War Crimes

The Edward F. Lyons, Jr. collection covers the years 1917-59 and includes some undated material. The collection focuses on EFL's Army career with the bulk of materials relating to his World War II experiences, 1943-46. EFL's papers include explanatory notes written by his wife Mary.

EFL's assignment in Germany is represented in the collection by memorabilia, one personal notebook, photographs, and propaganda literature. The personal notebook describes EFL's involvement with the Borkum Island trial and his impressions of Germany and the German people. The photographs are snapshots (probably taken by EFL) of bomb damage in Germany. The propaganda literature is both German and American.

EFL's records of the Oklahoma prisoner of war camp contain memorabilia, eleven personal notebooks, and photographs. EFL began writing a personal narrative of his experiences in 1944, beginning this account with his arrival at the camp in 1943. The photographs of the German prisoners were taken by the Army Signal Corp.

The war crimes files include newspaper clippings, photographs, and publications. The clippings and Army Signal Corp photographs document the Borkum Island trial. The photographs in this section also include snapshots of the Dachau concentration camp. The publications are reports of individual governments and the United Nations, stemming from the investigation and judgement of war crimes in Europe and Asia.

The collection also comprises EFL's Army records, his personal correspondence and memorabilia, and an assortment of maps. The maps of northern Africa, where the El Reno prisoners were captured, are originals.