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
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
By David Langbart Airplanes filled the sky over Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. D-Day. Some planes dropped bombs; some planes towed gliders; some planes dropped paratroopers; some planes dropped . . . paper. Paper in the form of propaganda leaflets. The propaganda was aimed both at the French and at the Germans. Two days … Continue reading Airplanes Over France, June 6, 1944
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
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
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
Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. As December 1944 ended and January 1945 began, the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) was two weeks old and the Allied forces had stopped the German effort to cross the Meuse River and capture Antwerp. … Continue reading The Monuments Men During January 1945
Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. The linguists with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) of General Douglas MacArthur’s General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) were responsible, at ATIS headquarters in Australia and, attached to units in the field, for translating captured documents … Continue reading The National Archives’ Arthur Evarts Kimberly and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section’s Document Restoration Sub-Section, 1944-1945
Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. Part 1 of this series can be found here. During August and September Galland lobbied unsuccessfully against the plane being used as a bomber. During September, 72 were produced as bombers and only 19 as fighters. Galland was, however, able … Continue reading The German Jet Me-262 in 1944: A Failed Opportunity – Part II
By David Langbart. It might surprise some to learn that government bureaucrats have a sense of humor and that it occasionally appears among the records preserved in the National Archives. One such instance was recently located in the files of the World War II-era Office of War Information (OWI). That agency was responsible for formulating … Continue reading Holiday Humor in Wartime: 1942
