Spotlight on Paul Barton:
AFL-CIO European Representative, 1968-1994
Creating a plan
As a part of my Master of Library Science degree, I worked at the AFL-CIO Archives for my field study course and worked on a semester-long project with the institution. The collection I worked on was the unprocessed records of Paul Barton, the European Representative of the International Affairs Department of the AFL-CIO, to make them accessible to the public. This collection is twelve linear feet of records created and accumulated by Barton between 1945 and 1992. To make these records accessible we conducted a survey of the records, created a processing plan, and wrote the finding aid.
Understanding the subject
Barton/Veltrusky working in his Paris apartment, circa 1970s.
As a part of this process we conducted some research on Paul Barton to provide context for the records. Paul Barton, whose real name was Jiri Veltrusky, was a Czech from Czechoslovakia born on June 5, 1919. Barton who, as an intellectual in Prague received his PhD in the philosophy of aesthetics of semiotics with a special interest in theater, was a member of the Prague Circle, a group of intellectuals, as well as an advocate for free trade unions and democracy. When the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia successfully launched a coup and took over the government in 1948, Barton, like other pro-democracy advocates, was forced to flee the country or face persecution, ultimately fleeing to Paris where he would live the remainder of his life. In the early years of his exile Barton used several pseudonyms before settling on Paul Barton. While in Paris he spent time writing articles and supporting the labor union movement, becoming a representative of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions before joining the AFL-CIO around 1968. Upon joining the AFL-CIO he served as the European Representative of the AFL-CIO International Affairs department, serving in the Paris office until his death on May 31, 1994.
Contextualizing the collection
Books authored by Barton
Barton’s papers reflect the many communities the AFL-CIO worked with as the records are found in six languages, English, French, German, Russian, Czech and Spanish. The topics in the records also demonstrate concerns held by Barton and the AFL-CIO, with topics ranging from trade unions in the USSR and developing countries and forced labor in the USSR. The records also reflect the views of labor unions concerning such historical events like the Prague Spring in 1968 and the 1970 Polish Protests.
These records complement currently available collections in the AFL-CIO Archives, including the records of Jay Lovestone (0073-LBR-RG18-003), Irving Brown (0074-LBR-RG18-004), and the AFL and AFL-CIO International Affairs Department Country Files (0071-LBR-RG18-001 and 0043-LBR-RG18-010). The Thomas Kahn papers will also be an important collection to consult, once it’s processed. Note: Records dating after 1970 may be restricted.
Explore UMD’s labor collections, including the AFL-CIO archive.
To find out more about UMD Labor Collections, email askhornbake@umd.edu.
By Chris Carter
University of Maryland iSchool graduate, May 2015
Special Collections & University Archives 