AN INVENTORY OF PAPERS AT THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY OF WILLIAM J. DONOVAN THE COORDINATOR OF INFORMATION AND THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
C
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
November 17, 2016
Document Release Date: 
February 2, 2000
Sequence Number: 
27
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
February 15, 1968
Content Type: 
REPORT
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PDF icon CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1.pdf330.83 KB
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. 1~' ). pproved For Release 2000/09/03QIA ffAp 2R000400010027-1 An Inventory of Papers at The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library William J. Donovan, The Coordinator of Information, and The Office of Strategic Services Prepared by: Thomas F. Troy This document has been approved for release through the HISTORICAL REVIEW PROM of the Central Intelligence A ency Date I '" '_ $ I HRP' _9 This is a TEMPORARY DOCUMENT only, for the use of DCI/HS. February 15, 1968 The record copy has been released to National Archives under the HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM. .Date HRP 9 - - 1 CCHFICc 1TIA1 0 Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/03Td R000400010027-1 This is an inventory of those papers relating to William J. Donovan, the Coordinator of Information, and the Office of Strategic Services which are held in the permanent collection at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, N.Y. The inventory was made by the writer as the result of an examination of those papers on 13-14 February 1968. The collection consists mainly of thirteen boxes of official and personal correspondence between President Roosevelt and Mr. Donovan and of memoranda, reports, and studies prepared under the latter and submitted to the President. The bulk of this material consists of the originals of those C.O.I. and O.S.S. reports of which this Agency presumably has copies; the remainder are also largely originals, but the writer has no way.of knowing whether the Agency has copies. Scattered through- out are marginal notes and scraps of paper with brief messages thereon. This inventory is necessarily brief and only sug- gestive of the contents of the collection simply because a thorough identification of each document would require much more time than was available. What follows is but an outline of the four categories of the collection: the President's Personal File, the Official File, the President's Secretary's File, and a Miscellaneous File. CONFIDENTIAL . Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/03: CONSHIJALR000400010027=1 The President's Personal File (PPF) 6558: This is a 1/2" folder covering the years 1940-1945. This folder covers personal items involving Mr. Donovan and Mr. Roosevelt. The library has nothing on this personal relation- ship prior to 19'40. Typical of the contents are the following: C. A White House Memorandum, 18 March 1941, (~c>3? signed "E.M.W." reads: "Secretary Knox phoned that A. On March 25, 1940, Donovan, as President of the Paderewski Fund for Polish Relief, wrote Jim Farley requesting his help in the issuance of a stamp honoring Paderewski on his 80th Birthday. On 1 April 1940, Farley recommended to Roosevelt that the idea "would be helpful to the Polish cause". On 4 April, F.D.R. wrote Donovan; "Jim Farley swears that he knows nothing about stamps and sent this letter to me." Mr. Roosevelt than pointed out a basic flaw in the idea, namely, that a stamp issued by a Govern- ment in exile was not likely, for technical reasons, to be accepted as valid by stamp collectors. B. On April 9, 1940, Mr. Roosevelt sent Mr. Donovan a telegram.of condolence on what was probably the death of Mr. Donovan's daughter in an automobile accident. Colonel Donovan has landed in New York. Does the edge of the memorandum was: "Gen. Watson phoned Secy Knox Pres would see Donovan for 15 min on Wed morning." D. Grace Tulley wrote a Memorandum, 9 March 1945, to Miss Barrows: "General Donovan would like, if possible, to see the President sometime during the next two weeks. The President said he would see him." CONFIDENTIAL , Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 'Approved For Release 2000/09/03 ONFNIdALR000400010027-1 Official File (OFF) 4485: This file consists of 3 boxes, each 2" thick. The second and third boxes contain copies of news T bulletins issued by the Coordinator of Information for the years 1941-1942, and nothing more need be said of them. The first box, however, contains three folders of which the following excerpts are worth noting. A. First Folder (1941) 1. Harry Hopkins, 3 July 1941, expressed agreement with Steve Early that the following sen- tence should be eliminated from the press release announcing the appointment of Donovan as Coordinator of Information: "Mr. Donovan may from time to time be requested by the President to undertake activities helpful in the securing of Defense information not available to the Government through other Departments and Agencies." Budget Director Smith thought the title "Coordinator of Information" was "vague" and "not descriptive of the work Colonel Donovan will perform." fie thought "Strategic" or "Defense" ought to preceed the word "information" in the title. 