The National Archives Presents Special Noontime Programs in January
Press Release · Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Washington, DC

The National Archives kicks off the New Year with a series of noontime public programs. These book talks and film screenings are free and open to the public and will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW. Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.

BOOK TALK:The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men
Tuesday, January 20
Until recently, historians believed America gave asylum only to key Nazi scientists after World War II. But as Pulitzer Prize–winning author Eric Lichtblau explains in The Nazis Next Door, the CIA and FBI brought thousands of former Nazis to the United States as possible assets against their new Cold War enemies. A book signing will follow the program.

FILM: To Tell the Truth: Working for Change (Washington, DC, premiere), Part 1
Friday, January 23
To Tell the Truth is a two-part history of the documentary film in the United States and United Kingdom (UK). Part one, covering the years 1929–1941, focuses on social movements, the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the awakening of the left wing in the UK. A film by Cal Scaggs. (2013; 56 minutes)

BOOK TALK: Iran-Contra: Reagan’s Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power
Wednesday, January 28
When a Nicaraguan soldier downed an American plane carrying arms to “Contra” guerrillas on October 5, 1986, a tightly held U.S. clandestine program was exposed. A month later, reports surfaced that Washington had been covertly selling arms to Iran in exchange for help freeing hostages in Beirut. The profits from the arms sales were going to support the Contras, despite an explicit ban by Congress. In his book Iran-Contra, Malcolm Byrne describes the details of the confusing scandal that raised the prospect of Presidential impeachment. A book signing will follow the program.

FILM: To Tell the Truth: The Strategy of Truth (Washington, DC, premiere), Part 2
Friday, January 30
Part two of this history of the documentary film explores the role of film as propaganda during World War II and the different forms it took in the United States, the UK, and Germany. It also raises the central question of whether a film can be both documentary—reflecting the truth—and propaganda. A film by David Van Taylor. (2013; 56 minutes)

The National Archives is fully accessible, and Assisted Listening Devices are available in the McGowan Theater upon request. To request a sign language interpreter for a public program, please send an email to public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event. To verify dates and times of the programs, call 202-357-5000 or view the Calendar of Events online.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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