FOREIGN DOCUMENTS BRANCH SCREENING TEAM TO EUROPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00706R000200020093-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 25, 2003
• Sequence Number: 93
• Publication Date: May 20, 1948
• Content Type: MEMO

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Assistant Director, 00
Chief, Foreign Documents Branch, 00
Foreign Documents Branch Screening Team to Europe
References Administrative Instruction 60-2, 2 March 1948
20 May 1948
intelligence information reports compiled and published by the
Foreign Documents Branch of 00 are the product of research and }rane-
lation on the basis of foreign language written material. Since there
is almost no information on Russia and her Satellites available in this
untry in the English language, it follows thet the necessary data,
both basic and current, must be obtained from foreign language sources.
The meet fruitful and comprehensive of these are naturally those that
were produced by the antagonists of Russia in the late wars--Germany
and Japan, together with that Russian material, past and present, which
can be procured. The German Documents contain a mass of detailed in-
formation which was built up through the work of special organizations
over a period of years in both peace and w
n not only pro-war
Russia, but also on the territory recently annexed by her or brought
under her control and must, for purposes of considering Russia's war
potential, be given equally serious and detailed consideration. Fir
example; there are approximately 500 tons of documents }eld in Berlin
of which only about 15 tons are now ear--marked for removal. Many
hundreds of tons of documents are held by War Crimes, Military Govern-
meat, Intelligence Agencies and various other projects. The partial
exploitation of these has always been for a single purpose. They have
never been completely exploited and still contain much of real value.
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An exceedingly large amount of basic industrial, transportation,
economic, geodetic, meteorological, mineral and many other categories
of muchly needed data has been extracted from the German documents
already received and exploited.
2. Many reports of large holdings of documents in Europe have
been frequently received for the past year. However, the multiform
documents received at the German Military Document Center in the
pentagon and screened by this branch indicate two facts; first, that
doc=ents are being returned to the US withou due regard to their
value, many being very low grade in character; and secondly, that
many valuable documents are still ooresent in the European Theater.
3. It has been apparent for a period of many months that some
aggressive and definite action should be taken in connection with the
documents in foreign languages that are now reposing in Europe. The
problem presented was c`Aiefly due to the great number of documents in
Europe, their wide dispersal and the large number of agencies claiming
ownership or custodianship. It can be safely assumed that the greater
of the documents would fall into a few general classifications:
A. Those which are of basic intelligence value to some agency
of the United States Government.
Those which are of immediate current value to the occupying
forces so long as the occupation may last.
Those whose possession by an enemy power would be detrimental
to the United States.
Those whose possession by an enemy power might result in
undue hardship to the citizens of the occupied countries.
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9. Those which should be retained for later transfer to a
permanent German civil government.
Those of a cultural, educational or historic value which
should be immediately returned to private German interests
or institutions
4. Since all the documents in European Theater are, by order, the
property of the Theater Commander, preliminary conversations were held
with the Documents Office of the Intelligence Division, Department of
the Army, in regard to the matter of determining final disposition of
the above records, Several months ago it was thought probable that a
number of organizations, among them gar Crimes, for example, would
suddenly discover during the summer of 1948 that they had no further
use for the majority of the foreign language documents then in their
possession. Informal conversations inaugurated with ID developed the
need to determine a method of sorting out the valuable documents from
among the gr_~at mass of material and of determining the order of pre-
cedence for their return to the United States. Before these converse-
tions had lead to a concrete proposal the recent periods of international
emergency arose,in Berlin with threats of drastic action at other points.
These conditions caused the subject to be speedily reopened and a con.-
crete proposal made. Lt. Colonel Ligon, ID, Department of the Army,
ascertained that the Navy and the Air Force have no further interest
in the documents in the European Theater, The State Department, the
Department of the Army and CIA each have a considerable interest in
these documents. State Department and the Department of the Army have
signified their willingness to have the Foreign Documents Branch
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Screening Group represent them in all matters in connection with the
selection and the return of documents to the United States. The
reason for this is that the two departments know that the Foreign
Documents Branch will be the organization which will exploit the
selected documents for them and that as IAC members, they will re-
ceive the end products of all exploitation or translation done within
CIA, The two departments also admit that the Foreign Documents Branch
is much better qualified than they are for this proposed task in the
following respects:
A. FDB by reason of its long experience working with and
its constant survey of, all foreign language material
coming into Washington, in in much the beet position
to judge what material is needed to fill IAC require-
ments and which material would be merely duplication
of that already worked over by intelligence agencies
than would representatives of theirs who are special-
ists in one field only.
