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Mimi Korach Lesser [detail from undated photo]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Location of Service: Germany; Czechoslovakia; Paris, France; New York
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/11904

View full service history

"We went to Liege, Belgium, where we lived and worked in a tent hospital. I was so intrigued by these surroundings that I even took my sketch book into the latrine. It went everywhere with me." (1945, A Personal Narrative)

In 1944, New York commercial artist Mimi Korach decided to do her part for the war effort by volunteering to work in a Merchant Seamen's Club, sketching portraits of lonely servicemen. A USO official suggested she go to local veterans hospitals to create sketches of patients that could be mailed to their distant families. Her next stop was a two-year tour of duty doing the same in Europe for GIs recuperating in evacuation hospitals. Korach, a short, dark-haired woman, teamed with another artist, Ann, a taller blonde (they were nicknamed "Blondie and Blackie"), traveling around Europe even after the fighting stopped. They sketched hundreds of servicemen as well as street scenes in occupied Germany and other devastated countries.

View 11 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Letter from Dick to Mimi Korach (1942-43 ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Carl Lendall to Patricia Tiffany ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. M. Nuck ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Lillian Lewis ]
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[ Letter from Mr. Oriv Goulding ]
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[ Letter from Grace Jones to Patricia Tiffany (6/12/45) ]

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[ Letter from Captain George F. Pool to Patricia Tiffany (2/22/45) ]
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[ Letter from Etta Moorefield to Patricia Tiffany (6/23/45) ]
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[ Letter from Grace Gressler to Patricia Tiffany (7/9/45) ]
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[ Letter from Doris Kuch (8/14/45) ]
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[ Letter from Marion keenan to Patricia Tiffany (8/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. G.E. Dutton to Patricia Tiffany (8/20/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Walter Brostrom to Patricia Tiffany (8/21/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Paul Newton (8/22/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Dosia Sheffield Rich to Patricia Tiffany (8/22/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. M. Simon to Patricia Tiffany (8/23/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Donald Conant (8/30/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Henry Nance, Jr. to Patricia Tiffany (9/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Sophia Rubin to Patricia Tiffany (9/22/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. B. Robidas to Patricia Tiffany (9/24/45) ]
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[ Letter from Harry L. Welker to Patricia Tiffany (9/27/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mary Hope to Patricia Tiffany (9/30/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Harry Jones to Patricia Tiffany (10/1/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Wanda Cartwright to Patricia Tiffany (10/15/45) ]
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[ Letter from Elizabeth Orlandini to Patricia Tiffany (10/15/45) ]
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[ Post Card from Mrs. Charles Charriere (10/16/45) ]
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[ Letter from A. Di Credico to Patricia Tiffany (10/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from George Glancy to Patricia Tiffany (10/19/45) ]
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[ Letter from S. Gladys Miller (10/18/45) ]
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[ Letter from Vlasta Ovesny to Patricia Tiffany (10/18/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mr. M. Jayuski to Patricia Tiffany (10/18/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Rena Hackett to Patricia Tiffany (10/20/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mr. Mrs. Roy Percia (10/22/45) ]
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[ Letter from Agnes L. Petersen to Patricia Tiffany (10/23/45) ]
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[ Letter from Frances Hamill to Patricia Tiffany (10/25/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Donald Barnett to Patricia Tiffany (10/28/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Carl Jaspersohn to Patricia Tiffany (11/5/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Robert Kenney (11/10/45) ]
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[ Letter from Edna Strickland to Patricia Tiffany (11/11/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Sarah Berlin to Patricia Tiffany (12/12/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Harry Kurtz (12/14/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Dorothy Segse to Patricia Tiffany (12/14/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Thomas Brooks (12/15/45) ]
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[ Letter from Esther Gracey to Patricia Tiffany (12/16/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Harold Winter to Patricia Tiffany (12/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from Katharine Brown to Patricia Tiffany (12/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. E. Tuck (12/17/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Helen Rose to Patricia Tiffany (12/18/45) ]
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[ Card from Sarah Stover to Patricia Tiffany (12/20/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. L.J. Niemczyk (12/20/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Ida Wright to Patricia Tiffany (12/21/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Gilbert Dutton to Mimi Korach (12/21/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Escareno to Patricia Tiffany (12/27/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Helen Pamatat (12/30/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mr. And Mrs. Angel Delgadillo (12/31/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Richard Fendrick to Patricia Tiffany (12/31/45) ]
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[ Letter from Mary Fratello to Patricia Tiffany (12/31/45) ]
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[ Letter from Paul Batto (1/1/46) ]
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[ Letter from Doris Wides to Patricia Tiffany (1/6/46) ]
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[ Card from Mrs. Charles Malloy to Patricia Tiffany (1/14/46) ]
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[ Letter from Berta Smith (1/30/46) ]
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[ Letter from Mrs. Avary Beckwith to Patricia Tiffany (1/9/47) ]
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[ Card from Mrs. J.E. Herliky to Patricia Tiffany (1/15/47) ]
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[ "Portrait of a Soldier" article from August/September 1945 issue of Overseas Woman Magazine ]
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[ USO Shows Banner with signatures from the men who Mimi Korach sketched. ]
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[ Alphabetical List of Creative Works ]

About this Item

Title

  • Mimi Lesser Collection

Names

  • Lesser, Mimi

Home State

  • New York (State)

Headings

  • -  Lesser, Mimi
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United Service Organizations (USO) -- Personal Narratives

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • civilian

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Location of Service: Germany; Czechoslovakia; Paris, France; New York
    • Military Status: civilian

Materials

  • Manuscript: Creative works [2 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1945-08-09)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [60 items] -- (collected 1945-1947)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- (collected 1945-09)
  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- (collected 1942-1943)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [690 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944-1946)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1945)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [34 items] -- Photograph (collected 1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/11904

Cite as

  • Mimi Lesser Collection (AFC/2001/001/11904), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Location of Service

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lesser, Mimi. Mimi Lesser Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11904/.

APA citation style:

Lesser, M. Mimi Lesser Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11904/.

MLA citation style:

Lesser, Mimi. Mimi Lesser Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11904/>.