Office of Strategic Services - Revision history

Smith2: /* History */

2025-01-20T18:32:35Z

History

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 20 January 2025
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	*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.		*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.
	*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.		*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.
			Others included [[Vernon Dale Tate]].

	==Further reading ==		==Further reading ==

Smith2 at 23:43, 19 January 2025

2025-01-19T23:43:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:43, 19 January 2025
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	*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.		*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.
	*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.		*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.
	*Others involved included [[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]].

	==Further reading ==		==Further reading ==
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	*[[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]] served as microfilm expert.		*[[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]] served as microfilm expert.
	*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.		*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
	*Graham, Elyse. ''Book and dagger: How scholars and librarians bcame the ~~inlikely~~ spies of World War II.'' NewYork: Ecco, 2024.		*Graham, Elyse. ''Book and dagger: How scholars and librarians bcame the unlikely spies of World War II.'' NewYork: Ecco, 2024.
	*~~Keeney:~~ McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.		*McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.

	== Papers ==		== Papers ==
	National Archives, College Park, MD.		National Archives, College Park, MD. 1919-49 (bulk 1941-46). 7,565.527 cu. ft. / 13,334 items.
	1919-49 (bulk 1941-46). 7,565.527 cu. ft. / 13,334 items.
	Microfilm, maps and charts, motion pictures, sound recordings, images.		Microfilm, maps and charts, motion pictures, sound recordings, images.
	[https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/oss]		[https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/oss]

Smith2: Added details.

2025-01-19T23:38:56Z

Added details.

Smith2 at 21:27, 19 January 2025

2025-01-19T21:27:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:27, 19 January 2025
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	== History ==		== History ==
	On July 11, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan to head a new civilian office attached to the White House, the Coordinator of Information (COI). The COI was charged with collecting and analyzing information which may have had bearing upon national security, correlating such information and data, and making this information available to the President, authorized departments, and authorized officials of the government. After the start of World War II, Donovan worked with the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to place the COI under JCS control; while preserving COI autonomy, and gaining access to military support and resources.		On July 11, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan to head a new civilian office attached to the White House, the Coordinator of Information (COI). The COI was charged with collecting and analyzing information which may have had bearing upon national security, correlating such information and data, and making this information available to the President, authorized departments, and authorized officials of the government. After the start of World War II, Donovan worked with the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to place the COI under JCS control; while preserving COI autonomy, and gaining access to military support and resources.

			In July 1941 the Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, established a Division of Special Information exclusively to support Donovan's CIO effort. Within the COI Donovan created a Research and Analysis group and, within that, a Central Information Division. These two units were housed with the Library of Congress.

	On June 13, 1942, the COI became the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS gathered intelligence information about practically every country in existence, but was not allowed to conduct operations in the Pacific Theater, which General Douglas MacArthur claimed as his own. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nelson Rockefeller, the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, insisted that the OSS should not operate in the Western hemisphere. For these reasons, the records of OSS covert operations are almost entirely confined to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The OSS established more than 40 overseas offices during World War II, extending from Casablanca to Shanghai, and from Stockholm to Pretoria.		On June 13, 1942, the COI became the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS gathered intelligence information about practically every country in existence, but was not allowed to conduct operations in the Pacific Theater, which General Douglas MacArthur claimed as his own. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nelson Rockefeller, the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, insisted that the OSS should not operate in the Western hemisphere. For these reasons, the records of OSS covert operations are almost entirely confined to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The OSS established more than 40 overseas offices during World War II, extending from Casablanca to Shanghai, and from Stockholm to Pretoria.
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	*[[Eugene Barnum Power\|Eugene B. Power]]was also engaged in collecting information.		*[[Eugene Barnum Power\|Eugene B. Power]]was also engaged in collecting information.
	*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.		*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.
	*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS leaving in 1943.		*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.
	*Others involved included [[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]] ~~and Archibald MacLeish~~.		*Others involved included [[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]].

	==Further reading ==		==Further reading ==
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	On documentalists and librarians:		On documentalists and librarians:
			*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
	*Keeney: McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.		*Keeney: McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.

Smith2: Added details.

2025-01-19T21:02:12Z

Added details.

