Thief Sentenced for Stealing Artifacts from the National Archives

By stealing World War II records from the National Archives and Records Administration and selling them to collectors, a thief victimized the American people and damaged the agency entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s records. Antonin DeHays recently received 364 days in prison and three years on probation, eight months of which are to be served … Continue reading Thief Sentenced for Stealing Artifacts from the National Archives

Holiday Humor in World War II

Someone in the Office of War Information (OWI) News Bureau was certainly having a jolly old time on Christmas Eve 1942, when they wrote this memorandum concerning rumors flying around (by way of a reindeer-led sled) about a “man in whiskers who … will come down many chimneys bringing gifts to hundreds of American homes.” … Continue reading Holiday Humor in World War II

What’s New in the National Archives Catalog: Photographs from the Battle of the Bulge

The National Archives’ Strategic Plan includes the bold initiative to digitize our analog records and make them available for online public access. Our new digitization strategy outlines the many approaches we will use to achieve this goal, and I am proud share with you the results of some of our recent digitization work. Recently digitized … Continue reading What’s New in the National Archives Catalog: Photographs from the Battle of the Bulge

Patent of the Month: Higgins boats

Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. To commemorate this anniversary, this month’s patent is Andrew Higgins’s landing boat. It is dated February 15, 1944, less than four months before D-Day. LCVPs--or Higgins boats, as they are now commonly known --transported troops from the 1st Infantry onto Omaha Beach. They could each carry … Continue reading Patent of the Month: Higgins boats

Patent of the Month: Tucker “Torpedo” Patent Drawing, 06/14/1949

During World War II, the South Side of Chicago was home to one of the largest war plants in the country, used by Dodge-Chrysler to build bomber plane engines. After the war, Preston Tucker leased two of the buildings to build his “Torpedo” car. This site is now the home of the National Archives at … Continue reading Patent of the Month: Tucker “Torpedo” Patent Drawing, 06/14/1949

The Monuments Men

Yesterday we were privileged to host two special advance screenings of The Monuments Men, one especially for the staff of the National Archives.  Thanks to the generosity of Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men upon which the film is based for making this possible. The film will open in … Continue reading The Monuments Men

Interview with Jack Hamann, Author of On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII

I want to thank you, Jack, for visiting the National Archives recently to discuss your book, On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII. Your book is a powerful example of the importance of the records of the National Archives. You tell the story of Private Guglielmo Olivotto, an Italian POW who was … Continue reading Interview with Jack Hamann, Author of On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII