True Life Tuesday: Reed Edwin Peggram

I cannot remember where or when I first heard this story but I found it fascinating. It still amazes me that there are so many people and events in history that we still don't know. Especially when it is relatively recent history like this story.

Reed Edwin Peggram was born on July 26, 1914 in the Dorchester section of Boston. His parents, Harvey Thomas Peggram and Mary Reed Peggram, divorced after Thomas was injured in World War I. He was mostly raised by his grandmother,  Laura Reed.

Reed was a very intelligent young man. He first attended the Public Latin School in Boston from 1927-1931. He was mostly interested in literature, language and dramatics. He then went on to attend Harvard University from 1931-1935. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors in Romance Languages and Literature. Then in 1936 he received a Masters in Comparative Literature. 

After receiving his Masters he was a graduate residence fellow at Columbia University from 1936-1937. He then returned to Harvard where he pursued a PhD in Comparative Literature. In 1939 he received a fellowship to study at the University of Copenhagen. This is where he met Gerdh Hauptmann.

As the threat of war in Europe increased Reed and Gerdh want to leave and go to America. The problem is that they were unable to come up with the funds to make the trip. When Germany invaded Denmark they fled to France and then Italy. This is where they were eventually captured by the Nazis in 1941 and placed in the Bagni Di Lucca concentration camp. While there Reed was offered a trip back to America while Gerdh would have to stay behind and work under the occupation. They refused the offers to stay together and were sentenced to death. 

Over the next several years the were moved to different camps before they were able to escape in 1944. After they escaped they faced hostile terrain before they were finally able to find safety with the 92nd Infantry Division. However, since the Nazis had confiscated their papers they still were unable to return to America. 

Eventually he was able to return and arrived back in Charleston, South Carolina on August 14, 1945. He would never see Gerdh again. He was hospitalized for 4 years for a nervous breakdown stemming from his time in the concentration camps. Eventually he returned to his hometown of Dorchester where he worked as a teacher and translator. He was fluent in 7 languages including English, French, German, Italian and Dutch. He also had many works published on comparative literature and linguistics. He died in Dorchester on April 20,1982 and was survived by one of his three brothers.