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 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.
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”
The National Archives, located in Washington, D.C., will celebrate Arab-American Heritage Month this November. Beginning on November 7, special book talks, film screenings and additional events will be held to commemorate moments in Arab-American history. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information and details on special events, please visit the full press release:
National Archives Celebrates Arab-American Heritage Month
