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The fonds consists of handwritten notes, drafts, holograph and typed manuscripts, galley proofs, printed texts and newspaper clippings of L’udovít Kandra’s extensive literary production of novels, short stories and articles.

A large portion of the fonds also gathers the correspondence exchanged between Mr. Kandra and his family, his friends, other Slovak emigrants and members of various political and lobbying groups. Another significant portion of the fonds consists of administrative papers, correspondence and publications related to the Svetový Kongres Slovákov (Slovak World Congress) and to Slovenská Národná Rada v Zahraničí (Slovak National Council Abroad) including the Demokratický Blok (Slovak Democratic Block Abroad). A smaller portion of the fonds consists of various pieces of information collected by Mr. Kandra on topics related to Slovak political and social history since World War II. Some personal papers, memorabilia and a few photographs constitute the remainder of the fonds.

The L’udovít Kandra fonds constitutes the most complete collection of primary, secondary and tertiary sources for the study of this prolific Slovak emigrant author’s literary production. It contains most of his works published under the pen name of Peter Klas, a major portion of his articles, conference papers and other works published under his real name, L’udovít Kandra, as well as numerous critical reviews of his work. The correspondence portion of the fonds constitutes a unique source of information on L’udovít Kandra’s personal, professional and social life. It also provides us with a most interesting insight into the lives of his fellow countrymen living abroad, with a particular emphasis on Slovaks living in Canada. The fonds offers researchers a significant collection of papers and documents related to two major international Organizations (SKS and SNRvZ) devoted to the recognition, maintenance and growth of Slovak tradition and culture among the Slovak diaspora.

A certain portion of documents contained in the fonds originate from the 1939-1945 period, but the bulk of the material dates from the time of Kandra’s arrival in Canada in 1949 to the time of his death in 1993. Most documents are in good condition.