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: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• 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
• Publication Date: February 15, 1968
• Content Type: REPORT

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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
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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 .
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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
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"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
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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-
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FORM NO. 237 Use previous editions
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