Legacies of Repression: Archives and Human Rights

Trudy Huskamp Peterson, retired director of the National Archives, is a leader among international efforts to preserve records of governmental truth commissions and international criminal tribunals. In South Africa she served as an advisor for the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established to serve victims of violence and human rights abuses under Apartheid. She has served as the director of Archives and Records Management for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and led efforts to preserve and make available archives from the countries of the former Soviet bloc. Most recently she worked with government police records in Guatemala. Peterson received her B.A. in English from Iowa State University in 1967. She is the author of Final Acts: A Guide to Preserving the Records of Truth Commissions. Part of the World Affairs Series and the Iowa State 150th Anniversary Alumni Lecture Series.