Show changes

Amandashelton: Updated papers location link and info

2023-09-15T01:24:22Z

Updated papers location link and info

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:24, 14 September 2023
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	~~1940s~~		1942-1945
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	National Archives~~, Washington, DC; In NNTA~~-~~N, NNSC, NNSM~~, ~~and NNSP branches.~~		National Archives - College Park, MD
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
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	<td>		<td>

	</td>		1919-49 (bulk 1941-46)</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	4,~~855~~ cu. ft./11,~~019~~ items.		7,565.527 cu. ft. / 13,334 items
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	Microfilm, maps and charts, motion pictures, sound recordings, ~~and~~ images.		Microfilm, maps and charts, motion pictures, sound recordings, images.
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	~~National Archives (http~~://www.~~nara~~.gov~~:70~~/0/~~inform~~/~~groups).~~		https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/oss
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>

Amandashelton: Corrected links to people

2023-09-06T19:57:21Z

Corrected links to people

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:57, 6 September 2023
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	<b>[[Burton W. Adkinson]]</b>; <b>[[Frederick G. Kilgour]];</b> <b>[[Eugene B. Power]];</b> <b>[[Jesse Shera]]</b>		<b>[[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]]</b>; <b>[[Frederick Gridley Kilgour\|Frederick G. Kilgour]];</b> <b>[[Eugene Barnum Power\|Eugene B. Power]];</b> <b>[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]]</b>
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>

Egha9 at 16:43, 5 September 2023

2023-09-05T16:43:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:43, 5 September 2023
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	~~== History of OSS ==~~
	~~write short history here~~

	~~== People ==~~
	<table>		<table>
	<tr>		<tr>

Egha9: added in TOC

2023-09-05T16:42:21Z

added in TOC

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:42, 5 September 2023
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			== History of OSS ==
			write short history here

			== People ==
	<table>		<table>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<tr valign="TOP">		<tr valign="TOP">
	<td ~~COL SPAN~~="3" ~~ALIGN~~="~~LEFT~~" ~~VALIGN~~="~~TOP~~">		<td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" COL SPAN="3">
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~ROWSPAN~~="10" ~~ALIGN~~="LEFT" ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td rowspan="10" align="LEFT" valign="TOP">
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	ORGANIZATION:		ORGANIZATION:
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	<font ~~SIZE~~="+1">		<font size="+1">
	Office of Strategic Services		Office of Strategic Services
	</font ~~SIZE~~>		</font>
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	ACTIVE DATES:		ACTIVE DATES:
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	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	ADDRESS:		ADDRESS:
	</b>		</b>
	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td></td>

	</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	E-MAIL:		E-MAIL:
	</b>		</b>
	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td></td>

	</td>
	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	PERSONS INVOLVED:		PERSONS INVOLVED:
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	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	MAJOR PROJECTS:		MAJOR PROJECTS:
	</b>		</b>
	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td></td>

	</td>
	</tr>		</tr>

	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	OTHER INFORMATION:		OTHER INFORMATION:
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	</tr>		</tr>
	<tr>		<tr>
	<td ~~VALIGN~~="TOP">		<td valign="TOP">
	<b>		<b>
	SOURCE:		SOURCE:
	</b>		</b>
	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td></td>

	</td>
	</tr>		</tr>

Egha9: linked to people in org

2023-09-05T16:13:58Z

linked to people in org

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:13, 5 September 2023
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	</td>		</td>
	<td>		<td>
	~~<a href="adkinson.htm">~~<b>Burton W. Adkinson</b~~></a~~>; ~~<a HREF="kilgour.htm">~~<b>Frederick G. Kilgour</b~~></a>; <a HREF="power.htm"~~><b>Eugene B. Power</b~~></a>; <a HREF="shera.htm"~~><b>Jesse Shera</b~~></a~~>		<b>[[Burton W. Adkinson]]</b>; <b>[[Frederick G. Kilgour]];</b> <b>[[Eugene B. Power]];</b> <b>[[Jesse Shera]]</b>
	</td>		</td>
	</tr>		</tr>

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:38, 19 January 2025
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	The '''Office of Strategic Services''' (OSS) was a US intelligence agency ~~formed in~~ 1942 by William J. Donovan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan]~~. Although OSS ended in 1945, its operations formed the basis of the subsequent Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)~~.		The '''Office of Strategic Services''' (OSS) was a US intelligence agency, 1942-1945, founded by William J. Donovan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan].

