W.B. Curtis, III collection
Creator(s)
- William B. Curtis III
Biographical History
William Bostwick Curtis, III, was in the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA, during the Second World War. He had been a spy behind enemy lines earlier in the war and his specialty was ordinance. Bill was the official army photographer as the first wave of US Army entered Nordhausen and, earlier, possibly Buchenwald. His rank was 1st Lieutenant at that time, but he remained in the army and eventually retired as a full colonel. He was ordered to hand over all photographs and negatives but obviously did not comply. Bill never discussed his experiences during the Second World War, but he was haunted the rest of his life by them.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Diane K. Lavett
Photographs created by William Bostwick Curtis, III (donor's stepfather) during his service with the US Army during WWII in Europe. Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Diane Lavett.
Scope and Content
Photo album: containing photographs primarily taken by William Bostwick Curtis, III (donor's stepfather) documenting the liberation of the Nordhausen concentration camp; images show victims, newly liberated prisoners, rockets and munitions built at the factory, American soldiers at work and rest, as well as general scenery; dated 1945
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation.
Genre
- Photo albums.
- Document