Monuments Men Coming to the National Archives

A new movie due for release next month tells the story of a special unit of Allied soldiers in Europe at the end of World War II. They were charged with finding and savings works of art and other cultural artifacts that the Nazis had seized. Officially, this unit was called the Monuments, Fine Art, … Continue reading Monuments Men Coming to the National Archives

Flying Saucers, Popular Mechanics, and the National Archives

The reports were among the thousands of pieces of paper waiting to be processed in a group of 100 boxes. But a few pieces of paper—with schematics that looked like they were right out of a 1950s sci-fi flick—were destined for a featured article in Popular Mechanics. But first the documents were spotted by Michael … Continue reading Flying Saucers, Popular Mechanics, and the National Archives

Headhunters and diplomats in the Truman Library

Today's guest post is from Samuel Rushay, senior archivist at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, who is featured in our newest "Inside the Vaults" video about the adventure of John Paton Davies. “…I stood in the open door of that miserable [C-46, Curtis] Commando and decided—`Well, if nobody else is going to jump, I’ll jump.  … Continue reading Headhunters and diplomats in the Truman Library

The Pentagon Papers, now online after 40 years

  If you opened the the New York Times this morning in 1971, you would have seen the first part of the secret "Pentagon Papers" that the newspaper published—without authorization from the government. Today in 2011, the National Archives and the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Presidential libraries will release the entire official Report of the Office of … Continue reading The Pentagon Papers, now online after 40 years

Pennsylvania Avenue Hotline

Today's guest post comes from David Coleman,  associate professor at the University of Virginia and Chair of the Presidential Recordings Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. On April 28, W.W. Norton will publish volumes 7 and 8 in the Miller Center's Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson series. (The original tapes are in … Continue reading Pennsylvania Avenue Hotline

Confederate dirty laundry: spies and slaves

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The Civil War was a spy's dream come true. With a porous border between the Union and the Confederacy, and little way to distinguish between friend and foe, spies were everywhere. Both sides used ciphers. Both tapped telegraph wires. Stories … Continue reading Confederate dirty laundry: spies and slaves

The OSS and the Dalai Lama

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In the summer of 1942, the Allies' war against Japan was in dire straits. China was constantly battling the occupying Japanese forces in its homeland, supplied by India via the Burma Road. Then Japan severed that supply artery. Planes were … Continue reading The OSS and the Dalai Lama

The CIA’s catalog of covert conundrums

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In 1992, George Washington University's "National Security Archive" submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), soliciting information from the Central Intelligence Agency. Their request was inspired by a 1973 memorandum issued from then-CIA Director James R. Schlesinger, who requested that … Continue reading The CIA’s catalog of covert conundrums

Censorship and the C*** W**

Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Censorship has always been a delicate subject in American history. From John Adam's Alien and Sedition Acts to the publication of the "Government Information Manual for the Motion Picture" during World War II, national security and the freedom of speech … Continue reading Censorship and the C*** W**