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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Accession 12-182

National Museum of Natural History. Office of the Director

Subject Files, 1998-2011

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:National Museum of Natural History. Office of the Director
Title:Subject Files
Dates:1998-2011
Quantity:1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Collection:Accession 12-182
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

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.

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.

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Preferred Citation

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

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Container List

Box 1

Institut fur Deutsche Ostarbeit (IDO) Project Chronology/Contacts/Description of Materials

Box 1 of 1

Key Documents in IDO Project, October 3, 2003-July 7, 2009

Box 1 of 1

IDO Task Force Meeting Minutes, December 4, 2003-July 12, 2004 (February 20, 2004, meeting includes National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) information)

Box 1 of 1

Correspondence between Smithsonian Institution (SI) Officials and Embassy/Jagiellonian University

Box 1 of 1

State Department (John P. Becker)

Box 1 of 1

Gretchen Schafft/Department of Anthropology/Schafft-Zeidler Register to IDO Collection

Box 1 of 1

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)

Box 1 of 1

Bundesarchiv

Box 1 of 1

David L. Evans (SI Under Secretary for Science)

Box 1 of 1

Hoover Institution Archives/Stanford University/Elena S. Danielson, Director

Box 1 of 1

Fundraising Proposals and Letters re: IDO Project

Box 1 of 1

Correspondence with Rector Karol Musiol, 2005

Box 1 of 1

Winid Meeting, October 2004; Conservation/Digitization Proposals; IDO Box Description (Bain)

Box 1 of 1

Completing the Project (2006-2008): Hedlin Contract; Jagiellonian University/Holocaust Museum

Box 1 of 1

Beth Schuster: Internship/Contract/Work Accomplished

Box 1 of 1

Digitization/Crowley and Company

Box 1 of 1

Talks/Presentations about the IDO Project

Box 1 of 1

IDO Events and Celebrations, May 1, 2007-January 2, 2008

Box 1 of 1

Closing the Case, 2008-2009

Box 1 of 1

Alma Mater, Miesiecznik Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego, numer specjalny 118, 2009

Box 1 of 1

IDO Project Materials (electronic records)

Box 1 of 1

Transfer of Custody Agreement, September 21, 2007 (Accession 15-210)

Box 1 of 1

IDO Project Materials Maintained by Edie Hedlin, 2003-2011 (Accession 15-210)

Box 1 of 1

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