Researchers undertake the massive task of recreating millions of torn-up records that the East German secret police hoped to destroy.
Tag: Archives and Records
Ashes of Hideki Tojo, Japan’s Wartime Leader, Were Secretly Scattered at Sea
The location of the remains of the wartime Japanese prime minister had been a puzzle. Now, documents reveal that U.S. forces secretly scattered his ashes into the Pacific Ocean.
The Guardians of Australia’s Memory Try Crowdfunding
The National Archives’ funding crisis has sparked a discussion about whether we undervalue our country’s history.
Article on Fourth Grader in ’60 Inspires Journalism Class
Sixty years ago, a Times article described one girl’s wish to find a pen pal. A journalism class investigated how the story ended.
Wildfire Deals Hard Blow to South Africa’s Archives
The fire, which began Sunday and is still being fought, ravaged a library that housed first-edition books, films, photographs and other primary sources documenting Southern African history.
Cambodians Demand Apology for Khmer Rouge Images with Smiling Faces
An Irish artist colorized portraits of Cambodian prisoners who were tortured, starved, beaten and killed. In some cases, he doctored the images to put smiles on their faces.
France Has ‘Overwhelming’ Responsibility for Rwanda Genocide, Report Says
The report, commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, found that France’s colonial mind-set had blinded it to the atrocity. The authors, though, cleared France of complicity.
Salvaged From 1941 Shipwreck, Letters Reveal Wartime Love and Sacrifice
For over 70 years, the letters lay undisturbed in the wreckage of the S.S. Gairsoppa, sheltered from the ravages of ocean currents by well-positioned mail bags. Now, conservators are piecing together these undelivered messages from the past.
How a Historian Got Close, Maybe Too Close, to a Nazi Thief
Over nearly a decade, Jonathan Petropoulos met dozens of times with a man who helped the Nazis loot Jewish art collections, a complicated relationship he explores in “Göring’s Man in Paris.”
The ‘Detective Work’ Behind a War Novel
Maaza Mengiste spent years on “The Shadow King,” not only writing but also learning Italian, living in Rome and amassing an archive of historical photography that informed her book.