The Hans Speier Papers, 1922-1989, primarily focus on Speier's career in the United States after his emigration to the United States in 1933. A small number of documents for both Speier and his wife, Lisa Griesbach Speier, date from the pre-U.S. period, 1922-1933. Early materials are in German, with post-1933 materials predominately in English.

The collection is divided into 10 series: 1) Biographical materials, including family documents and correspondence, 1922-1984; 2) Autobiographical writings, 1945-1989; 3) Correspondence files, 1911-1988; 4) Manuscripts and typescripts, ca. 1920-1987; 5) The RAND Corporation materials, 1948-1988; Miscellaneous typescripts by other authors, 1941-1982; 6) Miscellaneous typescripts by other authors, 1941-1982; 7) Nazi propaganda, 1941-1944; Anti-Nazi propaganda, 1943-1944; Allied Forces Intelligence Reports and memoranda, 1940-1948; 8) Notes and materials on various topics; and 9) Note cards;and 10) Political pamphlets, 1934-1970. Series 4 is further divided into two sub-series: typescripts of books written or edited by Speier, and typescripts of shorter writings, including poetry, short stories and essayistic writings. Series 5 is also divided into two sub-series: Hans Speier's log notes (diary entries) and the essayistic writings.

The correspondence files contain correspondence with colleagues and leading scholars of the day, including Max Ascoli, Reinhard Bendix, Arvid Brodersen, Lewis A. Coser, Alexander George, Herbert Goldhamer, Joseph Goldsen, Fred C. Iklé, Alvin Johnson, Paul Kecskemeti, Henry J. Kellermann, Ernst Kris, Nathan Leites, M. Rainer Lepsius, Hans Staudinger and Leo Strauss. Also represented in the collection is a lengthy correspondence with co-editors of the three-volume work Propaganda and Communication in World History Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner, as well as correspondence with individual contributors to the volumes.

Two additional series should be noted: The RAND Corporation materials (Series 5) and the Nazi propaganda and anti-Nazi propaganda and intelligence materials (Series 7). The RAND Corporation materials span four decades and document Speier's important career as organizer and Head of the Social Science Division of the RAND Corporation from 1948-1960 and a member of the RAND Research Council from 1960-1968. During those years he wrote and directed numerous studies for RAND and the texts of many of the position papers, memoranda, lecture texts and essays are present in the collection. Included in the Nazi and anti-Nazi propaganda materials is a collection of rare leaflets prepared by the Psychological Warfare Branch of the U.S. Army and disseminated to enemy troops in Italy in 1943-1944.

In addition to the numerous texts written by Speier during his years at The RAND Corporation, the collection also contains numerous texts of essays, as well as typescript and manuscript versions of books, in particular the monograph Die Angestellten vor dem Nationalsozialismus (1977) and his autobiographical work From the Ashes of Disgrace: A Journal from Germany, 1945-1955.