Jacob D. Beam Papers

The correspondence, filed chronologically and separated by decade, ranges from Beam's Foreign Service exam results to a letter from Nixon commending his book. Many of the letters are in appreciation of his service, hospitality and friendship sent by State Department figures and visiting dignitaries. (One typical note, addressed to Mrs. Beam, sends thanks for efforts and gifts bestowed, reading: “Our first American hose and toilet articles were especially appreciated.”) Other correspondence includes official certifications and instructions. The later letters are denser, as Beam responds to researchers' queries with memories and analysis of Nazi Germany, the arms race, Communism, and other issues.The Ambassador saved scores of newspaper clippings about himself, which trace his global movements; most express praise for his efforts and approval of his assignments. There is a separate file for clippings from Czech, Russian and German language papers, also pertaining to Beam's work.The collection contains several reports written by Beam, plus related drafts, notes and correspondence. One study submitted to the League of Nations delegation discusses the “question of the Saar,” a former French territory which France demanded from Germany as war reparation. Beam's research into the internal policies of the Nazis in prewar Germany, as well as later articles and speeches, are preserved in the collection.Two boxes of photographs show Beam conducting the formalities of his office: plane disembarkments; embassy functions; conferences in Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Poland; State Department gatherings, and presidential visits. There are several shots of Beam meeting with Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office, and others of Beam with the Nixons and Johnsons in less exclusive settings. The collection contains a few pictures of Beam in Cambridge and of his father at Princeton. Most were taken by official photographers, though some seem to be snapshots taken by Beam, including one of a Nazi rally in prewar Berlin. There is also a film of his arrival in Warsaw.The “Invitations and Ids” file contains the dozens of souvenir receipts Beam kept from important dinner parties, receptions and conferences, as well as his passports and photo passes. Many of the paper slips are from the League of Nations, the International Military Tribunal, and the United Nations. Others are from events in prewar Germany. In addition to these ticket stubs, Beam collected Nazi memorabilia, such as Hitler postcards and stamps, swastika medallions, and Hitler's signature, as well as articles from other foreign posts and the United States, including an encased Nixon signature paperweight, a dog's certificate in Czech, papers from the London Zoo acknowledging his temporary adoption of the zoo's “Social Vulture,” and a silver certificate inscribed, “Short Snorter Jake.”