IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0369 KLU
Held at: School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Title: Klugmann Collection
Date(s): 1904-1961
Level of description: Collection (Fonds)
Extent: 8 boxes
Name of creator(s): Klugmann | James | 1912-1977 | communist activist
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
James Klugmann (1912-1977) joined the Communist Party in 1933 while at Cambridge University. In 1935 he gave up an academic career to become Secretary of the World Student Association and travelled widely. During World War Two he rose to the rank of major and became deputy director of the Yugoslav section in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), based in Cairo and later in Bari, Italy. After the war he was attached to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in Yugoslavia. It was during his service in Yugoslavia with the SOE and UNRRA that Klugmann collected the material for this collection. Returning to Britain in 1946 he spent the rest of his life working for the Communist Party. From 1957-1977 he was also editor of "Marxism Today".
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Books and pamphlets, collected by James Klugmann, principally produced by Yugoslav partisans and the Communist authorities they established 1943-1945, mainly dealing with political and cultural questions. Many of the books and pamphlets are annotated with Klugmann's name and the place and date of acquisition.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: Serbo-Croat, English and French
System of arrangement:
Arranged by date/type
Conditions governing access:
Unrestricted access. Researchers wishing to consult the archives or seeking further information should contact UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) Library, 16 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Librarian.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
Online catalogue available on the UCL Archives website.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Not known
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/libraries-and-study-spaces/ucl-school-slavonic-and-east-european-studies-library
Related material:
The majority of James Klugmann's papers are at the National Museum of Labour History, Manchester (ref: CP/IND/KLUG). The Marx Memorial Library, Marx House, London holds Klugmann's collection of chartist and early radical literature.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Revised by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.
Date(s) of descriptions: Revised Dec 2002