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Records of the American Friends Service Committee:
Civilian Public Service, 1940-1947
Prison Service Committee, 1943-1947
Collection: DG 002
Contact Information
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399
U.S.A.
Telephone: 610-328-8557 (curator)
Fax: 610-690-5728
Email: wchmiel1@swarthmore.edu (curator)
URL: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/
Descriptive Summary
Repository
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Creator
American Friends Service Committee
Title
American Friends Service Committee: Civilian Public Service [or Prison Service Committee] Records
Inclusive Dates
1940-1947
Call Number
DG 002
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
278.25 feet (Civilian Public Service) and 5.75 feet (Prison Service Committee) [records only]
Abstract
Organized to provide alternative service for conscientious objectors, who were
assigned "work of national importance under civilian direction; the historic peace churches (Church of the Brethren, Religious Society of Friends and the Mennonite Church) banded together to form the National Service Board for Religious Objectors (NISBRO) which coordinated the civilian public service (CPS) program; the American Friends Service Committee administered seventeen CPS camps and over thirty special service units which provided an alternative service program for 3400 men between 1941 and 1946.
Administrative Information
Restrictions to Access
Yes [some boxes are stored off-site and must be requested two weeks in advance of visiting the SCPC.]
Usage Restrictions
Yes [restrictions for Parts 1, 2 & 4 in place until the year 2020. Researchers using the
contents of these Parts in any public format must disguise the identity of
any individual conscienious objector. Researchers wishing to use the collection
must sign a form agreeing to this stipulation.]
Alternate Form of Material
None
Acquisitions Information
Gift of E. Raymond Wilson & others, 1940- ; AFSC CPS Office & misc. camp records, 1946, 1963
Processing Information
Checklist revised by Anne Yoder, August 2001
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Records of the American Friends Service Committee: Civilian Public Service [or Prison Service Committee] (DG 002), Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online library/archival catalogs.
See tripod record
Related Collections
Center on Conscience and War [formerly called NSBRO & NISBCO] (DG 025)
Civilian Public Service Union (DG 008)
Civilian Public Service: Personal Papers & Collected Materials (DG 056)
- For information on holdings re: conscientious objection/objectors in the SCPC, see list
Historical Background
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was set up in June 1917 as an outgrowth of and coordination point for the anti-war and relief activities of various bodies of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States. A co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947, the AFSC continues to work to relieve human suffering and to find new approaches to world peace and non-violent social change.
Most of the AFSC records are stored at the AFSC archives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The SCPC serves as the repository for AFSC files from the World War II Civilian Public Service and the Prison Service Committee. It also holds a small manuscript collection of additional miscellaneous material from the AFSC [CDG-A: American Friends Service Committee]
Arrangement of Collection
Part 2: Case Files (includes medical files) of Men in CPS [finding aid not available on-line; restrictions apply;
many boxes stored off-site. Call ahead for permission to use and for retrieval of boxes]
Part 3: CPS Camp Periodicals
Part 4: AFSC Prison Service Committee Records [restrictions apply; call ahead for permission to use]