Dr. Joseph Dunner, Professor of Political Science at Grinnell from 1946-1963, had a remarkable life and career. As an Israeli newspaper asked, in a 1973 profile piece about the seemingly soft-spoken, pipe-wielding professor:

What would you say about a man who was chief of the intelligence section OWI (London, England) in 1944-45, was head of the press control section of Information Control in Munich, Germany 1945-46, was the director of the Institution of International Affairs 1946-58, and in 1954 was decorated with the Order of Ouissam Alaouite Cherifren by the Sultan of Morocco…and is the author of over ten books?

Born in Germany, Josef Dünner was a leader of the Social Democratic party, an outspoken opponent of Hitler, and a prominent Jewish intellectual. For these reasons, he appeared on the first list, issued by the Nazi regime in 1933, stripping particular individuals of their citizenship. Receiving a tip from local police, Dunner fled Germany the night before he was scheduled to be arrested, crossing the border into Switzerland. With the support of the Brookings Institute, he eventually resettled in America, and played a prominent role in intelligence in World War II (mentioned above).  After working to re-establish a free press in German in the wake of the war, Dunner moved to Grinnell to become the chair of its political science department. A specialist in both political philosophy and international relations, Dunner sought to infuse both areas into Grinnell’s program that had traditionally focused on domestic politics, municipal administration, and civic reform (the legacy of Jesse Macy and the Social Gospel movement).  The picture above shows Dunner in his office in Goodnow with his trademark pipe.