Smithsonian Institution Archives

Subject Files, 1998-2011

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FA12-182
Creators:
National Museum of Natural History. Office of the Director
Dates:
1998-2011
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
The Institut für Deutsche Ostarbeit (IDO) opened in German-occupied Krakow, Poland, in 1940. The Sektion für Rasse- und Volkstumforschung (IDO-SRV) (Section for Racial and National Traditions Research) was an anthropological unit of the IDO that classified people by studying their anthropometric and genealogical information. The collection was seized by the United States and British armies after the end of World War II and given to the Smithsonian Institution on permanent loan once they were deemed of no further value for military intelligence.
In 2003, the Polish government requested this collection be transferred back to Poland. These records document the task force that was created by Cristián Samper, Director of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), at the request of the Secretary of the Smithsonian to investigate the legal, scientific, ethical, and archival issues related to the return of these records. In 2004, the task force recommended the records be returned after microfilm copies and digital surrogates had been made. In a ceremony at the Polish Consulate in New York on September 27, 2007, the IDO records were transferred from the National Anthropological Archives to Uniwersytet Jagielloński (Jagiellonian University), Krakow. (See also related records in Accession 05-091.)
These records were compiled and maintained by Ruth Osterweis Selig, Special Assistant to the Director, NMNH. Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, clippings, brochures, and reports. Some materials are in electronic format.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 12-182, National Museum of Natural History. Office of the Director, Subject Files

More Information

Notes

SI Records


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Samper, Cristián Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Osterweis Selig, Ruth Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Institut für Deutsche Ostarbeit (Kraków, Poland) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Anthropological Archives Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Uniwersytet Jagielloński Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Institut für Deutsche Ostarbeit. Sektion für Rasse- und Volkstumforschung Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anthropology Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World War, 1939-1945 Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anthropometry Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Committees Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum archives Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Natural history museums Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Natural history museum directors Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Krakow (Poland) Place Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Electronic records Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital versatile discs Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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