A Guide to the Herbert J. Croner, 1963-1984

Biographical Note

Herbert J. Croner (1913-1984), born in Hamburg, Germany, was arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced to life in prison for his anti-Nazi activities. He was incarcerated in 13 prison camps, including Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau before he was liberated at the end of World War II. Prior to immigrating to the United States in 1946, Croner served as a translator at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In the United States, Croner earned a doctoral degree in philosophy from the Minnesota Institute of Philosophy. He moved to Dallas in 1964 and was the dean of the Dallas Branch of the Minnesota Institute of Philosophy. In the early 1970s, Croner became the editor of the Dallas Post Tribune, an African-American newspaper. Furthermore, Croner was an advocate for many causes, such as the civil rights movement, the woman’s movement, and the gay right’s movement. Before his retirement in 1975, he became a counselor with the Salvation Army in Dallas. Croner died in 1984.

Scope and Contents

The Herbert J. Croner Papers (1963-1984), including classified research files for Dallas Post Tribune editorials, political broadsides, pamphlets, ephemera, an audiocassette, a scrapbook, a photocopied photo album, newspapers, and magazines, document Croner's involvement in progressive organizations in Dallas as well as his experiences during the Holocaust. The photocopied photo album, made by Croner’s brother-in-law Wes Clouse, documents Herbert Croner’s experiences in post-World War II Germany. The scrapbook contains sympathy cards sent to Marilyn Croner upon the death of Herbert Croner. The audiocassette is a recording of a question and answer session after a 1975 presentation concerning the Holocaust. Furthermore, the papers consist of numerous African American, Socialist, alternative, underground, progressive, and Gay and Lesbian newspapers and magazines.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Herbert J. Croner Papers, 1963-1984, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers