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George Rowen Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MK
Date: 22 Feb 1978

Biographical History

George Rowen was an American commercial and United Nations photographer. He worked as photographer and assistant photo editor for Austrian Illustrated News in Vienna while attending school (1937-1938). In the early 1940s he did publicity and freelance new photography in Chicago. He was inducted into the Army during World War II where he served as photographer for the Public Relations Office at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then was sent overseas with the 12th Army Group, Psychological Warfare Division as chief photographer. After being discharged from the Army in 1945 he was asked to remain in Europe to work for the War Department's newly created Publishing Operations Branch, Information Control Division, as editor and chief of the photo section. Upon returning to the United States in 1948 he was appointed Public Information Officer of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), an agency of the United Nations. When the IRO was eventually disbanded, he worked for several other agencies within the UN.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The George Rowen Papers contains clippings, 16mm film, negatives, personal papers, and prints. Many of the negatives are not identified other than by number. Notable persons and events represented in the photographs and negatives include General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Munich, Josef Goebbels' sister, King Hussein of Jordan, Thor Heyerdahl, Mrs. Rudolf Hess, the Nuremberg Trials, Charlie Chaplin, and the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. The collection also includes two copies of a film made by the International Refugee Organization (IRO), intended as orientation films for displaced persons (refugees).

Arrangement of the Collection

Each series is arranged alphabetically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has the papers of many noted photographers and photojournalists, including Margaret Bourke-White. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Browder, Earl, 1891-1973 -- Photographs.
Chaplin, Charlie -- Photographs.
Dietrich, Sepp, 1892-1966 -- Photographs.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 -- Photographs.
Heyerdahl, Thor -- Photographs.
La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947 -- Photographs.
Luce, Clare Boothe, 1903-1987 -- Photographs.
Rowen, George.

Corporate Bodies

Allied Forces. -- Supreme Headquarters. -- Psychological Warfare Division.
International Refugee Organization -- Photographs.
Radio Luxembourg.
United Nations -- Photograph collections.
United Nations. -- General Assembly -- Photographs.
United States. -- Office of War Information.

Subjects

Advertising photography.
Commercial photography.
Nuremberg War Crime Trials, Nuremberg, Germany, 1946-1949 -- Photographs.
Olympic Winter Games (5th : 1948 : Saint Moritz, Switzerland) -- Photographs.
Photographers -- United States.
Photography -- Films.
Soldiers -- Photographs.
Travel photography.

Places

Chicago (Ill.) -- Photographs.
France -- Photographs.
Germany -- Photographs.
Italy -- Photographs.
Mexico -- Photographs.

Genres and Forms

16mm (photographic film size)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Negatives (photographs)
Photographs.

Occupations

Photographers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

George Rowen Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Clippings

Films

Negatives

Personal papers

Prints

Inventory