As Black History Month draws to a close, nothing illustrates the great progress of the civil rights movement more than a glimpse at a bleaker era. The work we do every day at the National Archives is for the express purpose of preserving historical context, even the disturbing parts, as exemplified in today’s post, written … Continue reading That Cognac Can Get You Into Very, Very Bad Trouble!
By Jason Clingerman During World War II, the American National Red Cross (ANRC) provided many services to enlisted men serving abroad in Europe and elsewhere. Importantly, they set up clubs for enlisted men to enjoy for recreational purposes in order to take a break from their wartime duties. One of these clubs was in Rome. … Continue reading Thanksgiving in Rome, 1944
Today's post is written by David Langbart, a senior processing archivist in College Park. Sometimes records long thought to be lost find their way home. One such occurrence took place recently. The U.S. embassy in Germany received from the German government some files from the U.S. consulate in Dresden. The records had been found among … Continue reading Records Lost and Found, or, Dresden on the Eve of Destruction
Today's post is written by Tom McAnear, a processing archivist in College Park. Tom is participating in the Archival Development Program, an in-house multi-year training course for all of NARA's archivists. As part of my Archival Development Program (ADP) training I recently completed a 30-day rotation in June at the National Collection of Aerial Photography … Continue reading From College Park to Edinburgh: 30 Days with the National Collection of Aerial Photography
Today's post is written by Anwar Thomas, an archives technician at Archives II. Processing and consolidating the Navy Deck Logs (National Archives Identifier 594258), in Record Group 24: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, was an interesting project in my large criteria of archival experience. These logs are filled with many interesting hidden facts … Continue reading The Navy Deck Logs: Personal Experience
Today’s post is written by Meghan Ryan, a processing archivist at Archives II. The women of the American Red Cross played an important, and often under recognized role in World War II. The valiant efforts of Red Cross hospital volunteers are more frequently acknowledged, but American women served overseas in a number of other capacities – … Continue reading They Sent the Wharf-Rat In: Louisa “Henry Kaiser” Farrand and the American Red Cross
Today’s post is written by Meghan Ryan, a processing archivist at Archives II. As World War II drew to a close, the United States military faced the daunting task of transporting the majority of the armed forces home. To facilitate this process, temporary base, or “camps” were constructed throughout Europe. Camp Tophat, near Antwerp, Belgium, … Continue reading Camp Tophat: The Troops Go Home
Today’s post is written by Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., an Archives Technician in the Holdings Management Division at Archives II. Occasionally, as we work with records we come across a document that completely catches our attention. This was the case as we began describing the documents held in Record Group 498, the records of the European … Continue reading …And Germany in Ruins Surrendered Unconditionally
Today's post is the first in an occasional series where we will highlight some of the work of our volunteers. Janet Hodges is a volunteer with the Volunteer Office at the National Archives at College Park. First, this isn’t about genealogy; I don’t like genealogy. I leave that exercise to my daughter who enjoys spending … Continue reading Finding My Father in the Archives
By Robin Waldman As the US involvement in World War II heightened, the nation faced many critical shortages. Certainly sugar and butter come to mind, as do images of children collecting bottle caps and pieces of glass. But "Mrs. Housewife" was called to her patriotic duty to conserve another good: household fats. The Conservation Division … Continue reading For Love of Country
