Every year I struggle with how I can show appreciation for my mom on Mother’s Day. This year I'm going retro and “making” my mom a gift by highlighting some of the National Archives holdings that relate to Mother’s Day. Although it was celebrated in several states for years, the first time Mother’s Day became … Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day!
Today's post comes from Ashley Mattingly, an archivist at the National Archives in St. Louis. The year was 1943, and Elizabeth “Betty” Maxine Chambers was a young mother and a widow. Betty’s husband, Army pilot Lt. Robert William Chambers, had died in 1942 when his P-38F Lightening aircraft crashed at Mills Field in San Mateo, … Continue reading A WASP’s Story
The National Archives at St. Louis staff extended a special thanks to World War II U.S. Navy Veteran Paul Wittmer on April 14. During World War II, Wittmer served on six war patrols on the USS Tinosa SS-283. He was part of the crew responsible for the capture of the famed Japanese I-401 submarine taken at the end of … Continue reading The National Archives at St. Louis thanks WWII Navy veteran Paul Wittmer
Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men, the book on which the film was based, will speak at the National Archives tonight at 7 p.m. You also watch online at Ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/usnationalarchives. Edsel and a panel will discuss his books as well as the recent film adaptation. The panel includes our senior archivist Greg Bradsher. The … Continue reading Greg Bradsher: Monuments Men expert at the National Archives
Don't miss Robert Edsel at the National Archives on February 19 at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Today's blog post comes from Miriam Kleiman of the National Archives Public Affairs Office. The new Monuments Men blockbuster film opens with Herman Goering gleefully viewing looted artwork at a Parisian art … Continue reading Nazi Art Looter’s Diary, Long Missing, Found and Online for the First Time
As the recently-opened movie Monuments Men plays around the country, there's one macabre story you won't see on the silver screen. It's about the remains of German leaders, including Frederick the Great and Frederick William I. The Germans had hidden the caskets containing the bodies of the Fredericks and former Weimar President Paul von Hindenburg … Continue reading You won’t see this in the Monuments Men movie
Today’s post comes from Alan Walker, archivist at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Now, maybe it's happened to you: that "needle in a haystack," "home run," unbelievable find that blew you away, and brought joy to a researcher. We archival folks live for that moment. Let me share with you one such moment … Continue reading “I was a gunner and a gun captain on a 90MM-AAA gun during World War II…”
A recently discovered album donated to the National Archives by Monuments Men Foundation President Robert M. Edsel is on display until February 20, 2014. The album is open to a photograph of an important painting by master French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Girl Holding a Dove was repatriated by the Monuments Men in 1946. It sold … Continue reading On display: Finding stolen art using this album
Steven Spielberg is being honored by the Foundation for the National Archives for his film legacy, which has brought history to life on the big screen. The National Archives is celebrating the award with a film festival, and Saving Private Ryan is the first film to be screened. Join us tonight, Friday, November 15. For … Continue reading Spielberg Film Festival: Saving Private Ryan
Cast your vote for Executive Order 9981 to be displayed first in the new "Records of Rights" gallery. Polls close on November 15! Today’s post comes from Tammy Williams, archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library President Harry S. Truman spent his entire young adulthood in Missouri, a border state during the Civil War. … Continue reading Executive Order 9981: Equality in the military
