Harvard und das Office of Strategic Services. Ein akademischer Beitrag zu einem freien und unabhängigen Österreich

Abstract

When the tide turned in favor of the Allies in the Second World War, preparations for the denazification and redemocratization of Europe began as the war progressed. These preparations posed significant challenges for the US authorities, as they had to rely on local people in the liberated areas for administrative tasks in the immediate postwar period. The Office of Strategic Services was commissioned to collect the relevant information to ensure the best possible selection of pro‐democratic individuals. The OSS in turn used a group of Harvard University employees who had opposed the Nazi regime before the United States entered the war and were well networked with the OSS on the one hand and possible academic informants on the other. They worked together on the Biographical Records Project and other intelligence projects that should contribute to the liberation and re‐democratization of Europe.