George Elsey Papers | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Collection Overview
Title: George Elsey Papers
Primary Creator: Elsey, George
Extent: 1.0 Cubic Feet
Arrangement: This collection is arranged into two series: General Correspondence and materials related to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, memoranda, and other materials pertaining to George Elsey's work in FDR's White House Map Room, and to Elsey's interests and activities after World War II. Some of these materials may be duplicate documents housed in FDR's Map Room Papers. The documents are dated between 1941 and 1979 and are arranged into two series: General Correspondence and Materials related to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Collection Historical Note
George McKee Elsey was a junior officer in Naval Intelligence. He was assigned to the White House Map Room, the intelligence communications center established a few days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the years of his service there (1941-1946), he handled Franklin Roosevelt’s communications with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Chiang Kai-shek. Later Elsey decoded and delivered the report to then-President Harry S. Truman that the atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan. After the war Elsey served as a civilian aide to Truman (1949-1951) and, later, as president of the American Red Cross.
Administrative Information
Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Access Restrictions: This collection is available for use by the general public.
Use Restrictions: George Elsey has donated copyright. This material is subject to copyright restrictions under Title 17 of the U.S. Code.
Separated Materials: A map of the malay peninsula, World War II, is housed with maps in map cases.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: General Correspondence],
[Series 2: Papers Related to the White House Map Room of Franklin D. Roosevelt],
[All]
-
Series 1: General Correspondence
- This series consists of personal and professional correspondence from 1941 through 1979. The bulk of the material pertains to the Map Room or the American Red Cross. Correspondents include Admiral Brown and other naval officers, Fred Shipman as the director of the FDR Library, RIley Sunderland, and William R. Emerson.
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: General Correspondence],
[Series 2: Papers Related to the White House Map Room of Franklin D. Roosevelt],
[All]