flyer w/images and details of the genealogy series

Join the National Archives for the 2023 Genealogy Series!

The National Archives and Records Administration is pleased to present our annual Genealogy Series on YouTube. This educational series of lectures will teach you how to use federal resources at the National Archives for genealogical research. Our program this year celebrates public service, with presentations on military and civilian records. You will also learn how … Continue reading Join the National Archives for the 2023 Genealogy Series!

Nuremburg Laws excerpt

The Nuremberg Laws: From Nuremberg to the National Archives

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. For the 1935 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, Nazi German’s Chancellor Adolf Hitler called for the convening of the Reichstag in the city on September 15, the concluding Sunday, in order to pass a Reich Flag Law, making … Continue reading The Nuremberg Laws: From Nuremberg to the National Archives

Finding Its Way Back Home: The Saga of a Misfiled Document

This post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Textual Reference at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Archival mantra holds that a misfiled document is as good as gone forever.  That is, unless somebody finds it, recognizes its status as a misfile, and refiles it in its proper location. It can, however, be … Continue reading Finding Its Way Back Home: The Saga of a Misfiled Document

The Adventures of Miriam Davenport, 1940-1946, Part II

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In 1944, Miriam Davenport Treo was employed by the Committee of the American Council of Learned Societies for the Protection of Cultural Treasures in War Areas to prepare maps and lists of cultural treasures for the Armed Forces … Continue reading The Adventures of Miriam Davenport, 1940-1946, Part II

The Adventures of Miriam Davenport, 1940-1946, Part I

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In October 1945, Miriam Davenport reported to work at Tier 18 W in the National Archives Building at 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. She was not, however, an employee of the National Archives. She was employed … Continue reading The Adventures of Miriam Davenport, 1940-1946, Part I

The Decentralization of Archives Debate and National Archives Independence, 1979-1984

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In going through my old files in the process of retiring I ran across information regarding the debate about the decentralization of the National Archives and the movement for an independent National Archives. Undoubtedly, most current National … Continue reading The Decentralization of Archives Debate and National Archives Independence, 1979-1984

A Brief Survey of the Disposition of Captured Japanese Records, 1945-1962

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Within five years after the end of World War II the Japanese Government was making requests for the release of convicted war criminals and for the return of records that had been captured by US military forces. … Continue reading A Brief Survey of the Disposition of Captured Japanese Records, 1945-1962

American Archives Month: Discovering Archives and Repositories in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places

This post is part of an ongoing series featuring records from the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017 (National Archives ID 20812721), a series within Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service.  Transfer of Charters of Freedom to the National Archives in 1952 (National Archives … Continue reading American Archives Month: Discovering Archives and Repositories in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places

The Percentage of Permanent Records in the National Archives: A 1985 Article Revisited

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Thirty-five years ago the National Archives had a space problem. It still does, even with the opening of the National Archives at College Park, MD in 1994 (known to staff and researchers as Archives II or just … Continue reading The Percentage of Permanent Records in the National Archives: A 1985 Article Revisited

Three women working on exhibit cases.

The Freedom Train, 1947-1949

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Early in my career at the National Archives, my branch chief assigned me the task of describing the records of the American Heritage Foundation, part of the National Archives Gift Collection. This sounded boring, and somewhat was … Continue reading The Freedom Train, 1947-1949