Anna H. Askanasy Papers, 1931-70
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. 2006-11-17
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Anna H. Askanasy Papers
Creation of Anna H. Askanasy Papers
Time of Creation of Anna H. Askanasy Papers
Askanasy, Anna H.
Biographical History for: Anna H. Askanasy Papers
Biographical Note Report by Askanasy on "My Mediterranean Journey, Aug 26, 1964 - January 2nd, 1965" Anna H. Askanasy was a Viennese woman who emigrated from Nazi Austria to Canada in 1938. Askanasy was involved in the women's movement and part of a circle of feminists which included Mary Beard and Rosika Schwimmer. She also appears to have been active in the movement for peace which emerged in response to the beginnings of the First World War. Askanasy's letters to Margaret Grierson, founder of the Sophia Smith Collection, reveal that she was deeply passionate about women's history and very interested in the potential of the Collection. Askanasy was an amateur women's historian herself and published a historical novel Empress of Byzantium (1952) under the pseudonym Helen A. Mahler. Her unpublished book, "The Catastrophe of Patriarchy," also reflects her interest in the subject.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Anna H. Askanasy papers consist of one linear foot of correspondence, travel journals, and writings. The letters and cards exchanged by Askanasy and Margaret Grierson provide an engaging and insightful commentary on the social, economic, and political situation in the U.S. and Canada between 1950 and 1970. Askanasy's journals, like her letters, are not only colorful, vivid accounts of her travels around the world but powerful and historically contingent commentaries on her lived experience. Her writings reveal that she was a fiery, articulate and opinionated woman of the world.
Pro-choice movement--History--20th century--Sources
lcsh
Women historians--United States--Biography--Sources
Women--History--Historiography
Women's rights--Canada--History--Sources
lcnaf
Mediterranean region--Description and travel--Sources
Middle East--Description and travel--Sources
United States--Description and travel--Sources
series
SERIES I. CORRESPONDENCE
Letters, 27 Sep 1949-30 Jan 1970
Christmas cards, n.d.
SERIES II. JOURNALS
"Winter Journey to Hostile Countries" (United States, Europe, Middle East), 1959-60
"My Mediterranean Journey" (United States, Europe), 26 Aug 1964-2 Jan 1965, 31 Mar 1965
"Journey in Search of My Lost Identity" (United States, Canada), Dec 1967
"Harvest Journey" (Europe, Canada), 10 May 1969-21 Jun 1969, 22 Jan 1970
SERIES III. WRITINGS
Empress of Byzantium: brochure, 1952
"The Catastrophe of Patriarchy" (Volume 1), n.d.
"The Catastrophe of Patriarchy" (Volume 2), n.d.
"Masculine Population Policy," 1931, revised 1937 and 1942
Articles
"Random Remarks About the Pending Abortion Reform Bill in Canada," n.d.
"Some Reflections Concerning the Status of Women," 25 Apr 1968