Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs [OIAA]


(Record Group 229)
1937-51
812 cu. ft.

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

  • 229.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 229.2 GENERAL RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS AND ITS PREDECESSORS 1940-46 227 lin. ft.
  • 229.3 RECORDS OF THE IMMEDIATE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR 1940-49 16 lin. ft.
  • 229.3.1 General records
  • 229.3.2 Records of the Office of General Counsel
  • 229.4 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1940-46 11 lin. ft.
  • 229.4.1 General records
  • 229.4.2 Records of the Commercial and Financial Division
  • 229.4.3 Records of the Research Division
  • 229.5 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 1940-47 129 lin. ft.
  • 229.5.1 General records
  • 229.5.2 Records of the Air Transportation Division
  • 229.5.3 Records of the Ocean Shipping Division
  • 229.5.4 Records of the Railway Transportation Division
  • 229.5.5 Records of the U.S. Railway Mission in Mexico
  • 229.6 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION 1940-50 129 lin ft.
  • 229.6.1 Records of the Motion Picture Division
  • 229.6.2 Records of the Radio Division
  • 229.6.3 Records of the Education Division
  • 229.6.4 Records of the Regional Division
  • 229.7 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS 1940-46 12 lin. ft.
  • 229.7.1 General records
  • 229.7.2 Records of the Feature Division
  • 229.7.3 Records of the Graphics and Publications Division
  • 229.8 RECORDS OF THE DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE 1941-43 1 lin. ft.
  • 229.9 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC ECONOMY 1937-51 96 lin. ft.
  • 229.9.1 General Records
  • 229.9.2 Records of the Division of Health and Sanitation
  • 229.9.3 Records of the Food Supply Division
  • 229.9.4 Records of the Emergency Rehabilitation Division
  • 229.10 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL SERVICES 1941-46 1 lin. ft.
  • 229.11 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
  • 229.12 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
  • 229.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
  • 229.14 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL) 1942-45 3,386 images

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229.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: In the Executive Office of the President (EOP) by EO 9532, March 23, 1945.

Predecessor Agencies:

  • Office for Coordination of Commercial and Cultural Relations Between the American Republics (OCCCRBAR), Council of National Defense, (1940-41)
  • Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA)
  • Office for Emergency Management, EOP (1941-45)

Functions: Promoted increased hemispheric solidarity and inter- American cooperation, especially in commercial and economic areas. Information function transferred to Interim International Information Service, Department of State, by EO 9608, August 31, 1945.

Abolished: By EO 9710, April 10, 1946, effective May 20, 1946.

Successor Agencies: Institute of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State.

Finding Aids: Edwin D. Anthony, comp., Inventory of the Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, Inv. 7 (1973).

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Office of Inter-American Affairs in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. General Records of the Department of State, RG 59.

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229.2 GENERAL RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS AND
ITS PREDECESSORS
1940-46
227 lin. ft.

History: OCCCRBAR established by Council of National Defense order, August 16, 1940. Abolished by EO 8840, July 30, 1941, with functions transferred to OCIAA, established in Office for Emergency Management, EOP, by same order. OCIAA redesignated Office of Inter-American Affairs, 1945. SEE 229.1.

Textual Records: Central files, 1940-45. History of the office, 1946. Report on field activities, 1946. Administrative field manual, 1943. Register and index of projects, n.d. Register of contracts, n.d. Project authorizations, 1942-45. Project status reports, 1942-45.

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229.3 RECORDS OF THE IMMEDIATE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR
1940-49
16 lin. ft.

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229.3.1 General records

Textual Records: Minutes of committees on which the coordinator served, 1940-41. Weekly progress reports, September-December 1940.

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229.3.2 Records of the Office of General Counsel

Textual Records: General records, 1941-44. Correspondence, 1942- 48. Records relating to subsidiary corporations and other organizations, 1942-49. Minutes of meetings of subsidiary corporations, 1942-48.

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229.4 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1940-46
11 lin. ft.

