Papers of Bruce Campbell Hopper

Bruce Campbell Hopper (1892-1973) was an associate professor of government at Harvard University from 1930 to 1961. Hopper was a prolific writer and lecturer on Soviet foreign policy and political and military strategy in war and peace. Hopper received his BS (1918), AM (1925), and PhD (1930) from Harvard University. Hopper served in World War I, first as a truck driver with the American Field Service carrying supplies for the French Army, and then as an aviator with the American 96th Air Squadron. Commissioned as a Captain, Hopper flew twenty-nine combat missions earning the French Croix de Guerre and the Pershing Citation. After his discharge from the service, Hopper studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and Oxford University. He was the editor of the China Press in Shanghai (1920-1921) and studied the Soviet Union as a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs (1926-1929). Hopper joined the Harvard faculty in 1925, became assistant professor in 1931, and then associate professor in 1933. Hopper was an early expert on the Soviet Union, authoring influential articles and advising the United States Department of State on foreign policy. During World War II, Hopper served as an attaché at the United States legation in Stockholm, Sweden representing the Office of Strategic Services (later the Central Intelligence Agency) and as the chief historian for the 8th Air Force and the United States Strategic Air Forces. After the war, Hopper served as a special consultant and speechwriter to General Carl A. Spaatz, commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. Hopper received the Silver Star and Air Force Exceptional Service medal for his work during and after World War II.