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Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 0112

Scope and Contents

Scrapbook, share certificates, and other documents relating to the founding of Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police (WAWEC), by Captain Walter Wanderwell in 1932, to monitor world disarmament and provide educational opportunities overseas.

Dates

  • Creation: 1932

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical note

Walter Wanderwell, born Valerian Johannes Pieczynski, was born in Poland in either 1893 or 1897. An international traveler and soldier of fortune, he explored Siberia, the Amazon, and the Sahara, and ended up in the United States, where he changed his name to something Americans could pronounce. He was jailed during World War I by American authorities who suspected him of being a German spy. Often referred to as "Captain", he never served in any country's military. In 1918, after being released from prison in Atlanta, he married Nell Miller, a Broadway chrous girl, and the two founded the Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police (WAWEC). WAWEC was founded to ostensibly support the new League of Nations through imposition of law, not war. The FBI branded the organization a private army with potential for subversive activities.

After much around the world adventuring, the Wanderwells ended up in California. They purchased a yacht, which was to be used for a South Seas cruise, but on the night of December 5, 1932, Wanderwell was murdered on board the yacht.

[Source: Michael Newton, The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, pp. 385-387]

Extent

1.46 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Scrapbook, share certificates, and other documents relating to the founding of Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police (WAWEC), by Captain Walter Wanderwell in 1932, to monitor world disarmament and provide educational opportunities overseas.

Title
Finding aid for the Work Around the World Educational Club for International Police records
Status
Completed
Date
2010
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2014 November: Finding aid edited and updated by Sue Luftschein
  • 2021 September: Finding aid updated by Bo Doub: re-integrated and re-housed a scrapbook that had been separated from the collection.

Repository Details

Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States