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Leonard Schroeter papers, 1940-1997

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Schroeter, Leonard
Title
Leonard Schroeter papers
Dates
1940-1997 (inclusive)
Quantity
37.84 cubic feet, including textual materials and audiocassettes (39 boxes)
Collection Number
5036
Summary
Papers of a Jewish attorney, civil libertarian, author, and Seattle resident
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The papers are open to the public.

Some material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English, German, French, Hebrew, Russian
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Biographical Note

Born in 1924 in Chicago to non-religious Jewish parents, Leonard W. Schroeter grew up in Hammond, Indiana, and attended Indiana University from 1942 to 1943. While in the United States Army from July 1945 to January 1946, he wrote for Stars and Stripes and served in Florence in the Allied Area Command. After his army service he attended the University of Chicago’s graduate school in the Division of International Relations, where his studies focused on the Soviet Union. He received his M.A. degree in 1949. From 1948 to 1951 he attended Harvard University Law School, from which he received a J.D. degree. He also taught constitutional history for two years at Northeastern University and directed its Center for International Relations. In June 1951 Schoeter joined the legal staff of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense & Education Fund (NAACP-LDEF), headed by Thurgood Marshall in New York City. The LDEF team prepared the school segregation cases which eventuated in the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954.

At the end of 1952 Schroeter moved to Seattle to become Northwest director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. Along with this position he became active in civil rights and civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, to which he had belonged since 1946. He became a board member of the ACLU of Washington in 1953 and in 1964 became the first national board member from the Pacific Northwest. When the civil rights movement arose in 1963-1964, he became active in the Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee (LCDC), a loose federation of groups which represented blacks arrested in civil rights demonstrations in Southern states. In this connection he traveled to Mississippi and other Southern states in 1965.

From 1955 to 1956 Schroeter served as deputy prosecuting attorney for King County. At the request of Seattle mayor Allan Pomeroy, Schroeter was appointed to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Police Practices in 1955 to investigate a large number of instances of alleged police brutality. In 1956 he left the prosecutor's office and started a largely plaintiff trial practice which grew and became the firm Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender in 1968. He developed a national reputation as a plaintiff’s trial lawyer and as an advocate for constitutional rights.

From 1970 to mid-1972 Schroeter lived in Israel, serving as principal legal assistant to the attorney general of Israel. His major assignment was to mobilize world opinion to the human rights of Jews who were prohibited from leaving the Soviet Union. He made a clandestine visit to the USSR in August 1972, where he met with dissident Soviet writers, including Andre Sakarov, and with Jews striving to leave the USSR. This visit accelerated his involvement in their causes. After returning to the U.S. in September 1972 he tried, but failed, to interest the Nixon administration in these human rights causes. Schroeter then turned to his senator, Henry M. Jackson of Washington State, who adopted them. The Trade Act of 1974, commonly known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment, was the result. This law made non-market economy countries that denied their citizens the right to emigrate ineligible for normal trade relations with the U.S.

As Soviet Jews began to emigrate to Israel, Schroeter aided them and became the attorney and representative of many Soviet samizdat writers and human rights activists. From 1973 to 1981 he was the attorney and underground contact for samizdat writers who wanted to get their writings published in the West, serving as their representative to publishing houses in Europe and the U.S.

Schroeter drew upon his background and experiences to write a book, The Last Exodus, which describes the Soviet Jewish dissident movement. It was published in 1974 and reprinted in 1979. Schroeter continued to practice law until August 1989 and was active in a variety of constitutional, civil rights, and human rights causes. His major effort after 1994 was the issue of access to justice.

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Content Description

The Leonard Schroeter papers document Schroeter's work as a Seattle area civil rights activist and as an advocate of the rights of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. Records include correspondence, case files, writings, and subject files. Accession No. 5036-001 documents his early involvement with Jewish organizations, especially the Anti-Defamation League, and his work with various civil rights/civil liberties organizations, most notably the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. Accession No. 5036-002 also includes documentation of Schroeter's work with the ACLU of Washington, particularly concerning police brutality and police corruption in Seattle during the early 1960s. This accession also contains materials relating to Schroeter's interests in social and political conditions in the USSR, repression of Soviet Jews, U.S. and international efforts to win their freedom to emigrate, and resettlement of Soviet Jews in Israel. Accession No. 5036-003 primarily contains materials from or related to his activities in Israel in 1970-1972.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The creator's literary rights have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Preferred Citation

Leonard Schroeter Papers, Accession No. 5036-[provide number]. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Washington.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 4 accessions:

  • Accession No. 5036-001, Leonard Schroeter Papers, 1954-1972
  • Accession No. 5036-002, Leonard Schroeter Papers, 1940-1997
  • Accession No. 5036-003, Leonard Schroeter Papers, 1961-1978
  • Accession No. 5036-004, Leonard Schroeter Papers, 1967-1986

Processing Note

Processing levels vary. See descriptions of individual accessions below for more information.

Related Materials

Leonard Schroeter's Access to Justice Collection is at Seattle University's School of Law Library, P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, Washington 98122-1090.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Civil rights movements--Southern States
  • Civil rights workers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Civil rights--Washington (State)
  • Civil rights--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Civil rights--Washington (State)--Societies, etc
  • Discrimination--United States
  • Jewish lawyers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Jews, Soviet--Israel--Social conditions
  • Jews--Persecutions--Soviet Union
  • Jews--Soviet Union--Migrations
  • Jews--Soviet Union--Politics and government
  • Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Jews--Washington (State)--Societies, etc
  • Police brutality--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Police corruption--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Refugees, Jewish--Israel
  • Refuseniks

Personal Names

  • Jackson, Henry M. (Henry Martin), 1912-1983
  • Schroeter, Leonard--Archives
  • Slepak, Vladimir, 1927-

Corporate Names

  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • American Civil Liberties Union of Washington
  • B'nai B'rith. Anti-defamation League. Northwest Regional Office
  • Free Prisoners Bail Fund of Seattle
  • Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee (U.S.)
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Seattle Branch
  • Seattle (Wash.). Police Dept
  • Seattle Urban League
  • Union of Councils for Soviet Jews

Geographical Names

  • Israel--Emigration and immigration
  • Soviet Union--Emigration and immigration
  • Soviet Union--Politics and government--1953-1985
  • Washington (State)--Politics and government

Form or Genre Terms

  • Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
  • Newsletters
  • Sound recordings
  • actions (judicial events)
  • case files
  • correspondence
  • minutes
  • writings

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)


2006 (Last modified: 12/6/2017)

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