Franklin Littell '37, Holocaust scholar, dies

Franklin Littell ’37, scholar and founding member of the Holocaust museum, died Saturday May 24 at his home in Merion Station, Pa. He was 91.

Read the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer obituaries here.

The eldest son of Clair “Judge” Littell, legendary Cornell professor of history and political science and an ordained Methodist minister, Franklin Littell was prominent in ecumenical and interfaith activities for more than 50 years. His life’s work is the advancement of religious liberty and the exposure of persecution.

He served 10 years in the American occupation of post-war Germany  and was a founding member of the U.S. Holocaust Museum. He held advanced degrees from Union Theological Seminary and Yale University and was once president of Iowa Wesleyan College, a Methodist-affiliated institution. He was the author of more than two dozen books and nearly 300 major articles.