David S. Ferriero's Blog, page 28

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 theaters around the country on February 7th.

In our East Rotunda Gallery, through the 19th of February, our featured document is an Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) album that records artwork looted by the Nazis during the Second World War – one of a series of photo albums created for Adolph Hitler’s benefit to document the Nazis’ systematic looting of cultural treasures and to serve as a pick list for his planned museum in Linz after the war. The Army’s Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program recruited the group known as the Monuments Men (although there were also Monuments Women), and they used these albums to return treasures to their rightful owners. The volume on display is one of several recently discovered albums donated to the National Archives by Robert Edsel, the president of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. The newly discovered albums supplement the 40 already in the custody of the National Archives.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, accompanied by … [ Read all ]

“It Gets Better” at the National Archives

The National Archives is proud to join other federal agencies in support of the “It Gets Better Project.” Our participation in this project represents an opportunity for federal agencies and employees to openly talk about issues, share messages and stories of hope, and provide resources for support.

Thanks to all the NARA staff across the country who shared their stories and supported this project. And remember, it truly does get better.… [ Read all ]

Patent of the Month: Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees

Happy Holidays!

Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 1)

Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 2)

Illuminating-Devices for Christmas Trees, Patent 194421, August 21, 1877. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office. National Archives and Records Administration (Page 3)… [ Read all ]

Rubenstein Gallery Opening

Last night we opened the David M. Rubenstein Gallery, the home of our new Records of Rights permanent exhibit.

The new David M. Rubenstein Gallery, hosting the “Records of Rights” permanent exhibit, which discusses the rights of women, immigrants, and African Americans.

 

David Rubenstein is a passionate advocate for the National Archives and for educating all Americans about our shared history. His many gifts to us and to other cultural institutions have done much to promote public awareness of our nation’s history. And we are deeply grateful to him for his generous gift to the Foundation for the National Archives that made possible this new gallery, which showcases the long struggle to secure and exercise individual rights for all Americans.

David is a firm believer in the power of public-private partnerships and I am thankful for the support from our Senate and House Appropriations Committees in matching his gift for this project.

The centerpiece of “Records of Rights” is the 1297 Magna Carta, which David purchased five years ago because he believed the one copy of this famous charter in the United States should not leave this country.

David M. Rubenstein speaks to the crowd in front of the 1297 Magna Carta

The principles of individual rights set down in Magna Carta and the belief that no one is above the law inspired … [ Read all ]

What is Past is Prologue: Appointing the first Historian of the National Archives

Earlier this year, Jessie Kratz was appointed Historian of the National Archives—our first!  Jessie has been with the Archives nearly 15 years—most recently on staff at the Center for Legislative Archives.

Over the years, many staff members have informally filled that role in various capacities and I want to thank them for recognizing the importance of our own history.  Ironically, the National Archives, the repository of the nation’s history, had no historian of its own.  I have come to appreciate the work that the historians across the Federal government do and am so pleased that we join the ranks of those Agency and Congressional historians.

Upon accepting the job, Jessie’s first priority was to create the National Archives History Office to ensure our agency’s history is retained. She is working to make sure the official records created by the National Archives are preserved and accessible for research.

“What is Past is Prologue”, inscribed on Future (1935, Robert Aitken) located on the northeast corner of the  National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of user: Salticidae on Flickr

Jessie’s office will also be accepting non-record material— this includes memoirs, collections of original photographs and letters, memorabilia, diaries, maps and other historical documents that help tell the story of the National Archives but would not otherwise be preserved in the official records of the National Archives. Please contact her if … [ Read all ]

Declassification Prioritization

The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) recently hosted an open meeting to discuss its recommendations to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System, focusing on declassification prioritization. PIDB continues to advocate for public discussion on the report. This meeting represented opportunities to highlight recommendations from the report, continue the conversation about the current declassification system, and discuss the topics citizens want prioritized for declassification.

The meeting also hosted a panel discussion on “Perspectives on Prioritizing Government Records for Declassification and Public Access,” featuring Stephen Randolph, Historian at the Department of State; Joseph Lambert, Director of Information Management Services at the Central Intelligence Agency; Michael Dobbs, Journalist and Scholar-in-Residence at the Holocaust Museum; and Stephen Aftergood from the Federation of American Scientists.

