Biographical Note

Born September 25, 1917 in Vienna, Austria, Alfred "Freddy" Diamant escaped religious persecution in 1940 and settled in the United States. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Diamant could not enlist, but was drafted by the United States military to fight for the cause of the Allies. After volunteering to speed up his service, he started basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was later transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was selected for Officers Graduate School and served in Maryland. There, his commanders learned of his German speaking skills and he was trained as an interrogator of prisoners of war for three months. Before being sent to England in 1944, Diamant became an American citizen.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Diamant served as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. His team was dropped eighteen miles off course. He was fortunate to survive, but was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. After attempting to escape, Diamant was shot in the back by his pursuers and survived a potentially fatal shot. He and the other prisoners were rescued in the following days. His wound was enough to send him home where he enrolled at Indiana University and pursued his interest in political science.

He achieved two degrees in political science at Indiana University in 1947 and obtained his Ph.D. from Yale in 1957. He taught at the University of Florida (1950-1960), Haverford College (1960-1967), and finally, Indiana University, from which he retired in 1988. During his tenure at IU he served as the Chair of Political Science and the Chair of West European Studies. Over the course of his career, Diamant earned various prestigious awards, including the Guggenheim in 1973 and a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship. He was described by his colleagues and students as a tenacious, courteous, and intellectual person who had a keen interest in both his students and colleagues. He married his wife Ann Redmon Diamant in 1943 and the couple had two children, Alice and Steve. He passed away on May 11, 2012.

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses Diamant's academic contributions. The main series of Teaching files (1950-1996) include his teaching and class material, student correspondence, the second contains his publications (1954-2010). The files in the Student correspondence sub-series includes a large number of recommendation letters. As such, the sub-series is closed but may be made available with advance notice so that the Archivist may review the specific files requested.

This collection spans the time period between 1950 and 2010 (when his memoir was published). Other related materials containing information regarding his personal life can be found in the Lilly Library (Diamant mss).

Arrangement

Collection is organized into two series: Teaching files and Publications

Restrictions

Access Restrictions: Select files are closed to researchers. Advance notice required for access to this collection.

Usage Restrictions: The donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff. The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations. Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

Related Material

Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in IUScholarworks: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/

Related photographs may be available in the University Archives Photographs Database: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/archivesphotos/

Subject Headings

Persons

Diamant, Alfred, 1917-2012 --Archives.
Diamant, Alfred, 1917-2012 --Correspondence.

Corporate Bodies

Indiana University, Bloomington. Department of Political Science --Faculty --Archives.
Indiana University. Department of Political Science --Faculty --Archives.

Subjects

Political science --Study and teaching (Higher) --Indiana --Bloomoington --History --20th century --Sources
Political scientists --Indiana --Bloomoington --History --20th century --Sources

Administrative Information

Provenance

Given to the University Archives by Alice Diamant, Alfred Diamant's daughter, in 2013 and 2014.

Preferred Citation

[Item], Alfred Diamant papers, Collection C565, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Acquisition Information

Accession 2013/088, 2014/062

Processing Information

Processed by Jessica Lopez.

Completed in 2015

Table of Contents

Teaching files 1950-1996

Publications and presentations 1954-2010