Germany was occupied by Allied forces from 1945-1949 and divided in four sectors under control of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The United States Occupying Military Government (OMGUS) controlled all activities in the American sector, where the Library of Congress European Mission was headquartered and operated.
Ruben Peiss, the first Chief of the Library of Congress European Mission, initially recruited military intelligence personnel to assist him, including Max Loeb, Douwe Stuurman, and Jacob Zukerman. The first group of Library of Congress European Mission representatives from the U.S. arrived in early 1946. They made arrangements with book sellers and publishers to purchase books for American libraries and assisted the War Department in screening materials created by the Nazi regime. Other librarians, archivists and document experts joined the Mission and served for periods of time during the twenty month-long project.
Below is a listing of the military units where LC European Mission representatives were stationed and information on each representative.
Governor of the Occupying Military Government of the United States:
LC European Mission Main Office:
Detachments:
The roster below was compiled from the Library of Congress European Mission and Cooperative Acquisitions Project, 1942-1957 series of the Library of Congress Archives and published reports by Mission representatives.
| Name | Life Dates | Home Agency | Dates of Service | Location of Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams, Scott | 1909–1982 | Chief, Acquisitions Division, Army Medical Library | Sept. 3, 1946– Nov. 1946 |
Headquarters at Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Allen, Julius W. | 1916–2002 | LC, Legislative Reference Service | Jan. 1, 1946– Sept. 4, 1946 |
Frankfurt, helped establish Stuttgart detachment in Wuerttemberg-Baden |
| Beilhack, Hans | 1897–1970 | German Librarian | 1946 | Munich |
| Bing, Harriet | 1908–2002 | Office of Secret Service | Jan. 2, 1946– Oct. 17, 1946 |
Headquarters at Frankfurt (Fechenheim), Serials |
| Birnbaum, Henry | 1917–1999 | Military Intelligence Service, U.S. Army Administrative Assistant, Army Document Center | Nov. 28, 1945– Nov. 8, 1946 |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim), Berlin, Vienna detachments; later translator for Nuremberg Tribunal |
| Born, Maj. Lester K. | 1903–1969 | Archives Advisor, Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives (Assistant Archivist HRS) | 1945–1946 | Archivist Specialist Officer, worked with Sargent B. Child, helped coordinate archival operations at the Ministerial Collecting Center in Fuerstenhagen |
| Breitenbach, Edgar | 1903–1977 | Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives | Oct. 1945–1955 | Acting Director Munich Central Collecting Point |
| Cannon, Marie Willis | 1926– | Publications Procurement Officer, U.S. State Department, Madrid | 1946–1952 | |
| Child, Sargent Burrage | 1900–1972 | Archives Advisor, MFA&A (former National Director, Historic Records Survey) | 1945–1946 | Established archival Collecting Center in Fuerstenhagen |
| Clapp, Verner | 1901–1972 | Chief Assistant Librarian of Congress | July– August 1946 |
Berlin, Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Clift, David Horace | 1907–1973 | Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications | Nov. 5, 1945– July 13, 1946 |
Acting head of LC European Mission, Feb. 25, 1946-May 21, 1946, Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Emerson, Janet | 1925–2013 | LC, Acquisitions Department | Jan. 1, 1946– Sept. 15, 1947 |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Brig. Gen. (NLM) Fleming, Thomas P. | 1907–1992 | Assistant Director of Libraries, Columbia University; Head of Joint Committee on Importations | May 10, 1946– Oct. 10, 1946 |
British zone |
| Glennen, James W. | 1911–1973 | Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications | Aug. 1, 1945– Sept. 17, 1946 |
Deputy Chief, Frankfurt (Fechenheim), Baden-Baden |
| Groesbeck, Joseph | 1916–2009 | University of Michigan Library, Detroit Public Library | March 25, 1946– Oct. 1, 1946 |
Deputy Chief, Frankfurt |
| Hill, Richard S. | 1901–1961 | LC, Music Division | Jan. 5, 1946– Aug. 2, 1946 |
Berlin |
| Horan, Major James | 1915-1982 | Coordinator of Libraries, War Department | 1944-1947 | |
| Lerner, Daniel | 1917–1980 | Hoover Library on War, Revolution, and Peace | Oct. 14, 1946– May 14, 1947. |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim); Chief of Intelligence of the Information Control Division,1945-1946 |
| Lochner, Louis P. | 1887–1975 | Hoover Library of War, Revolution, and Peace | July 26, 1946– Oct. 11, 1946 |
|
| Loeb, Lt. Max (AUS) | 1901–1950 | Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, Strategic Services Unit, U.S. Army | Dec. 1, 1945– May 1, 1946 |
Agent, Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Lydenberg, Dr. Harry Miller | 1874–1960 | Director, International Relations Office, American Library Association | Dec. 3, 1945– July 13, 1946 |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Nachman, Lothar | 1922–1993 | Military Intelligence Service, U. S. Army, G-2 Documents Center, Berlin | July 26, 1946– Oct. 11, 1946 |
Berlin |
| Peiss, Reuben | 1912–1952 | Chief Representative in Europe Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications | Sept. 16, 1945– Dec. 17, 1946 |
Chief, LC European Mission, Frankfurt |
| Pomrenze, Seymour J. | 1916–2011 | Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives, Offenbach Archival Depot | June 6, 1947– Sept. 20, 1947 |
National Archives consultant |
| Reichmann, Felix | 1899–1987 | Librarian, Carl Shurz Foundation | 1946 | Chief, Publications Section, OMGUS, Wuerttemburg Baden |
| Sanchez, Manuel | 1908–1973 | OSS, MFA&A | 1943–1945 | purchased foreign publications for Library of Congress |
| Schacter, Daniel | 1923- | Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications | Nov. 19, 1945– July 29, 1946 |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Sgt. Schwarzwaelder, Dietrich H. | 1922–1987 | U. S. Chief of Counsel, OMGUS | May 17, 1946– Oct. 11, 1946 |
Transportation coordinator, Frankfurt (Fechenheim), directed LC European Mission warehouse and shipping |
| Stauch, Susanne | German | 1947 | Frankfurt (Fechenheim) | |
| Sgt. Stuurman, Douwe | 1910–1991 | Military Intelligence Service, U. S. Army, Third Army Intelligence Center | Nov. 29, 1945– July 26, 1946 |
Field representative, Freising G-2 Document Center, merged with LC European Mission |
| Taub, Dr. Mortimer | 1910–1965 | LC, Assistant Director for Operations of the Acquisitions Department | Oct. 7, 1946– Jan. 12, 1947 |
Frankfurt (Fechenheim) |
| Alexander B. Toth | 1918–1995 | LC, Assistant Chief, Exchange and Gift Division | 1946 | Publications Procurement Officer, U.S. State Department, London |
| Travis, Don C., Jr. | 1911–1996 | Office of Censorship | Nov. 23, 1945– Sept.11, 1947 |
Vienna; later Chief of the LC European Mission |
| Vanderbilt, Paul | 1905–1992 | LC, Prints & Photos | 1945 | MFA&A, Assistant to Archives Advisor Sargent B. Child, Offenbach Archival Depot |
| Zuckerman, Jacob | 1908–1993 | Chief, G-2 Documents Center Headquarters, Berlin Press analyst, British Embassy, Lisbon; Documents Office, Inter-Allied Committee |
Dec. 26, 1945– Oct. 1, 1946 |
Chief, Berlin |
| Zuckerman, Elfride | German | May 2, 1946 – Oct. 1, 1946 |
Berlin |
