Albert Ford Hinrichs letters from the USSR (Ms. 82.3)

The letters written from the USSR in 1930 and 1932 provide day-by-day details of life in Russia, with an emphasis on the economy. From his observations in 1930 emerged two general impressions: first, that the Russians were willing to experiment with new ideas, regardless of their origin; and, second, that the workers and peasants identified with the new leaders who had risen from their own ranks. The 1932 sabbatical trip was intended as an opportunity to study the mechanics of economic planning: the mechanics of the development of an economic plan as it worked its way up from farms and factories to the central planning agency and then down again into a five-year program. Two overwhelming impressions emerged during the 1932 trip: first, that people as individuals lived under terror; second, that the mechanics of detailed economic planning were more involved than human management could cope with.

In addition to the letters themselves, the collection includes biographical and autobiographical material relating to Dr. Hinrichs, notably a transcript from a tape-recorded account, in 1978, of his life down to 1946.