Rainer Schickele Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 224

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection reflects Rainer Schickele’s career as an instructor and an advisor with the FAO and ADC. The majority of the collection is papers written by Schickele concerning land tenure and using economics as a means for agricultural planning. The collection is divided into nine series: Biography, Papers, Essays and Discussions, California Farms, FAO/ADC, Sri Lanka, Publications, Research, Correspondence and Memoranda, and Book Reviews. The Biographical Series consists of letters of introduction, job offers, and job applications. The series also contains Schickele’s curriculum vitae that covers his academic and professional career up to the 1970s. One item of special interest is the interrogatory Schickele needed to fill out before he could take the position with the Food and Agriculture Organization. In the interrogatory he responded to questions about contributing to a group that had Communist ties. It should be remembered that the interrogatory was filled out in 1953 at the height of the Communist Scare and McCarthyism. The Papers, Essays and Discussion Series consists of material related to practices of various institutions and causes for farm problems. The majority of the papers and essays cover the issues of institutional obstacles to effective farm planning and the use of economics in farm planning. The discussion aspect of the series consists of radio talks Schickele gave while at Iowa State College before and during World War II. The topic of many discussions included agricultural issues that Schickele believed to be the root of many of the problems, but others provided a European understanding of nationalism and other movements sweeping through Europe. The series also contains papers that deal with the free market and how fair it is to the farmers and how to increase production. The series also contains papers Schickele wrote in German. One such paper appears to be his doctoral dissertation. The California Farms Series contains a study Schickele participated in while a visiting scholar at Berkeley. The purpose of the study was to determine if small family farms were economically viable and could compete with the larger, commercial farms. The series contains the preliminary and final drafts of the report as well as Schickele’s and others’ testimony before the California Senate Sub-Committee that requested the study. The FAO/ADC Series consists of reports that Schickele wrote while attending conferences and while visiting countries the FAO was helping build up agricultural programs. Many of Schickele’s visits were to the Far East and Africa. The series also contains memorandum, budget projections and recruitment statistics for the land and water use branch. The Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Series consists of reports and papers Schickele wrote while helping the university and government build agricultural economic departments. The series consists of twelve progress reports that Schickele wrote in order for the ADC to monitor the progress of the program. The series also contains papers Schickele wrote regarding the current agricultural situation in Sri Lanka and how to rectify some of the problems. The Publication Series consists of journals and bulletins that published Schickele's works. Many of the publications are Iowa State College Experiment Station Bulletins as well as other farm journals. Schickele’s publications range from the domestic market for lard to the greening of Israel. The majority of the publications deal with land tenure and tenancy in Iowa. One publication that stands out is Schickele’s essay on tree rings and how they allow agriculturalists to study the past weather cycles. The Research Series consists of notes and ideas for Schickele's books and papers. One section of notes appears to be the outline for one of Schickele’s books. The majority of the notes consist of research done for papers and comments on other’s work. Schickele did made a list of books that depict farm life in foreign countries and the United States. The Correspondence and Memoranda Series contains mainly professional correspondence and memoranda relating to Schickele’s tenure in FAO. One item of interest is the report evaluation of Tanzania during the ten-year period 1961 to 1971. The Book Review Series covers reviews and letters regarding Schickele’s book Agrarian Revolution and Economic Progress in the Developing World. The correspondence regarding the reprinting overseas nicely documents the problems faced by authors when a new publishing company wishes to reprint their book and condense it.

Dates

1931-1975.

Creator

Schickele, Rainer. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the Institute for Regional Studies.

History

Dr. Rainer Schickele was born on July 22, 1905 in Berlin, Germany. He attended Real Gymnasium at Freiburg, Baden, Germany and received his Diploma in 1924. Schickele then attended the College of Agriculture, University of Berlin from which he received his Bachelor of Science (1926), his Master of Science (1930) and his Doctor of Philosophy (1931). After receiving his Ph.D., Schickele did post-graduate work at Iowa State College (1931-1932) and then at the Brookings Institute (1933-1934). He later received the postdoctoral fellowship of the Social Science Research Council (1939-1940) and he chose to conduct his research at Harvard University. In 1935, Schickele became an instructor at Iowa State College and an associate professor in 1944. During his time at Iowa State, Schickele was very active in the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station. After teaching at Iowa State, Schickele taught at George Washington University (1945-1946) before becoming Chairman of the Department of Agricultural Economics at North Dakota Agricultural College, now North Dakota State University. Schickele resigned as chair in 1954 in order to serve as head of the land and water use branch of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Schickele remained with FAO until 1965 when he joined the Agricultural Development Council, funded by John D. Rockefeller, III. In 1967, Schickele went to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to help build an Agricultural Economics department at the university and within the government. Once he reached the ADC’s retirement age, Schickele served as a visiting professor at Michigan State, University of Minnesota and the University of Tennessee. He then served as a visiting scholar at Berkeley for several years. Schickele is the author of numerous papers and essays relating to farm practices that range from the free market to land tenure and planning. He is also the author of two books on agricultural practices. In 1934 Schickele married Elizabeth Wilcox in Washington D.C. They had two sons: Peter, who taught at Julliard and composed numerous pieces of music for choirs and musicians, and David (1937-1999), who wrote and directed numerous documentaries and toured with the Robert Shaw Chorale.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

German

Additional Description

Abstract

Shickele was an agricultural economist who taught at North Dakota State University and later worked for the United Nations in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Schickele published numerous articles and studies concerning the viability of small farms and how to best utilize a region's resources for agricultural purposes.