Category: NARA’s History

Marriage Certificate of Eva Braun and Adolph Hitler, p1

Hitler’s Political Testament, Personal Will, and Marriage Certificate: From the Bunker in Berlin to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. {Part I: The Creation of the Documents}

by US National Archives, posted in NARA's History, World War II

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and is the first piece in a four-part series. The National Archives and Records Administration plans to place Adolf Hitler’s Political Testament, Personal Will, and Marriage Certificate (National Archives identifier 6883511) on exhibit beginning March 21, 2014.  This series of posts traces these documents from the time of their … Continue reading Hitler’s Political Testament, Personal Will, and Marriage Certificate: From the Bunker in Berlin to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. {Part I: The Creation of the Documents}

Efforts by Ernst Posner and the National Archives to Protect European Archives during World War II

by US National Archives, posted in Military Records, Monuments Men, NARA's History, World War II

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. The National Archives began to think, after the invasion of North Africa in World War II, of the practical importance of records in connection with the government of conquered territory.  Archivist of the United States Solon J. Buck and senior National Archives official Oliver W. Holmes took … Continue reading Efforts by Ernst Posner and the National Archives to Protect European Archives during World War II

Seymour J. Pomrenze: A National Archives Monuments Man

by US National Archives, posted in Jewish American History, Monuments Men, NARA's History, World War II

This is the third in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men by Dr. Greg Bradsher. See also his posts on Sir Charles Leonard Woolley and Walter J. Huchthausen. The forthcoming movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and their work during and after World War II. Of course … Continue reading Seymour J. Pomrenze: A National Archives Monuments Man

13 Rue Madeleine and the National Archives

by US National Archives, posted in Hollywood and Film, Monuments Men, NARA's History

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. Elizabeth Hamer, the chief of the National Archives Exhibits and Publications staff, maintained a very detailed daily diary of everything she and her staff did between 1946 and 1951. While conducting research for an article on the 1946 accessioning and exhibiting of Adolf Hitler’s Last Will and … Continue reading 13 Rue Madeleine and the National Archives

Remembering Leonard A. Rapport {1913-2008} (continued)

by US National Archives, posted in NARA's History

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and is a continuation of yesterday's post. On October 31, 1984, Leonard retired from the National Archives and the next day began turning over to Jim Hutson copies of all the documents he had collected.  For the next fifteen months, in his 1952 DeSoto, Leonard traveled the same ground he … Continue reading Remembering Leonard A. Rapport {1913-2008} (continued)

Remembering Leonard A. Rapport (1913-2008)

by US National Archives, posted in NARA's History

Have you ever considered a career in archival work? This week, we're publishing a two-part post by Dr. Greg Bradsher remembering one of NARA's archivists. The National Archives and Records Administration has been very fortunate to have among its ranks many “giants” of the archival profession.  It has also had its share of interesting characters. Leonard … Continue reading Remembering Leonard A. Rapport (1913-2008)

The Travels of two 16th Century Books from Germany to California, to Washington, D.C., and Back to Germany, 1945-2009

by US National Archives, posted in NARA's History, World War II

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. Three years ago, on October 9, 2009, a former member of General Patton’s Third Army, in Room 105 of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. returned to the German Ambassador two 16th Century books he had taken from a German mine during April 1945. The story how … Continue reading The Travels of two 16th Century Books from Germany to California, to Washington, D.C., and Back to Germany, 1945-2009

A Brief History of the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (IWG)

by US National Archives, posted in NARA's History, Records Reference and Research, World War II

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. I would wager that few NARA staff members, especially those hired during the past five years, and most researchers are familiar with the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (IWG) nor its website: www.archives.gov/iwg. The website contains a wealth of valuable information not … Continue reading A Brief History of the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group (IWG)

An American Archivist at Ascona, Switzerland, October 1997

by US National Archives, posted in Monuments Men, NARA's History

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. One clear, chilly evening this week fifteen years I was alone in the foothills above the town of Ascona, Switzerland, wondering “how in the world did I end up here?” The answer begins in December 1996, in the wake of revelations about Switzerland having dormant bank accounts of … Continue reading An American Archivist at Ascona, Switzerland, October 1997

The National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, and Art Provenance Research

by US National Archives, posted in Monuments Men, NARA's History, Records Reference and Research, World War II

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. Nancy Yeide, head of the Department of Curatorial Records at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C., in December 1997, began doing provenance research on the NGA’s holdings to ascertain whether any of the works of art had provenance problems.  In the wake of the revelations … Continue reading The National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, and Art Provenance Research