Peter Weiss Collected Papers
Scope and Contents
The material in this small collection was removed from the papers of Peter Weiss' wife, Cora. They represent primarily his involvements with the Foundation for World Government in 1946-1951 (including his research trip to Israel in 1950), the International Development Placement Association (IDPA) in 1952-1954, and the Foreign Policy Council of New York Democrats in 1966-1967 (which led to his being a delegate from the Bronx to the Democratic National Convention in 1968, where he was arrested).
Dates
- Creation: 1949-1967
Creator
- Weiss, Peter, 1925- (Person)
Language of Material
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
None
Conditions Governing Use
None
Biographical
Peter Weiss was born in Vienna (Austria) in 1925, and came to the United States in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944-1946, and with the U.S. Military Government in Berlin (Germany) in 1947. After graduating cum laude from St. John's College in Annapolis (Maryland), he attended Yale Law school in 1949-1952. After graduation, he founded and became the executive director of the International Development Placement Association, a precursor of the Peace Corps. He practiced law from 1955 to 2006, dividing his time between representing multinational companies, as a specialist in trademark law, and doing pro bono work in the fields of human rights, constitutional law, and nuclear weapons law.
Weiss is currently President of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, and Vice President of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He is a member of the Executive Committee of Americans for Peace Now, which supports the Peace Now movement in Israel. He was a founder, and later President, of the American Committee on Africa.
Extent
1.25 linear ft. (15 linear in.)
Abstract
Peter Weiss was born in Austria and moved to the U.S. in 1941. He worked has as a lawyer from 1955 to 2006 and is interested in nuclear policy and other human rights and peace issues. He is married to activist Cora Weiss.
Custodial History
The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the official repository for these papers/records.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Cora Weiss, 2007 [Acc. 07A-044]
Legal Status
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Processing Information
Processed by Anne M. Yoder, Archivist, September 2009
Subject
- Weiss, Peter, 1925- (Person)
- Foreign Policy Council of New York Democrats (Organization)
- Foundation for World Government (Organization)
- International Development Placement Association (New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Democratic Party (N.Y.) (Organization)
Geographic
Topical
- International organization -- History -- Sources
- International relations -- History -- Sources
- Voluntarism -- Developing countries -- History -- Sources
- Voluntarism -- United States -- History -- Sources
- Volunteer workers in community development -- Developing countries -- History -- Sources
- World politics -- History -- Sources
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library
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Swarthmore 19081-1399 USA US
610-328-8557
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peacecollection@swarthmore.edu
