- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
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Collection Overview
- Creator:
- de Chollet, Frances (1900-1994)
- Title:
- Frances de Chollet Collection
- Repository:
- Public Policy Papers
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/44558h23f
- Dates:
- 1941-1990 (mostly 1941-1946)
- Size:
- 1 box
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1
- Language:
- English
Abstract
Frances de Chollet (1900-1994) assisted Allen Dulles with obtaining the diaries of Galeazzo Ciano, the Foreign Minister of Italy from 1936-1943, from Ciano's wife, Edda, who was also the daughter of Benito Mussolini. The collection is mostly composed of correspondence written to Frances de Chollet from Edda Ciano, though letters from Allen Dulles and other correspondents are included to a lesser extent. The collection also contains a small amount of de Chollet's notes documenting her face-to-face meetings with Edda Ciano.
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
The collection documents the attainment of Galeazzo Ciano's diaries by the United States government and Frances de Chollet's role in the process, mostly in the form of correspondence. The majority of the letters were written to de Chollet by Edda Ciano in de Chollet's capacity as a messenger between Ciano and Allen Dulles, though the collection also consists of correspondence to de Chollet from Dulles and an unidentified correspondent. (A letter from Chicago Daily News correspondent Paul Ghali, who also assisted in obtaining the diaries, postdates the war.) Additionally, the collection contains a small amount of de Chollet's notes documenting her face-to-face meetings with Edda Ciano.
The collection also includes biographical materials in the form of photographs that Frances de Chollet took during her trip to Germany at the end of the war, as well as some portraits of her and her passport. Additionally, the collection contains a letter written by de Chollet to her daughter Roseline that describes Roseline's birth in Paris in 1940 and their family's subsequent escape from the city.
- Arrangement
The order in which these materials came to Princeton has been maintained.
- Collection Creator Biography:
de Chollet
Frances de Chollet (1900-1994) was an American citizen who assisted Allen Dulles with obtaining the diaries of Galeazzo Ciano, the Foreign Minister of Italy from 1936-1943 who was killed by order of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini. During World War II, de Chollet was married to a Swiss banker and lived in Switzerland. Dulles, who was then head of the Office of Strategic Services network in Switzerland, enlisted the help of de Chollet and several others to locate Edda Ciano, Galeazzo Ciano's widow and the daughter of Mussolini, who had fled to Switzerland with five booklets of her husband's diaries.
In addition to traveling to meet with Edda Ciano and reporting back to Dulles, de Chollet served as an intermediary to allow Ciano and Dulles to communicate with each other through correspondence. Ciano wrote letters addressed to de Chollet that included messages for Dulles, often referring to Dulles as de Chollet's "important friend." After the diaries were reproduced by the United States government, De Chollet essentially took on the role as Ciano's agent, as Ciano entrusted de Chollet with negotiating for a French edition of the diaries to be published in Switzerland and France.
Frances de Chollet died in 1994. Her name was styled as Frances Winslow Kemble at the time of her death.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
This collection was donated by Jacqueline de Chollet, Frances de Chollet's daughter, in May 2017. The accession number associated with this donation is ML.2017.014.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Rachel Van Unen in May 2017 at the time of accessioning. Materials were rehoused in archival folders and all materials were described in a collection-level finding aid.
A folder title list was added in December 2019 by Will Clements
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:
Frances de Chollet Collection; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/44558h23f
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1
