Scope and Contents: The Norman Shethar Collection contains material related to his volunteer efforts with AFS from World War II through the student exchange programs established after 1947. The bulk of the collection contains speeches (and overhead transparencies he used for one of the speeches) he gave about the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to various institutions (including partner AFS organizations around the world, the United Congregational Church in Little Compton, RI, and the Wooster School in Danbury, CT.) Three speeches by Shethar, two given at AFS conferences in 1993 and one given to the AFS Costa Rica partner, may not have been donated by him but are still present in the collection.
The collection also includes an autobiographical note and curriculum vitae, and an essay Shethar found at the Bergen-Belsen Museum entitled “The RAMC at Belsen Concentration Camp,” which Shethar believed was the only document about ambulance rescue work at the camp at the time of his visit. Finally, the collection includes a photocopied transcription of a letter he wrote to his parents on May 1, 1945, after his platoon helped evacuate the camp. The letter is very detailed, and contains descriptions of living quarters, camp inmates, and relief efforts.