Contents and Arrangement
Online

Series 1: Diaries, 1939-1945

3 boxes

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Series 1: Diaries, 1939-1945, covers MacVeagh's tour of duties as Minister to Greece (with the omission of his tours in Iceland and The Union of South Africa), his term as Ambassador to the Greek and Yugoslav Governments-in-exile in Cairo and his return to Greece after liberation. These are photocopies of transcriptions as the original diaries remain the property of the MacVeagh family.

The diaries contain Lincoln MacVeagh's reflections on Greece under the Metaxas dictatorship of the late 1930s and during World War II, though there are two major gaps (June 7, 1941-November 22, 1943 and December 8, 1944-April 12, 1945). Within the early entries, MacVeagh discusses the turbulence of Polish refugees passing through Greece en route to France to join the Polish legations and rumors of Hitler's "deadly weapons." Turkish-Anglo-French mutual assistance pacts, as well as non-aggression pacts between Italy and France are recorded. Greek military actions, such as the May 1940 militarization of the Albanian frontier and Italy's attack on Greece in October 1940 are detailed, as well as the diplomatic maneuvers prior to and after those and other events. American efforts to provide humanitarian assistance through the Greek Red Cross are also discussed. The diary further records a conference between Anthony Eden and members of the Greek government on February 24, 1941, an interview between MacVeagh and Eden regarding British aid to Greece in the form of military planes and tanks, and MacVeagh's interviews with President Roosevelt in December 1943 (Cairo) and August 1944 (Washington, D.C.).

Other topics detailed by MacVeagh's diaries while in Greece include:

These diaries contain no entries from June 7, 1941 until November 23, 1943, during MacVeagh's service in Iceland and South Africa. Entries resume when MacVeagh and his family arrived in Cairo, the seat of the governments-in-exile of Yugoslavia and Greece.

Later entries contain numerous important political discussions with various diplomatic representatives regarding post-war plans for the Balkans, "the rise of the communist specter in the resistance movements" and the politics of exile, liberation and civil war.

Arrangement

No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.

Collection History

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jean Holliday in 1992. Finding aid written by Jean Holliday in 1992.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Series 1: Diaries; Lincoln MacVeagh Papers, MC067, Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (mudd): Box 1-3