General Records of the Department of State (RG 59)
Files released in response to the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act and the Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act
At the time of the passage of the two War Crimes Disclosure Acts in 1998 and 2000, the Department of State had already transferred the vast bulk of its permanent records from 1939-1972 to the National Archives. Its most sensitive files, including its intelligence records for World War II and the immediate post-war period, had been opened. In compliance with the Acts, State Department searches for war crimes documentation included not only its paper records for its headquarters and diplomatic post files, but also the extensive electronic State Archiving System - especially for records created since 1972. The electronic search resulted in the inclusion of documents created as late as 2002.
Out of the millions of records searched, the State Department determined that an estimated 11,000 documents were responsive to the personal name and subject terms identified by the IWG. Some 3600 documents were withheld by the Department of Justice's Office of Special Investigations as directly related to its investigations and prosecutions and exempted under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act. Much of this material involved cable traffic between Washington and the field that the State Department sent on OSI's behalf. The excluded State Department material often pertains to OSI's investigations and prosecutions of individual subjects.
Select Documents relating to Nazi War Crimes (Entry ZZ-1004)
Boxes 1-34. Record location: 250/900/68/4
The bulk of the select documents relating to Nazi war crimes reflect four primary WW II issues: the continuing hunt for named war criminals, and the more recent records dealing with the recovery of gold and artwork looted by the Nazis, compensation for Holocaust victims, and investigations of individuals accused of entering the U.S. illegally by concealing their Nazi pasts.
For more information, see the Select Documents Relating to Nazi War Crimes Scope & Content Note in the National Archives Catalog.
Select Documents relating to Japanese War Crimes (Entry ZZ-1005)
Boxes 1-7. Record location: 250/900/68/3
The bulk of the select documents relating to Japanese war crimes concern claims by different groups of people for compensation and apologies from Japan for abuse suffered during the war.
For more information, see the Select Documents Relating to Japanese War Crimes Scope & Content Note in the National Archives Catalog.
In addition to the two series of select documents, the National Archives and Records Administration's holdings of State Department records relating to Nazi and Japanese war crimes include the following:
Records of the Office of the Legal Advisor
Records of the Assistant Legal Advisor for Educational, Cultural and Public Affairs
The Office of the Assistant Legal Advisor for Educational, Cultural, and Public Affairs provides legal advice on international educational and cultural exchanges, protection of stolen cultural property, immunity from judicial seizure of cultural exhibitions, anti-lobbying, publicity, propaganda, and certain residual World War II problems involving the gold pool (Nazi gold), enemy assets, and looted objects.
- Subject Files 1943-1972 (Looted Art)
- Subject Files 1945-1997 (A1 5397)
Subject Files 1943-1972 (Looted Art)
A small portion of the records includes files relating to the recovery of cultural objects dispersed during World War II, and the programs for the return of historic objects to countries of origin. These files consist of correspondence, memorandums, and minutes of inter-Departmental committees and international conferences relating to looted art, disposition of German Libraries, settlement of cultural properties under U.S. control, and international protection of artistic and historic property. Also included are copies of Department of State Bulletin articles written by Ardelia Hall, and other reports that refer to her expert advice and guidance on these cultural concerns.
Boxes 1-7 location: 250/63/21/3
Subject Files 1945-1997
location: 150/72/01/02
Records of the Assistant Legal Advisor for International Claims
- Records relating to claims with Hungary, 1946-1968
Includes cables, claims, correspondence, inventories, ledgers, memorandums, minutes of meetings, vesting orders, reports, summaries of discussions, and other records relating to claims by Hungary and Hungarian nationals against the United States, and claims by the United States and U.S. nationals against Hungary. Most of the claims arose from actions taken during the 1930s, World War II, and the Cold War. Categories of claims by the U.S. and U.S. nationals against Hungary include claims for war damages; nationalization of property; defaulted Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian municipal, and Hungarian Land Reform dollar bonds; and a November 1951 "aerial incident" in which Hungary confiscated a U.S. Air Force C-47 and its contents after the plane either mistakenly landed, or was forced to land, in Hungary. Categories of claims by Hungary and Hungarian nationals against the U.S. include claims for property vested under the Trading With the Enemy Act, restitution for Hungarian property taken by the retreating German Army into what became U.S. occupation zones in Germany and Austria, blocked assets, transfers of inheritances, U.S. Government payments withheld from Hungarian residents, the return of the Crown of St. Stephen , and the "Hungarian Gold Train." Also included in this series is a file relating to Robert A. Vogeler. The Hungarians arrested Vogeler, an executive with International Telephone and Telegraph, in November 1949. He was charged and convicted of espionage in February 1950, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The Hungarians released him in April 1951. The series also has a few records relating to Hungarian assets vested by the U.S. during World War I, and a couple of records relating to the estate of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok. Arranged by subject. A NARA-produced box list is available.
Boxes 1-6 location: 250/63/16/04
and Box 7 location: 250/B/24/06
Records of the Bureau of Public Affairs
Records of the Office of the Historian
Records of the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold 1946-1998
Boxes 1-7 location: 250/63/21/2
All questions regarding these and other relevant records likely to be in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration should be directed to: Archives2reference@nara.gov