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229.4.1 General records

Textual Records: Project files, including the Mexican-American Commission for Economic Cooperation, 1940-45.

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229.4.2 Records of the Commercial and Financial Division

Textual Records: General records, 1942-45. Records relating to the inland waterway survey, 1942-44; and to the Mexican-American Commission for Economic Cooperation, 1943-44.

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229.4.3 Records of the Research Division

Textual Records: "Latin American Economic Newsletter," 1941-42. Weekly Economic Bulletin, 1943-45. Daily Information Bulletin, 1942-46. Reports, 1942.

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229.5 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1940-47
129 lin. ft.

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229.5.1 General records

Textual Records: Reports, correspondence, minutes, and other records, 1942-46. Project files, 1940-46. Communications sent, 1940-47. Records relating to the Institute of Inter-American Transportation, 1943-45; transportation missions and surveys, 1943-46; the Pan American Highway and the inland waterway survey, 1943-46; and the highway engineers training project, 1945-46. Commodities, subject, and country files relating to ocean shipping, 1940-45. Records relating to newsprint shipments, 1941- 45; the Mexican-American Commission for Economic Cooperation, 1943-44; tourism, 1943-45; and the Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals ("Black List"), 1945-46. Correspondence concerning visits to the United States by Latin American transportation officials, 1945-46. Reports and news clippings, 1943-46.

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229.5.2 Records of the Air Transportation Division

Textual Records: General correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1941-46.

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229.5.3 Records of the Ocean Shipping Division

Textual Records: General correspondence and information file, 1940-45. Records relating to exports, imports, and shipping, 1941-44. Records of the consultant, 1943-46.

Maps (55 items): Manuscript, blueprint, and published maps, mostly of South American countries and cities, n.d. SEE ALSO 229.11.

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229.5.4 Records of the Railway Transportation Division

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1942-46. Records relating to railway missions and technicians, including U.S. mission to Mexico, 1942-47; and to export of materials for Mexican railroads, 1943-46. Communications sent relating to railway missions, 1942-46. Correspondence regarding orders for railway equipment, 1942-46. Correspondence with the chief of the mission in Mexico, 1942-45. Monthly progress reports of the mission in Mexico, 1942-46; and of the departments of the mission to the mission chief, 1943-46. Digests of progress reports, 1942- 43. Monthly progress graphs, 1943-45.

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229.5.5 Records of the U.S. Railway Mission in Mexico

Textual Records: General records, 1943-46, with index. General correspondence, 1942-44. Records and correspondence of the chief, 1942-46. Records relating to activities of the mission departments, 1943-46. Records relating to surveys and rehabilitation projects, 1943-45; procurement of materials, ca. 1942-45; and Mexican trainees, 1944. Inventories of railroad cars, n.d. Locomotive repair records, 1944. Railroad profiles and repair schedules, 1943-44.

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229.6 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION
1940-50
129 lin ft.

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229.6.1 Records of the Motion Picture Division

Textual Records: Project files, 1942-45. Records relating to the Motion Picture Society of the Americas, 1942-45.

Motion Pictures (45 reels): Travel and archaeology in Latin America, U.S. civilian and military wartime activities, Latin American contributions to the war effort, and visits of Latin American dignitaries to the United States, acquired by or produced for the OIAA for distribution in the United States and Latin America, 1940-45.

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229.6.2 Records of the Radio Division

Textual Records: Report reviewing division operations, 1945. Radio reaction reports, ca. 1942. Miscellaneous reports and issuances, 1941-43. General records of the San Francisco office, 1942-46. Logs and schedules of the San Francisco office, 1942-46. Radio program scripts, 1941-45.

Sound Recordings (24 items): Radio broadcasts to Latin America, mostly in Spanish, of news reports and commentaries, speeches, and special ceremonies, 1941-47.

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229.6.3 Records of the Education Division

Textual Records: Project files, 1941-50. Records relating to field operations, 1944-50; and to exhibits and related projects, 1941-43. Confidential program files, 1946-49. Reports and other records, 1940-42.

