3 children w/bread in their hands behind a box stamped "CARE United States of America"

Department of State Records Relating to Refugees, Displaced Persons, Relief, and War Crimes During the World War II Era, Part 2: Decentralized Files

This is the second of three parts describing World War II-era records of the Department of State relating to refugees, displaced persons, relief, and war crimes.  It describes the decentralized files of the Department.  Part 1 described relevant central files.  As noted in that post, there is significant overlap among the central and decentralized files … Continue reading Department of State Records Relating to Refugees, Displaced Persons, Relief, and War Crimes During the World War II Era, Part 2: Decentralized Files

mother standing behind 2 children

Department of State Records Relating to Refugees, Displaced Persons, Relief, and War Crimes During the World War II Era, Part 1: Central Files

Perennial subjects of interest in the records of the Department of State for the World War II era are refugees, displaced persons, relief, and war crimes.  Among the headquarters records of the Department of State are many records relating to those topics.  This is the first of three posts to discuss those materials. The records … Continue reading Department of State Records Relating to Refugees, Displaced Persons, Relief, and War Crimes During the World War II Era, Part 1: Central Files

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 Harrison Report, President Truman, and General Eisenhower

Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor, Archivists at the National Archives at College Park. The Jewish community in the United States expressed many complaints during April and May 1945 about how displaced persons, particularly Jews, were being treated by the U.S. Army in Germany.  Secretary of the Treasury Henry … Continue reading The Harrison Report, President Truman, and General Eisenhower

Nicholas Winton and Refugee Children: A Follow-up to “60 Minutes”

Today's post is written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. The April 27, 2014, broadcast of the CBS news show “60 Minutes” included a segment entitled “Saving the children.”   It recounted the efforts of Nicholas Winton, a British citizen, to save almost 700 Czechoslovakian children, mostly Jewish, from the Nazi … Continue reading Nicholas Winton and Refugee Children: A Follow-up to “60 Minutes”

Little Poland en la Hacienda

By Robin Waldman This post was originally published on 4/22/2011. Text Message Blog Editors updated this post on 04/27/2023. Polish refugees perform an Easter pageant in the Mexican sunshine. From 1943 to 1946, Colonia Santa Rosa in Guanajuato, Mexico was the site of a US-government sponsored home for Polish refugees. About 240 miles northwest of Mexico … Continue reading Little Poland en la Hacienda