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Vernon Tott papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 1065-039

Collection Overview

The collection consists of photocopies of correspondence, clippings, and a memoir about Ahlem concentration camp written by Vernon Tott, an American soldier with the 84th Infantry Division who participated in the liberation of the camp. The memoir contains photographs, correspondence, maps, and other materials relating to the camp and its survivors. A memoir written by one of the survivors of the camp, Benjamin Sieradzki, is included in Tott's memoir.

Dates

  • Creation: 1997-1998

Creator

Language of Material

Materials in English

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

Vernon Tott (1924-2005) was an American soldier with the 84th Infantry Division during World War II. On April 10, 1945, Tott participated in the liberation of Ahlem concentration camp and took photographs of the camp and its survivors with a contraband camera. After his retirement, Tott began searching for the survivors he had photographed and prepared a memoir with the photographs he had taken to share with them. These efforts culminated in a 1998 reunion of 84th infantry members and Ahlem survivors.

Extent

0.25 linear feet (4 folders)

Abstract

The collection consists of photocopies of correspondence, clippings, and a memoir about Ahlem concentration camp written by Vernon Tott, an American soldier with the 84th Infantry Division who participated in the liberation of the camp. The memoir contains photographs, correspondence, maps, recollections of both Tott and Benjamin Sieradzki, a survivor of Ahlem, and other materials relating to the camp and its survivors.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at the folder level.

Acquisitions Information

Materials donated in 1999 by Abraham Stern.

Related Material

Related materials in Special Collections include a 1999 oral history interview with Abraham Stern (1035-211), a survivor of Ahlem photographed by Tott.

Processing Information

Processed by Rebecca McClure, March 2012.

Title
Inventory of the Vernon Tott Papers, 1997-1998
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by: Rebecca McClure; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rebecca McClure
Date
2012
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)