Bert MacDonald papers

The 54 items, which are arranged chronologically, include correspondence, military records, reports, programs, and a newsletter. The collection also contains some ephemera related to the groups and individuals MacDonald was investigating. The material before 1947 deals with MacDonald's early Army career and his appointment as a Security Protective Agent for the War Department and the Corps of Engineers. The material after 1947 pertains to MacDonald's espionage work and his monitoring of radical groups in Los Angeles. These items include material MacDonald collected about the groups as well as his reports on their activities. Some of the groups and people he investigated are: the Congress of American Women, the Federation of American Citizens of German Descent, Dr. Wesley A. Swift, Glendale School Superintendent Willard S. Ford, and a conference on civil rights held by the Los Angeles Community Relations Council. Also included is a copy of the newsletter Alert: A Weekly Confidential Report on Communism and How to Combat It.

The collection deals with the following subjects: Anti-communist movements, anti-Jewish propaganda, Anti-Semitism, Communism, espionage, race relations in the Untied States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the Women's International Democratic Federation, and subversive activities. Some notable authors of correspondence are: Agnes Ayres, George Van Horn Moseley, Gerald L. K. Smith, Colonel Edwin C. Kelton, and Major General Ralph H. Van Deman.