Andre Visson Papers

Andre Visson (née, Isodore Akivisson) was born September 29, 1899 in Kiev, Russia, the son of Sam-Simon Akivisson, industrialist and ship owner. In 1917 Visson entered the University of St. Vladimir in Kiev, concentrating his studies in history and art history. He left Russia with his family in November, 1918. Between 1919-1924 Visson attended universities in Geneva, Berlin, London and Paris. Sometime after 1929, while living inn Yugoslavia, Visson began his journalistic career, writing specifically on Balkan and Near Eastern affairs for such papers as l'Independence Belge and Belgrade's Vreme. In 1936 he published Aron, Friedmann et Cie under the pseudonym 'Baruch'. The novel concerns a family of Jewish financiers.

Visson came to the United States in 1940, seeking positions with Time and New York Times as a correspondent for the Low Countries. After Belgium was invaded, Visson established himself in Washington as a correspondent covering the diplomatic scene for Time magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, New York Herald Tribune, and Chicago Sun Times, among others. In 1942 he joined William Donovan's Coordinator of Information Office, later the Office of War Information, where he organized intelligence panels for broadcasts to seven Eastern European countries.

In November, 1943 Visson accepted an invitation from William Hard, journalist and broadcaster, to join the editorial staff of Reader's Digest. During Visson's long association with the Digest, he served as a Roving Editor and as the Washington Consultant on International affairs, while continuing to publish in numerous other journals and periodicals. In 1944 and 1948 Visson published two books, The Coming Struggle for Peace and As Others See Us. In these two works, as well as in a large number of his articles, Visson was concerned with educating America and Europe about each other.