Photo by: Michael Furman

The Penrose Library has been given historical documents related to the plot to the assassinate Adolf Hitler and documents from the Nuremberg trials after World War II.

Andrea Sears-Van Nest donated the collection to DU. She found the paperwork when she was sorting through her parent’s belongings.

“It is a wonderful collection. We are so very fortunate that Andrea was interested in donating these family papers to the Penrose Library,” said Nancy Allen, the dean of Penrose.

Van Nest’s father, Edwin Sears, was a professor at the DU school of law, and Vera Sears taught at the Lamont School of Music.

After Vera passed away last year, Sears-Van Nest stumbled upon this exceptional collection.

The collection has been appraised to be worth $25,000.

“Denver University has always been a large part of my life. They helped my parents so much. They gave my father a scholarship so he could continue studying when he came to the U.S. from Germany,” said Sears-Van Nest.

The collection of documents also includes letters between her father and Albert Einstein.

Edwin Sears was a secretary to Einstein at the University of Berlin from 1927 to 1929. Edwin was forced to flee Germany with his wife when he refused to join allegiance with Hitler and the Nazi Party.

By this time Einstein had already moved to the United States, and he could not financially aide the Sears in their flee from Germany.

However, he put them in contact with a support from New York who helped them pay for their move to the U.S.

When Edwin lost his job and went into hiding, he wrote over 16 correspondences to Einstein. Copies of most of these letters have been included in the donation.

In addition to the letters, the collection includes paperwork discussing the plot by Colonel Graf Von Stauffenberg and others to assassinate Hitler.

There are also documents discussing the Nuremberg trials.

“The papers are very important and detailed. They show how the Nazis came into power and made him quit his job,” said Sears-Van Nest. “One paper from a sergeant is very detailed and talks about how he had to quit his job because he was Jewish.”

These irreplaceable pieces of history are now held at Penrose. Students may use them as a direct primary source for research.

“Students can use them and friends in the community can enjoy them,” said Sears-Van Nest. “I knew immediately that I should give it to DU because they could make good use of it.”

The materials are still being processed, and students will be able to view the articles once the processing is complete.

The documents are kept in the Department of Special Collections and Archives at Penrose.

These archives are open to students Monday  through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and no appointment is necessary.

“I would like to encourage others to make contributions,” said Sears-Van Nest. “The historic value of them is just so wonderful.”