Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Oppenheim, Siegfried
- Abstract:
- Correspondence, orders and other military documents, photographs, and miscellany, relating to American military operations in China at the end of World War II.
- Extent:
- 4 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes (3.7 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Siegfried Oppenheim papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The papers document the military career and family life of Siegfried Oppenheim, who served the Office of Strategic Services from 1945 to 1949. Materials include correspondence, orders and other military documents, photographs, and miscellany related to American military operations in China at the end of World War II.
The collection contains correspondence that Oppenheim sent and received during his service in World War II. Much of the correspondence is with his mother, Regine, and his brother, Irving. In their letters, the Oppenheims discuss family matters, Siegfried Oppenheim's work at the Office of Strategic Services, his experiences in China, and the procurement and shipment of various items.
Photographs in the collection include images of China and the Oppenheim family.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Siegfried Oppenheim, who was a master sergeant assigned to the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, was born in Germany in 1909 and attended Columbia University. He worked as a stenographer in New York, serving at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the Bronx and Bellevue Hospital.
Oppenheim enlisted with the United States military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in 1942 became a confidential stenographer with Major General Thomas A. Terry of the Second Service Command. He worked in the Police Department of the Military Service Bureau in New York, and was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant from court stenographer in September 1943. He was stationed at Camp Hood, Texas, in 1944 and 1945.
Oppenheim began his work for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1945. He was stationed in China during World War II, and continued his work for the OSS after the end of the war. Oppenheim also preformed duties for External Survey Detachment #44 of the United States Navy. Oppenheim died in 1998.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2000.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Siegfried Oppenheim papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563