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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Location of Service: Camp Hood and San Antonio, Texas
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/44079

View full service history

After World War II broke out in Europe in 1939, Indiana teenager Geri Fisher never questioned her grandmother as the woman severed ties with her relatives back in Germany, fearful that some were sympathetic to the Nazi cause. It was common for her grandmother to provide shelter and clothes on her farm to European Jewish refugees, whom Geri called "Aunt" and "Uncle." At 18, attending a business college in San Antonio, Texas, Geri started to understand the personal impact of the war on December 8, 1941, when she heard President Roosevelt's words, "We are at war." She participated in USO-sponsored "invitation-only Tea Dances" attended by military personnel from Randolph Field and other installations. Later, she obtained a high security clearance to be able to enter the base and entertain veterans returning from Europe suffering from battle fatigue.

Geraldine M. Litvak Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

[ Article "Attic Find" [November 25, 1957] ]
[ Letter to Wayne Kearle of Station KENS-TV [November 25, 1957] ]
[ Biographical information [October 21, 1951] ]
[ Letter to Bill Robb, Program Director, KEYL-TV ]
[ Letter to Geraldine Fisher, Director of Publicity and Public Relations, KEYL-TV and tentative copy of symposium program ]

Show more resources (3)

[ Symposium announcement [October 7, 1951] ]
[ Tentative program for the Symposium on the Medicine and Physics of the Upper Atmosphere: A Study of the Aeropause ]
[ Notes from KEYL-TV on the round table discussion of the scientists attending the Symposium on the Medicine and Physics of the Upper Atmosphere: A Study of the Aeropause ]

About this Item

Title

  • Geraldine M. Litvak Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Ordner, Larry
  • Litvak, Geraldine M.

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Litvak, Geraldine M.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  KEYL-TV -- Personal Narratives

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • civilian

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Location of Service: Camp Hood and San Antonio, Texas
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Military Status: civilian
    • Service History Note: Mrs. Litvak was present during the 1951 Symposium on "The Physics and Medicine of the Upper Atmosphere", which was the precursor to the U.S. Space Program.

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2009-08-20; 2009-08-20)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2006-02-23)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [9 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1951)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/44079

Cite as

  • Geraldine M. Litvak Collection (AFC/2001/001/44079), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Location of Service

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lugar, Richard, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Larry Ordner, and Geraldine M Litvak. Geraldine M. Litvak Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44079/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Ordner, L. & Litvak, G. M. (1942) Geraldine M. Litvak Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44079/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Geraldine M. Litvak Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44079/>.