Italian Order of Merit (1955). Dodd received several awards from Asian nations during visits in 1961 and 1965. Most of the items in the series reflect Cold War issues such as anticommunism, captive nations, patriotism, and Americanism. Memorabilia includes some framed political cartoons and signed photographs.

Series XII: Audiovisual Materials (1946-1969) consists primarily of sound tape, film, and videotape of Dodd speeches and other public appearances from 1947-1967. One videotape, "The Crusader From Connecticut" (1964), provides a biographical summary of Dodd's life and career prior to his second Senate term. This series is arranged in chronological order, except where the different formats of audiovisual items dictated other boxing arrangements.

Custodial History

Mrs. Grace Dodd donated the bulk of her husband's papers to the Connecticut State Library in January 1972. In 1994, Senator Christopher Dodd and other members of his family arranged the deed of gift necessary to bring this collection to the University of Connecticut Libraries. Small additions have been made by the family in 1996 and 2002 to augment the initial transfer from the State Library.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by the Dodd Family in 1994.

Location of Copies or Alternate Formats

Digital reproductions of materials in this collection may also be found in the Archives & Special Collections digital repository.

Separated Material

The following materials have been removed from the collection and cataloged.

Hearings before the Select Committee on Communst Agression. V. 1 - 4. [Dodd Call No. C7247]

Strategic and Foreign Policy Implications of ABM Systems. [Dodd Call No. C6620 pt. 1]

Treaty of Pece with Italy. [Dodd Call No. C6591]

Congressional Record. v. 111. [Dodd Call No. ]

Trials of War Ciminals before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals under Control Council law no. 10. Volumes 2-3, 5-15. [Dodd Call No. C6118]

Hon. Senator Thomas Dodd and Victor Borge [videorecording] : (Washington, D.C., 1965) Dodd Video 249

Processing Information

In the course of preparing the 2003-2004 electronic version of the finding aid, minor corrections were made to the folder numbers. This renumbering may result in inaccurate references to folder numbers for research conducted prior to 2004. Box numbers and folder headings have not been changed, however, and citations for research conducted prior to 2004 are accurate as long as the folder number is discounted.