B. That due to personnel losses in the German Document
Section of the War Department and in the Research
Section of the State Department neither of them have
qualified screening personnel.
Both State and Army will attach representative personnel, to the screening
group from among their people now stationed in Germany.
5. It is, therefore, recommended that a project ':ye approved for
the sending of a small selected screeninr, team composed of members of
the FDB/CO of CIA to the European Theater to make final disposition
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of all foreign language documents held there that might be of interest
to any government agency.
6. The personnel proposed for this screening group and the reasons
for their nomination are as follows:
(1)
us to his long service in 25X1 A
the intelligence field and to his present assignment as Chief of
the Foreign Documents Branch would be best qualified to make the
many on-the-spot decisions which will have to be made in the
matter of determining the disposition of the millions of docu-
ments that will be processed. Some of the decisions will have to
be made for and against various divisions and sub-divisions of
the Government and it is, therefore, felt that an officer of some
age and experience could handle these matters with more tact and
diplomacy and with the least aftermath of rancor than could a
more inexperienced mar,.
has only recently returned 25X1 A
the intelligence service, and is personally acquainted with
General Clay and General Hayes and Colonel Rodes of the head-
quarters in Berlin and General Huebner and General White and
Colonel Hill of the headquarters in Frankfort and with General
Walsh and and Colonel Schow, G-2 and Deputy G-2 of the Theater. It
is with these officers that all final arrangements will need to
I Bads German he could
also assist in the screening of German documents.
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discharged from the Army
as a captain. He is at present assigned to the Source Survey
Division of PDB. He is an expert German linguist and translator.-
For several years prior to his discharge from the Army he was on
duty in the German Military Documents Section of the War Depart-
In the course of his duties with GMDS he learned of the
nature of most of the German language documents being returned
to this country and also the repositories for many of those re-
maining in Europe. Be is in fact better qualified in the field
of German military documents than anyone now on duty with War
Department and it is for this reason that the War Department is
more than satisfied to have the team of which he is a member
make all the decisions and arrangements effecting their interest
in the documents now in Europe.
(3) A third person yet to be nominated to be selected for
his ability to read both Russian and German. While the vast
majority of documents will be found to be in German it is hoped
there will be some of them of value located tat are in Russian
or other Slavic languages. It is for this reason that it was
thought important to have one member of the party competent
in these languages.
7. Attached are copies of four radiograms that have been received
in Washington in regard to the urgency of making final decisions refer-
ence documents in the European Theater. These cables set forth very
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clearly the need for the project and the reasons for its urgency.
Also attached is one newspaper clipping quoting Brigadier General
Telford Taylor in re the closing down in August of the International
War Crimea Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany.
8.. (a) The maximum estimated time for the completion of the
project is sixty days in the European Theater.
(b) The urgency of the project is great and immediate as indi-
cated by the attached exhibits which state many documents will very
shortly be destroyed or otherwise lost unless a desire for them is
immediately made known,
9. No additional personnel for the project is required.
10. Vouchered funds are recommended as the project is unclassified.
11. (a) Total maximum estimated cost per person for the maximum
estimated stay of sixty days for an travel to and from Europe and per
dies while there, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300.00).
(b) The maximum total cost would thus not exceed $4,000.00.
This total could be considerably reduced by using U S Amy Transport
Service in lieu of commercial air transport. It must be borne in
mind that there arel if IDB who are translating German
.docuaments every day in answer to approved regt:irements. A great
quantity of material is available but the quality is poor. Much
badly needed time is consumed in screening out the worthwhile infor-
mation from the tons of useless documents now being received. To
keep the translators supplied with high-grade intelligence material
of value to the IAC agencies and to CIA for a period of the next two
years in most important as by the and of that period its worth will
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be questionable and we will be on a strictly current basis. The
information contained in the documents in Europe, decreases in value
directly with the passage of time. If the important docume
located at once and their return expedited, the intelligence infor-
mation extracted may be of great value at this time, while if the
contrary is allowed to happen, and the important doc wants are
destroyed or returned after a further great lapse of time the infor-
mation contained in them will be of little or no value.
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