The Creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. On June 25, 1941, an order was drafted which would establish William J. Donovan's wished-for intelligence agency as the Office of Coordinator of Strategic Information (for background see: William J. Donovan and the Establishment of the Office of … Continue reading The Creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

Men in suits posing for a photograph

William J. Donovan and the Establishment of the Office of the Coordinator of Information, July 1940-July 1941

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. In July 1940, several weeks after France capitulated to Germany, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox proposed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Secretary of State Cordell Hull that someone be sent to England to study the … Continue reading William J. Donovan and the Establishment of the Office of the Coordinator of Information, July 1940-July 1941

image of virginia hall

The Secrets of the Office of Strategic Services Personnel Records: Spotlight on Virginia Hall

Today’s post is by Cara Moore Lebonick, Archives Reference Specialist at the National Archives at St. Louis In 1931 Virginia Hall, born this month, was appointed as a “Clerk” for the U.S. Department of State, to be stationed in Warsaw. She failed the “career service” exam twice, once in 1929 and again in 1930, before … Continue reading The Secrets of the Office of Strategic Services Personnel Records: Spotlight on Virginia Hall

The Office of Strategic Services and the SIMCOL Operation in Italy October 1943

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. At the time of the Italian Armistice on September 8, 1943, there were almost 80,000 Allied prisoners of war in Italian prisoner of war camps.[1]  When the Allied prisoners of war learned of the Armistice, most were in … Continue reading The Office of Strategic Services and the SIMCOL Operation in Italy October 1943

Terence A. Coyne: An Office of Strategic Services’ Art Looting Investigation Unit Monuments Man

Today’s post, written by  Dr. Greg Bradsher, is the next installment in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. The 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 the movie cannot tell the story of the over … Continue reading Terence A. Coyne: An Office of Strategic Services’ Art Looting Investigation Unit Monuments Man

Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part II: Double Duty for the Roberts Commission and the OSS

Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The 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 the movie cannot tell the story of the over 300 individuals involved … Continue reading Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part II: Double Duty for the Roberts Commission and the OSS

Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part I: Member of the U.S Army, the Office of Strategic Services, and the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas

Today’s post, written by  Dr. Greg Bradsher, is the next installment in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. The 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 the movie cannot tell the story of the over … Continue reading Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part I: Member of the U.S Army, the Office of Strategic Services, and the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas

A British Art Historian and Collector Monuments Man: Douglas Cooper

This is the tenth in a series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher. See related posts on Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, Walter J. Huchthausen, Seymour J. Pomrenze, Mason Hammond, Edith Standen, Karol Estreicher, S. Lane Faison, Sir Hilary Jenkinson, and Walter Horn. The forthcoming movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men … Continue reading A British Art Historian and Collector Monuments Man: Douglas Cooper

An Office of Strategic Services Monuments Man: S. Lane Faison

This is the seventh in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher. See related posts on Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, Walter J. Huchthausen, Seymour J. Pomrenze, Mason Hammond, Edith Standen, and Karol Estreicher. The forthcoming movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and … Continue reading An Office of Strategic Services Monuments Man: S. Lane Faison

Karol Estreicher: The Polish Monuments Man

This is the sixth in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. Today’s post is by Dr. Sylvia Naylor. See related posts on Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, Walter J. Huchthausen, Seymour J. Pomrenze, Mason Hammond, and Edith A. Standen. The forthcoming movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men … Continue reading Karol Estreicher: The Polish Monuments Man