This month the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution and others have come together to commemorate Native American history.
For more information on upcoming events or to visit special archive collections, please visit the Native American Heritage Month website.
The National Archives announced the “discovery of two original leather bound photograph albums,” which provide documentation on looted art by the Nazis during World War II.
These albums were created by the staff of the Third Reich’s Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR). This special unit was organized in the summer of 1940 under Reich Leader Alfred Rosenberg, initially to collect political material in occupied countries for exploitation in the “struggle against Jewry and Freemasonry.” The ERR established its base of operations in Paris in July 1940 and on November 5, Hermann Goering assigned the ERR the responsibility for the confiscation of “ownerless” Jewish art collections. On November 18 of that year, Adolf Hitler ordered that all confiscated works of art be brought to Germany and placed at his personal disposal. During the next several years, the ERR would be engaged in an extensive and elaborate art looting operation in France that was part of Hitler’s much larger premeditated scheme to steal art treasures from conquered nations.
Though it has been widely known that the Nazis, under the direction of Hitler, confiscated massive collections of art, it was thought that these particular records of note had been destroyed.
The South Dakota State Historical Society has recently received 136 rolls of microfilm covering more than 100 years of Indian Rights Association (IRA) history. The reels contain archives from the years 1864-1973.
“These records complement the BIA microfilms for all the South Dakota reservations which are already housed in the state archives,” said Marvene Riis, archives librarian. “In addition, the IRA Papers provide the researcher with a unique insight into Indian affairs, from the IRA, the Indian and the government points of view.”
The topic of global warming has infiltrated the media, industry and politics in the U.S. and throughout the world. NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest online historic newspaper database, has created a special collection dedicated to global warming. The Global Warming Newspaper Archive, found at http://www.globalwarmingarchive.com/Home.aspx, allows users to search through 50,000 archived newspaper pages to find articles about global warming. The archive also includes a timeline of events relating to the Earth’s climate and a historical overview of the topic.
With the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election right around the corner, the topic of global warming is on the list of candidates’ issues to address. Regardless of the current fundamental argument – are humans causing the earth to warm? – the earth is changing and education, including the history of the planet’s climate, is important.
By searching the Global Warming Newspaper Archive, you can explore past perspectives on the “greenhouse effect” and also research what many scientists, politicians and those in the media had to say about the concept. Newspapers are a great source of information and NewspaperARCHIVE.com has released this socially relevant archive so that we can all benefit from information it contains.
The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the National Archives have announced a partnership to “digitize approved pension applications of widows of Civil War Union soldiers…” Operating as FamilySearch.org, the GSU, in conjunction with Footnote.com, intents to work with the National Archives to release more than 1.2 million files.
These records, of great interest to genealogists and others, are currently available only at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. The widows’ pension application files, a rich source of information about ordinary American citizens of the time, include supporting documents such as affidavits, depositions of witnesses, marriage certificates, birth records, death certificates, and pages from family bibles.
With help from the U.S. Consulate-General, rare palm-leaf collections residing at the United Theological College in Bangalore have been digitized and microfilmed. The project, launched in October 2006, started with a $35,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State, under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Presentation.
“Some of the original material available in the library archive was getting old and had become brittle. Theological and secular scholars involved in research in sociology, ethnography and history have been using the library facilities, and digitising will help in providing better access to the materials.”
The collection includes manuscripts that are more than 200 years old, written in several Indian languages. The “first printed Bible in India that dates back to the 18th century” is also included in the collection.
Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) will be made available by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for the first time. The initial release will include more than 6 million records, however more than 57 million total files are expected to be released through the year 2067.
These archived files are treasured by family members, historians, researchers, and genealogists. Contained in a typical OMPF are documents outlining all elements of military service, including assignments, evaluations, awards and decorations, education and training, demographic information, some medical information and documented disciplinary actions. Some records also contain photographs of the individual and official correspondence concerning military service.
For more information, please refer to the original press release, “National Personnel Records Center Opens more than Six Million New Military Personnel Files”
Online Computer Library Center, Inc. has added more than 400 titles from Yale University Press to its NetLibrary database. In addition, the OCLC will add at least 1,500 more Yale titles once the content’s digitization process is complete.
“These titles represent works that promote a greater understanding of our world, and will be of great benefit to users of all libraries, and particularly academic institutions,” [Chip Nilgles] said.
More than 212 years of British news contained within The Guardian and The Observer has been added to ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Dating from 1791, the collection will allow researchers near-instant access to millions of pages, digitized by Olive Software, Inc.
The ability to cross-search the archives of two major British newspapers with ProQuest’s existing American historical newspapers provides researchers with contrasting perspectives on key international events, such as World Wars I and II, the Middle East peace process, and the terrorist attacks in the United States September 11, 2001. Researchers will be able to compare news, political cartoons, and editorials about the same events in both American and British newspapers.
The Guardian’s and The Observer’s archive will be cross-searchable with ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the world’s largest digital newspaper archive, encompassing more than 17 million pages dating from 1764.
Secret documents about the trial of the Knights Templar have been published by the Vatican. The entire collection, which surrounds the papal hearings after the arrest and torture of the orders’ leaders under the charge of heresy, has been made available for a “limited edition” price of more than $8,300. Also included is a parchment that shows that the order was absolved by Pope Clement V.
From the AP article, “Vatican to publish Templar trial papers”:
“Going on with my research, it turned out that in reality it was an inquest of very great importance” on behalf of the pope, [Barbara] Frale said. Fredol “had gone to question the Great Master and other heads of the Templars who had been segregated, practically kidnapped, by the king of France and shut up in secret in his castle in Chinon on the Loire.”