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229.6.4 Records of the Regional Division

Textual Records: Minutes of the coordination committees (unpaid businessmen who provided guidance in adapting OIAA programs to local conditions and executed programs not appropriately handled by the embassy), 1942-45; and communications received from them, 1942-45, with register. Samples of local printing, 1943-45. Records of the coordination committees for Argentina, 1941-45; Brazil, 1941-46; Colombia, 1941-47; Costa Rica, 1942-45; Cuba, 1942-46; Dominican Republic, 1942-44; Ecuador, 1942-45; Guatemala, 1942-45; Haiti, 1942-45; Nicaragua, 1942-47; Panama, 1942-45; Peru, 1941-46; Uruguay, 1942-46; and Venezuela, 1942-46. Records of the regional subcommittee for Cartagena, 1942-45.

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229.7 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS
1940-46
12 lin. ft.

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229.7.1 General records

Textual Records: Correspondence, memorandums, reports, press clippings and other records, 1941-45. Press releases, 1940-43.

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229.7.2 Records of the Feature Division

Textual Records: Weekly reports, 1942-46. Press clippings, 1942- 45.

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229.7.3 Records of the Graphics and Publications Division

Textual Records: En Guardia, 1941-45, with indexes. The American Newsletter, 1941-43. The New York Times Overseas Weekly, 1943-45.

Posters and Drawings (79 images): Posters, drawings illustrating the common heritage of North and South America, images of Nazi rule in Poland, and drawings of 18th and 19th century Latin American leaders, 1941-45 (PG). SEE ALSO 229.14.

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229.8 RECORDS OF THE DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE
1941-43
1 lin. ft.

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1941-43.

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229.9 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC ECONOMY
1937-51
96 lin. ft.

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229.9.1 General Records

Textual Records: Special project files, 1941-51. Reports on future planning, 1948.

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229.9.2 Records of the Division of Health and Sanitation

Textual Records: Correspondence, memorandums, and reports, 1942- 51. Training program subject files, 1942-51, and country files, 1943-48. Progress reports of field parties, 1942-51. Quarterly reports of the Servicio Especial de Saude Publica, 1944, 1946-50. Records of the cooperative health program in the Dominican Republic, 1943-48.

Architectural and Engineering Plans (660 items): Structures and equipment for health and sanitation projects, including plans for water supply, drainage and sewer systems, hospitals, schools, dispensaries, and types of machinery, 1937-51. SEE ALSO 229.11.

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229.9.3 Records of the Food Supply Division

Textual Records: General records, 1943-49. Project files, 1942- 47. Records relating to motion pictures, 1943-47.

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229.9.4 Records of the Emergency Rehabilitation Division

Textual Records: Project file, 1942-44. Correspondence relating to Coordination Committees, 1942-44. Records of the El Oro (Ecuador) technical mission, 1942-44. Reports, 1942.

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229.10 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL SERVICES
1941-46
1 lin. ft.

Textual Records: Records relating to minorities, 1941-43; and to exhibits and lectures, 1942-46. Miscellaneous records, 1941-42.

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229.11 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)

SEE Maps UNDER 229.5.3. SEE Architectural and Engineering Plans UNDER 229.9.2.

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229.12 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)

SEE UNDER 229.6.1.

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229.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)

SEE UNDER 229.6.2.

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229.14 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
1942-45
3,386 images

Photographs: Military, industrial, agricultural, and social activities in Central and South American countries, and such notables as OCCCRBAR Chairman Nelson A. Rockefeller (Rockefeller Collection), 1942-45 (R, 3,000 images). Visits to the United States of Peruvian President Manuel Prado, May 1942 (PV, 120 images); Paraguayan President Higinio Morinigo, ca. June 1944 (MV, 57 images); and Gen. Enrico Gaspar Dutra, August-September 1943 (DV, 125 images). U.S. officials in Brazil, 1942-45 (AVB, 84 images).

SEE Posters and Drawings UNDER 229.7.3.


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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