Death register returns to Mauthausen, Austria

Today's post comes from exhibits conservator Terry Boone and senior registrar James Zeender. May marks the surrender of the Nazi forces to the Allies—and the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1945. Last year in April, we traveled to the Mauthausen National Memorial, about 100 miles west of Vienna, with one of the original death … Continue reading Death register returns to Mauthausen, Austria

A letter to the President—in Braille

This week marks the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The National Archives holds many records that relate to American citizens with disabilities. From personal letters to historic legislation, these records from the Presidential Libraries provide insight into disability history. For the opening of the Public Vaults exhibition at the National Archives Building … Continue reading A letter to the President—in Braille

An Orphan of the Holocaust

His parents were victims of the Nazis when he was only four, and he and his uncle spent two years hiding in the forests of Poland, waiting until the end of World War II. But the ordeal of Michael Pupa was far from over. He became a “displaced person,” or DP, moving from one DP … Continue reading An Orphan of the Holocaust