Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. This is the second blog in a multi-part series. Around noon on April 29, 1945, the three couriers with copies of Adolf Hitler’s private will and political testament (and one with his marriage license) left the Berlin bunker … Continue reading Hunting Hitler Part II: The Bunker (April 29-April 30)
Category: Military Records
Milton Caniff Explains “Terry and the Pirates”
By David Langbart In early 1945, "Terry and the Pirates" was one of the most popular daily comic strips printed in U.S. newspapers. © Tribune Content Agency, LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. The strip, launched in October 1934, and written by Milton Caniff (1907-1988), was a serial action-adventure strip set in China and … Continue reading Milton Caniff Explains “Terry and the Pirates”
The Monuments Men in June 1945: The Evacuation of Siegen Completed
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park The Monuments Men (the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFA&A) Specialist Officers) were busy during June 1945 locating and overseeing some 600 emergency repositories containing cultural property and providing for the evacuation of some of that property to more … Continue reading The Monuments Men in June 1945: The Evacuation of Siegen Completed
The Monuments Men in May 1945: Buxheim and Neuschwanstein
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park Schloss Neuschwanstein, two miles east of Fussen, a picturesque little town, some 80 miles south of Munich, in southern Schwabe, Bavaria, had been a central Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) repository for looted cultural property. A considerable bulk of this … Continue reading The Monuments Men in May 1945: Buxheim and Neuschwanstein
The Monuments Men in April 1945: Siegen, Finally
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park On March 31, 1945, the 12th Army Group reported that probably the most important repository in the area immediately ahead of the forces under its command was at or near Siegen, some fifty miles east of Cologne. It noted … Continue reading The Monuments Men in April 1945: Siegen, Finally
An Unsuspected Foe: Shark Attacks during World War II
Today's post was written by Megan Dwyre, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. Several species of shark have been known to attack a swimming man. Your chances of encountering one of these are not great…– Extract from "Survival on Land and Sea."[1] "Shark Attacks", a 1944 survey conducted by the Coordinator of Research and Development, U.S. … Continue reading An Unsuspected Foe: Shark Attacks during World War II
The Kümmel Report
Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor, Archivists at the National Archives in College Park. Dr. Alfred Hentzen, on the staff of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin, was mobilized into the German Army in mid-1942. While serving on the Intelligence Staff of a Panzer Division in North Africa, he … Continue reading The Kümmel Report
The Monuments Men in March 1945: Ronald Balfour and Walker Hancock
Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher March 1945 would be a busy and eventful time for the Monuments Men officers, as the Allied armies advanced into Germany. This was especially true for two of them: Ronald Balfour and Walker Hancock. During combat operations in February 1945, Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFA&A) officer, … Continue reading The Monuments Men in March 1945: Ronald Balfour and Walker Hancock
The Monuments Men During February 1945: Locating Repositories of Looted and German Cultural Property
Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, archivist at the National Archives in College Park. At the end of January, Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, head of the 12th Army Group, wrote the G-5s of his four Armies (First, Third, Ninth, and Fifteenth) regarding the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFA&A) Specialist Officers and their … Continue reading The Monuments Men During February 1945: Locating Repositories of Looted and German Cultural Property
Operation Clarion: February 22-23, 1945
Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, archivist at the National Archives in College Park. In mid-September 1944 General Henry H. ( “Hap”) Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Force, proposed that every available British and American airplane be used on some clear day to swarm all over the German Reich, attacking military objectives … Continue reading Operation Clarion: February 22-23, 1945