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Martin J. Hillenbrand Oral History Collection

Descriptive Summary

Title: Martin next hit J. Hillenbrand Oral History Collection
Creator: Hillenbrand, previous hitMartin next hit Joseph, 1915-2005.
Inclusive Dates: 2004
Language(s): English
Extent: 49 item(s)
Collection Number: RBRL154MJHOH
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Collection consists of 18 interviews conducted by John Stark, Gary Bertsch, and Mary McKay with Dr. previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand, for Stark's internship with the Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) in 2004. The Russell Library hired Stark, in May 2004, to transcribe the interviews, and he continued to conduct interviews with Dr. Hillenbrand through July of that year. The last interview Stark did with Hillenbrand was video recorded, with Gary Bertsch acting as co-interviewer. In September 2004 Mary McKay of the Russell Library interviewed Dr. Hillenbrand regarding his collection of photographs. Topics include the Berlin Crisis, European Union and its future, Hillenbrand's experience in Burma and India, origins of the Center for East-West Trade Policy (currently the CITS), meeting and marrying his wife, Hillenbrand's monograph Power and Morals, and international economics post-World War II.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

John Stark:

At the time of these interviews, John Stark was a senior at the University of Georgia, majoring in German. He studied abroad in Germany, living in Rostock, Munich, and the northern Bavarian city of Erlangen. He graduated in 2004, after he completed his internship with the Center for International Trade and Security.

Gary Bertsch:

Co-founder and Director of the Center for International Trade and Security, Dr. Bertsch is the University Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

Dr. previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand:

previous hitMartin next hit Joseph Hillenbrand was born, August 1, 1915, in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts in 1937. He received a Doctorate in Philosophy in 1948 from Columbia University and completed postgraduate work at Harvard in 1950. He received honorary degrees from both the University of Dayton and the University of Maryland.

Ambassador Hillenbrand served thirty-five years as a professional United States Foreign Service Officer, including service in Burma, India, Mozambique, Hungary, France, and Germany. He entered the Foreign Service in 1939 as vice consul in Zurich and also served in Rangoon, Burma. Hillenbrand worked in Bremen, Washington and Paris, rising to Embassy First Secretary in 1952. In 1956, Hillenbrand served as an American political adviser in Berlin. Later he was appointed as the first U.S. Ambassador to Hungary (1967-1969) and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (1969-1972). Hillenbrand concluded his diplomatic career serving as Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from 1972 until his retirement in 1976.

After retiring from diplomatic service, Hillenbrand worked from 1977 to 1982 as the Director General of the Atlantic Institute for International Affairs in Paris. In September 1982, he became the first Dean Rusk Professor of International Relations at The University of Georgia. He also served as the Director of the Center for Global Policy Studies and Co-Director of the Center for East-West Trade Policy (Center for International Trade and Security) at the University. In 1983, Hillenbrand received a Director General's Cup, an award which recognizes retired Foreign Service officers for distinction in service and continued interest in foreign affairs. Upon his retirement from The University of Georgia in 1997, Hillenbrand completed his memoirs, Fragments of Our Time: Memoirs of a Diplomat. He authored, co-authored and edited four books and more than twenty-five book chapters and articles including: Power and Morals (1949); Zwischen Politik und Ethik (1968); The Future of Berlin (1980); Global Insecurity: A Strategy for Energy and Economic Renewal (1982); Germany In An Era of Transition (1984). In 1997, the Robert Bosch Foundation created the previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand Fellowship at The University of Georgia's Department of Political Science.

Hillenbrand was married to Faith Stuart (1917-2004). The couple had three children David, John and Ruth. The Hillenbrands resided in Athens, Georgia until previous hitMartin next hit Hillenbrand's death on February 2, 2005, at the age of 89.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of 18 interviews conducted by John Stark, Gary Bertsch, and Mary McKay with Dr. previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand, for Stark's internship with the Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) in 2004. The Russell Library hired Stark, in May 2004, to transcribe the interviews, and he continued to conduct interviews with Dr. Hillenbrand through July of that year. The last interview Stark did with Hillenbrand was video recorded, with Gary Bertsch acting as co-interviewer. In September 2004 Mary McKay of the Russell Library interviewed Dr. Hillenbrand regarding his collection of photographs. Topics include the Berlin Crisis, European Union and its future, Hillenbrand's experience in Burma and India, origins of the Center for East-West Trade Policy (currently the CITS), meeting and marrying his wife, Hillenbrand's monograph Power and Morals, and international economics post-World War II.

Organization and Arrangement

previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand Oral History Collection is arranged by interview.


Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Though the collection is open for research, reference copies of the audiovisual recordings are available upon request. Research requests will be filled as soon as possible and will be dependent upon the condition of the recordings.

Preferred Citation

previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand Oral History Collection, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.

Copyright Information

It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission to reproduce material for publication. Persons wishing to reproduce materials in the Russell Library collections should consult the Director. Reproduction or quotation of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: 2011.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Ambassadors
Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989.
Burma.
Cold War -- Diplomatic history.
Diplomatic and consular service, American -- Germany.
European Union.
Hillenbrand, previous hitMartin next hit Joseph, 1915-2005.
Oral histories.
United States -- Foreign relations -- 20th century.
United States -- Foreign relations -- Germany.

Related Collections in this Repository

previous hitMartin next hit J. Hillenbrand Papers

William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers

Dean Rusk Research Collection

Dean Rusk Oral History Project

Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection

Related Collections in Other Repositories

Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State (Record Group 84), 1788-1990, National Archives and Records Administration.