Register of the Siegfried Oppenheim papers
Finding aid prepared by Beth Goder
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2013
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Siegfried Oppenheim papers
Date (inclusive): 1934-1952
Collection Number: 2000C27
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes
(3.7 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, orders and other military documents, photographs, and miscellany, relating to American military operations
in China at the end of World War II.
Creator:
Oppenheim, Siegfried
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
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.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2000.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Siegfried Oppenheim papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
Related Collections
Norwood F. Allman papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Oliver J. Caldwell papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
William J. Donovan Memorial Foundation records, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
J. Arthur Duff papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Carl Frederick Eifler papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Suzanne Norman Malloch papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Gilbert Stuart memoirs, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- China
Secret service -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 -- Secret service
United States. Office of Strategic Services
box 1, folder 1
Advertisements and menus
undated
box 1, folder 2
Alien registration booklet of Tillie Hopfenmain
undated
General note
Aunt of Siegfried Oppenheim
box 1, folder 3
Booklet for United States personnel in China
1945
box 1, folder 4
Certificates from physicals, medical clearance
1945
box 1, folder 5
Changchun House Haunting Company, joke advertisement
undated
box 1, folder 6
Clippings
1945-1952, undated
General, incoming letters
Scope and Contents Note
Includes letters from Bill Braden, Lewis Byrns, Chao Chih-Ke, Joe Dooley, F. T. Farrell, Vincent R. Fiore, Harrison Hsia,
Michael A. Lyons, Herbert Naas, William Rauch, Mary Lou Richardson, Rhea S. Schneider, and Frank Wernimont,
box 1, folder 18
Incoming letters
1943-1944
box 1, folder 20
Incoming letters
1943, 1945-1948
box 3, folder 5
Undated
Scope and Contents note
Fragment
box 4, folder 4
Letters to Regine Oppenheim from others
1934-1939, 1951
box 4, folder 5
Drawing of Irving Oppenheim
undated
box 4, folder 6
Instructions for ditching a plane
undated
box 4, folder 7
Inventory for shipping
1946
box 4, folder 8
Invitations
1947-1948, undated
box 4, folder 10
Miscellany
1922, 1942, undated
box 4, folder 11
Notice to report for active duty
1942
box 4, folder 13
Notices of classification
1942
box 4, folder 14
Office of Strategic Services bulletins and circulars
1945
box 4, folder 16
Pay record, receipts, and other financial documents
1945-1949, undated
box 5
Photographs
1936-1949, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes photographs of Oppenheim family, including Irving Oppenheim, and images of building, landscapes, and street scenes
in China, including in Kunming and Shanghai. Includes photographs of American and Chinese military officials and troops. Housed
in oversize box.
box 4, folder 17
Property turn-in slip
1947
Scope and Contents note
For External Survey Detachment #44
box 4, folder 20
Veterans of Strategic Services
undated
box 4, folder 21
Typing assignment
undated
box 4, folder 22
Windbag issue
1945
General note
Published by Special Services Office