My opening remarks at the meeting were an opportunity to emphasize the importance of the National Archives’ role in this democratic process, and to highlight the work we are doing to eliminate the declassification backlog and modernize records management practices:

When people have open access to government information, they are able to hold government accountable for its actions. This is an essential part of our democracy. As Thomas Jefferson wrote from Paris in 1789: “whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government…whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on … [ Read all ]

Bringing History to Life

Last night I had the distinct honor of welcoming director Steven Spielberg to the National Archives and presenting him with the Foundation for the National Archives’ Records of Achievement Award for bringing our nation’s history to life on the big screen. Also joining us was previous award recipient Ken Burns, who spoke with Mr. Spielberg onstage about history, storytelling, and the National Archives.

From left to right: Executive Director of the Foundation Patrick Madden, Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, director Steven Spielberg, filmmaker Ken Burns, and President of the Foundation’s Board of Directors A’Lelia Bundles.

This event was also an important opportunity for me to recognize and thank the terrific staff of the National Archives and the Foundation for the National Archives—the folks who really make my job easy.

If you’re the kind of person who sits through the credits of a movie—as you should be—and you sat through the Lincoln credits you would have seen staff member Kate Mollan’s name and the National Archives and Records Administration for her help on the research on the 13th Amendment.  I believe it is the first time a member of the staff has been named in a major motion picture.  Thanks for making us all look good, Kate.

The monumental statues on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building honor the Past and … [ Read all ]

Celebrating Passion and Accomplishment

With the opening of the “Discovery and Recovery” exhibit, I had a chance last week to thank many of the National Archives staff who made it possible.  And it truly took a village to make this happen!  Staff from just about every corner of the Agency contributed—preservation and conservation, security, legal, communications, exhibits, digital engagement, innovation, digital preservation, holdings protection, programs, and facilities.  Truly a team effort.

Photo of the “Discovery and Recovery” exhibit in the Lawrence O’Brien Gallery. Photograph from the National Archives’ Instagram account: instagram.com/usnatarchives

In my remarks to the assembled staff I tried to convey my pride in their work, but also my pride in the passion and commitment they bring to the job every day.  And I was reminded of the closing lines of Donna Tartt’s new novel, The Goldfinch, about the rescue of a painting:

“…if disaster and oblivion have followed this painting down through time—so too has love.  Insofar as it is immortal (and it is) I have a small, bright, immutable part in that immortality.  It exists; and it keeps on existing.  And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along … [ Read all ]

Preserving History

Next week we will be opening an extraordinary exhibit, “Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage,” at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The exhibit, spanning more than 400 years, tells the story of the dramatic recovery on May 6, 2003, of 2,700 books and tens of thousands of documents from a flooded basement in the headquarters of the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s secret police.

The discovery, named the Iraqi Jewish Archive, included some of the most sacred texts of the Jewish people, including an ancient Torah, Talmud and Zohar—along with tens of thousands of documents relating to the Jewish community in Iraq. Upon the discovery of the documents, we were immediately called in due to our Agency’s extensive expertise in protecting great cultural treasures such as these from decay and destruction.

 

Led by our Director of Preservation Programs, Doris A. Hamburg, and supported by the U.S. Department of State, the National Archives has for more than a decade taken painstaking efforts to preserve these texts and digitize them for universal public access. Their relentless dedication has ensured that these sacred texts will be kept alive and accessible. The result is a wonderful demonstration of the talent which exists here at the National Archives.

 

 

The exhibit, in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, opens on November 7 and closes on January 5, 2014, … [ Read all ]

Congratulations to the Digital Public Library of America

What happens when archives, libraries and museums come together? They build something amazing.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is here, and the National Archives is proud to participate as a leading content provider in this exciting online portal and platform.

The DPLA provides a single online access point for anyone, anywhere to search and access digital collections containing America’s cultural, historical and scientific heritage. Following the successful launch in April 2013, DPLA continues to grow, regularly bringing in new partners and content. For the latest news, check out DPLAfest 2013, happening right now in Boston!

This large-scale collaborative effort to create a universal digital public library has united leaders and educators from various government agencies, libraries, archives and museums. Together with several large content providers, such as the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian, and Harvard University, the National Archives is sharing content from our online catalog in the DPLA.

In fact, the National Archives has already contributed 1.9 million digital copies of historical material, including our nation’s founding documents, photos from the Documerica Photography Project of the 1970’s, World War II posters, Mathew Brady Civil War photographs, and a wide variety of documents that define our human and civil rights.

“WPA Library Bookmobile,” National Archives Identifier 195912

The National Archives’ participation in this exciting project marks a new opportunity to share our … [ Read all ]