2. A memorandum from the Bureau of the Budget to F.D.R., November S, 1941, has the follow- ing: "The concept of the Donovan organization, as reflected in these estimates goes beyond the scope of the activities contemplated in July when the Agency was established ...... We also suggest that, for the guidance of Colonel Donovan and the Agencies concerned, a letter or order precisely defining the Coordinator's assigned area of activity be issued. B. Second Folder (1943-1945) A memorandum from Grace Tully to F.D.R. 26 February 1942, notes that "Bill Donovan called up and asked if you would be good enough to approve his budget. lie understands that it has been passed and needs your signature." CO FI BE TIAL Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 CU1!FIiENTIAL . C. Third Folder (1943-1945) There is a note written by F.D.R. to Budget Director Smith on his memorandum of May 8, 1943: t'I think that from 35 to 40 N9 is enough." This is Roosevelt's comment on "Tile 1944 U.S.S. Budget-L?stiniates." Attached is a 7-page analysis of the Budget. U.S.S. had asked for $58,848,988 'and Smith had recommended "about $35,000,000 which is a reasonable increase of $10,000,000 over its 1943 program of approximately $25,000,000.',' The President's Secretary's File (PSF): This file consists of 10 boxes, each 5" thick. They are marked "Subject Files, O.S.S.," are Closed files, and their contents are as follows: Box No. 67 (1941-1942) 1. 3 black, 3-ring notebooks: Donovan Reports, Nos. 1,2,3, covering Dec 41 to Jan 42. 2. Study on Azores t7mismitted by Col. Knox. 3. 3 pink folders, Dec 41-Jan 42. Box No. 68 (1942) 1. 4 black, 3-ring notebooks: Donovan Reports covering Jan-Mar 42, Nos. 4, 5,6,7. 2. 4 thin, pink folders, Nos. 4,5,6,7. Box No. 69 (1942) 1. 3 pink folders: No.8 Mar, Apr 42. No. 9 9 Apr 42. No.10 10 Apr-May 42. ~yarF Si' x7L AL A11 Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022F,000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/03 i fWLITIALL 000400010027-1 2. 3 black 3-ring notebooks. No. 8 Mar-Apr 42. No. 9 9 Apr 42 No.10. Apr-May 42 Box No. 70 (1942) 1. 2 pink folders: May-June 42. 2. 3 black, 3-ring notebooks of Donovan Reports: No. 11 May 18-28 '42. No. 12 May 29-June 8, '42. No. 13 June 8-13, '42. Box No. 71 (1943-44) .1. 227 page Harvard Study "An Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler". 2. O.S.S. Reports, mostly October 1943. 3. O.S.S. Reports, March-June 1944. 4. Thin folder,containing a few items on plans for post-war intelligence organization. Especially interesting is the memo containing Jay Franklin's proposal. Box No. 72 (1944) 1. Report of Captain W.R. Mansfield, USMCR, on O.S.S. mission to General Mihailovic, 49 pages. 2. Exhibits for Reports of Captain W.R. Mansfield, USMCR, on U.S.S. Mission to General Mihailovic. 3. Organization of French Resistance. 2 copies. 4. 2" of O.S.S. Reports. t F DE TIAL Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 -Approved For Release 2000/09/03 Cd*-TIAU R000400010027-1 Box No. 73 (1944) 1. O.S.S. Reports July 1944. 2. O.S.S. Reports Aug-Sept 1944. 3. 2 pink folders: July-Sept, and Oct 1944. 4. O.S.S. Reports Oct 1944. Box No. 74 (1944) 1. O.S.S. Reports Nov 44. 2. O.S.S. Reports Dec 44. ?3. 21 different issues of the War Production Board publication entitled "War Progress". 75 (1945) 1. 1 folder marked "O.S.S. Donovan" (includes few items on proposed post-war plans.) 2. 2" O.S.S. Reports January 45. 3. 1" O.S.S. Reports February 45. 4. A thin, pink folder Jan 45 - re Vatican war-time peace diplomacy. Box No. 76 (1945) 1. O.S.S. Reports March 45. 2. Brief study entitled "Future Plans of the German Intelligence Service". 3. O.S.S. Reports April 45. Note: Box 75 contains a TS Memorandum for the President signed by,-Buxton, and dated 9 April 1945. Attached to it is the following note written by Grace Tully: GUINBENTIAL IAL Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 "Approved For Release 2000/09/0 C 22R000400010027-1 . tM 11 "These papers were found in the President's basket and briefcase after his death on April 12/45. As far as I know no action was taken on any of these matters, I assume the President was holding them to discuss with various people and take action on them at. the proper time." The memo was from "theO.S.S. representative in Berne",hand related to negotiations for a German surrender. Miscellaneous Collection In other collections of the Library's Open files are the following documents relating to Mr. Donovan: Item Location A. Donovan's Memo to?F.D.R. PSF re. T.V. Soong's request 1-9-42 that the Donovan transmit attached tel from Chiang 1-7-42 KAI-SHEK B. Memo of a message from Col. PSF Donovan re the Spanish Embassy. Spain Dec 1941? C. George VI remarks concerning Donovan's expected visit PSF with news of the Balkans GT/Brit 2-14-41 D. Lincoln MacVeagh's letter to the President reporting on PSF Donovan's mission to Europe Greece and the Near East. 1-19-41 E. Donovan's letter enclosing PSF one from Lord Mountbatten GT/Brit inquiring about the proposed 3-25-43 invitation from the American 3-9-43 Red Cross to Lady Mountbatten. 3-30-43 4-12-43 -6- Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/ocomil k`N22R000400010027-1 Item Location F. Gen Marshall's memo PSF(S) to F.U.R. on a sug- Marshall gestiori of Gen. Sikorski's k(April 42?) 'concerning a general staff', mentioning Col. Donovan's committee and a recommenda- tion concerning it from the JCS. G. Knox's views on Donovan as PSF a possible Se/War, etc. Navy: Roosevelt's reply. 12-15-39 12-29-,.39 1-17- Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : CIA-RDP84-00022R000400010027-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/03 : DP84-OOQ?2R000400010027-1 Approved SENDER WILL CHECK CLASSIFICATION TOP AND BOTTOM UNCLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL SECRET OFFICIAL ROUTING SLIP TO NAME AND ADDRESS DATE INITIALS ~--~ 2 3 4 5 6 ACTION DIRECT REPLY PREPARE REPLY APPROVAL DISPATCH RECOMMENDATION COMMENT FILE RETURN CONCURRENCE INFORMATION I NATURE Remarks: 6r+^- FOLD HERE TO RETURN TO SEND C-0 _:r-: FROM: NAME. ADDRESS AND PHONE NO.- DAT or X10?_ 0, a ease D : CIA R[ f9WAG= X000 00 12-1 10 ItT FORM NO. 237 Use previous editions 1-67 237