	== History ==		== History ==
	On July 11, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan to head a new civilian office attached to the White House, the Coordinator of Information (COI). The COI was charged with collecting and analyzing information which may have had bearing upon national security, correlating such information and data, and making this information available to the President, authorized departments, and authorized officials of the government. After the start of World War II, Donovan worked with the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to place the COI under JCS control; while preserving COI autonomy, and gaining access to military support and resources.		On July 11, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan to head a new civilian office attached to the White House, the Coordinator of Information (COI). The COI was charged with collecting and analyzing information which may have had bearing upon national security, correlating such information and data, and making this information available to the President, authorized departments, and authorized officials of the government. After the start of World War II, Donovan worked with the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to place the COI under JCS control; while preserving COI autonomy, and gaining access to military support and resources.

	In July 1941 the Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, established a Division of Special Information exclusively to support Donovan's CIO effort. Within the COI Donovan created a Research and Analysis group and, within that, a Central Information Division. These two units were housed ~~with~~ the Library of Congress.		In July 1941 the Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, established a Division of Special Information exclusively to support Donovan's CIO effort. Within the COI Donovan created a Research and Analysis group and, within that, a Central Information Division. These two units were housed within the Library of Congress.

	On June 13, 1942, the COI became the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS gathered intelligence information about practically every country in existence, but was not allowed to conduct operations in the Pacific Theater, which General Douglas MacArthur claimed as his own. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nelson Rockefeller, the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, insisted that the OSS should not operate in the Western hemisphere. For these reasons, the records of OSS covert operations are almost entirely confined to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The OSS established more than 40 overseas offices during World War II, extending from Casablanca to Shanghai, and from Stockholm to Pretoria.		On June 13, 1942, the COI became the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS gathered intelligence information about practically every country in existence, but was not allowed to conduct operations in the Pacific Theater, which General Douglas MacArthur claimed as his own. J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nelson Rockefeller, the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, insisted that the OSS should not operate in the Western hemisphere. For these reasons, the records of OSS covert operations are almost entirely confined to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The OSS established more than 40 overseas offices during World War II, extending from Casablanca to Shanghai, and from Stockholm to Pretoria.

	~~After the~~ OSS was terminated on September 20, 1945~~, much if~~ its operations and records later became part if the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created on July 26, 1947.		The OSS was terminated on September 20, 1945. Much of its operations and records later became part of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created on July 26, 1947.

	Numerous documentalists and librarians served in the OSS, especially in its Research and Analysis Branch (R&A). These included:		Numerous documentalists and librarians served in the OSS, especially in its Research and Analysis Branch (R&A). These included:
			*[[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]] was Assistant Chief of the Map Intelligence Section, 1944-45.
	*[[Frederick Gridley Kilgour\|Frederick G. Kilgour]] supervised the collection of documents from neutral and enemy controlled territories.		*[[Frederick Gridley Kilgour\|Frederick G. Kilgour]] supervised the collection of documents from neutral and enemy controlled territories.
	*[[Eugene Barnum Power\|Eugene B. Power]]was also engaged in collecting information.		*[[Eugene Barnum Power\|Eugene B. Power]] was also engaged in collecting information.
	*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.		*[[Jesse Hauk Shera\|Jesse Shera]] experimented with indexing collected material.
	*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.		*Philip O. Keeney was chief librarian of CIO then of OSS, leaving in 1943.
Line 24:		Line 25:
	*"Office of Strategic Services" ''Wkipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services]		*"Office of Strategic Services" ''Wkipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services]

	On documentalists and librarians:		On OSS documentalists and librarians:
			*[[Burton Adkinson\|Burton W. Adkinson]] served as microfilm expert.
	*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.		*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
			*Graham, Elyse. ''Book and dagger: How scholars and librarians bcame the inlikely spies of World War II.'' NewYork: Ecco, 2024.
	*Keeney: McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.		*Keeney: McReynolds, R. & L. S. Robbins. ''The librarian spies : Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War espionage.'' Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009 pp 72-73.