Register of the Siegfried Oppenheim papers

Finding aid prepared by Beth Goder
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, CA, 94305-6010
(650) 723-3563
© 2013


Title: Siegfried Oppenheim papers
Collection Number: 2000C27
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 4 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize box (3.9 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1934-1952
Abstract: Correspondence, orders and other military documents, photographs, and miscellany, relating to American military operations in China at the end of World War II.
Language of the materials: The collection is in English.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives
Creator: Oppenheim, Siegfried.

Access

The collection is open for research.
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.

Publication Rights

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Siegfried Oppenheim papers, [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 2000.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/. Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the catalog is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid.

Related Collections

Norwood F. Allman papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Oliver J. Caldwell papers, Hoover Institution Archives
William J. Donovan Memorial Foundation records, Hoover Institution Archives
J. Arthur Duff papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Carl Frederick Eifler papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Suzanne Norman Malloch papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Gilbert Stuart memoirs, Hoover Institution 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.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

United States. Office of Strategic Services.
Secret service--United States.
World War, 1939-1945--China.
World War, 1939-1945--Secret service.

Box-folder 1 : 1

Advertisements and menus undated

Box-folder 1 : 2

Alien registration booklet of Tillie Hopfenmain undated

Note

Aunt of Siegfried Oppenheim
Box-folder 1 : 3

Booklet for United States personnel in China 1945

Box-folder 1 : 4

Certificates from physicals, medical clearance 1945

Box-folder 1 : 5

Changchun House Haunting Company, joke advertisement undated

Box-folder 1 : 6

Clippings 1945-1952, undated

Box 1-4

Correspondence

Box 1

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-folder 1 : 7

Undated

Box-folder 1 : 8

1942

Box-folder 1 : 9

1943

Box-folder 1 : 10

1944

Box-folder 1 : 11

1944

Box-folder 1 : 12

1945

Box-folder 1 : 13

1946

Box-folder 1 : 14

1947

Box-folder 1 : 15

1948

Box-folder 1 : 16

1950

Box-folder 1 : 17

1951

Box-folder 1 : 18

1952

Box 1

Dupraw, Martin J.

Box-folder 1 : 19

Incoming letters 1943-1944

Box-folder 1 : 20

Outgoing letters 1943

Box 1

Oppenheim, Irving G.

Box-folder 1 : 21

Incoming letters 1943, 1945-1948

Box-folder 1 : 22

Outgoing letters 1944

Box 2-4

Oppenheim, Regine

Box 2-3

Incoming letters

Box-folder 2 : 1

Undated

Box-folder 2 : 2

1944-1945

Box-folder 2 : 3

1945

Box-folder 2 : 4-7

1946

Box-folder 3 : 1-3

1947

Box-folder 3 : 4

1948

Box 3-4

Outgoing letters

Box-folder 3 : 5

Undated

Scope and Contents note

Fragment
Box-folder 3 : 6

1944-1945

Box-folder 4 : 1

1946

Box-folder 4 : 2

1947

Box-folder 4 : 3

1948-1949

Box-folder 4 : 4

Letters to Regine Oppenheim from others 1934-1939, 1951

Box-folder 4 : 5

Drawing of Irving Oppenheim undated

Box-folder 4 : 6

Instructions for ditching a plane undated

Box-folder 4 : 7

Inventory for shipping 1946

Box-folder 4 : 8

Invitations 1947-1948, undated

Box-folder 4 : 9

Memoranda 1945, 1952

Box-folder 4 : 10

Miscellany 1922, 1942, undated

Box-folder 4 : 11

Notice to report for active duty 1942

Box-folder 4 : 12

Notices 1948

Box-folder 4 : 13

Notices of classification 1942

Box-folder 4 : 14

Office of Strategic Services bulletins and circulars 1945

Box-folder 4 : 15

Orders 1942-1949

Box-folder 4 : 16

Pay record, receipts, and other financial documents 1945-1949, undated

Photographs 5-6

Photographs 1936-1949, undated

Scope and Content 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.
Box-folder 4 : 17

Property turn-in slip 1947

Scope and Content Note

For External Survey Detachment #44
Box 4

Subject file

Box-folder 4 : 18

Retirement 1942, 1952

Box-folder 4 : 19

Training 1951-1952

Box-folder 4 : 20

Veterans of Strategic Services undated

Box-folder 4 : 21

Typing assignment undated

Box-folder 4 : 22

Windbag issue 1945

Note

Published by Special Services Office