Historians and archivists are excited and concerned about providing unfettered public online access to investigators’ files that have been restricted since the end of World War II.
Tag: Archives and Records
Lost Letters by Mary, Queen of Scots, Uncovered by Code Breakers
The messages, written while she was imprisoned by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, were mistakenly listed as Italian texts in France’s national library.
The Hunt for Nazi-Buried Treasure in a Dutch Village
The public release of a map from the 1940s has drawn fortune seekers with shovels and metal detectors to a small Dutch village. Not everyone is excited.
Times Past
We’re diving into The Times’s archives with the help of a professional.
Ireland Opens Decades of Secret Records to Adoptees
Thousands of people are being promised new rights to information, a potentially momentous step in a country where unmarried mothers were pressured for decades to give up their babies.
The War in Ukraine Is the True Culture War
With Russia trying to erase Ukraine’s national identity, the fight to preserve, and build upon, Ukraine’s artistic heritage has taken on new urgency.
Vatican Releases Letters From Jews Pleading for Help During the Holocaust
Pope Francis has ordered files containing requests for assistance from people throughout Europe, many of them converts to Roman Catholicism, to be made available online.
Deep in Vatican Archives, Scholar Discovers ‘Flabbergasting’ Secrets
David Kertzer has spent decades excavating the Vatican’s hidden history, with his work winning a Pulitzer and capturing Hollywood’s attention. A new book examines Pope Pius XII’s role in the Holocaust.
Stolen Darwin Notebooks, Missing for Decades, Are Returned
The two notebooks were anonymously returned to the Cambridge University Library 22 years after they went missing. A note addressed to the librarian read: “Happy Easter.”
British Rainfall Records Extended Back to 1836 Thanks to Covid Lockdowns
As Britain went into its first Covid lockdown, a scientist asked for help transcribing rainfall records spanning three centuries. Thousands of people online answered the call.