Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
[ca. 1940s, 1980s]
Scope and Contents:
Series I of this collection consists of the following: seven folders containing almost 200 photographs and negatives on display in the exhibit, four series of slides (two detailing the U.S.S. Midway used for background research, one detailing documents and photos of the Philippine Sea battle, and of the finished museum exhibit) and the exhibit script. Series II is a collection of images that were collected for the Sea Air Operations Gallery but were not used in the exhibit itself. It consists of 17 folders of photographs and negatives dealing with the following subjects: Pearl Harbor, Pacific battleship battles of 1942-1945, US and Japanese commanders, aircraft carriers, aces, the USS Enterprise, Guadalcanal, USMC air operations, Grumman workers, Manila atrocities, miscellaneous aircraft and miscellaneous photos. In Series I, 33 of the photograph negatives have no corresponding prints in the folders but are on display downstairs. Seven of the photos of a more graphic nature have no accompanying print nor are they on display. Series III consists of research material gathered in support of the Sea Air Operation Gallery. Series IV consists of slide images taken by Lt. William G. Lotz, USN, aboard the USS Midway circa 1989-1990. Series III and IV were merged with the exiting collection in 1998.
Biographical / Historical:
The National Air and Space Museum's Sea Air Operations Gallery details the operations of carriers and their aircraft, both of the World War II era and the present day. Featured are panels focusing on carrier-verses-carrier battles fought by the U.S. and Japanese navies during World War II: the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle for Leyte Gulf. The exhibit also highlights other Pacific missions, from Pearl Harbor, through Midway, to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 Search this
This collection consists of photo albums and loose photographs documenting Dezsö Becker's World War I aviation career, as well as photocopies of Becker's death certificate and Buchenwald Camp entry paperwork.
Scope and Contents:
This donation consists of the following material documenting Dezsö Becker's World War I aviation career: a 13 by 11 inch cloth photo album, black background with flowers; a 7 by 9 inch gray photo album; and 24 black and white photographs. The larger photo album contains images of the following: Becker; a Russian pilot and his aircraft; the hangars and officer's mess of the FliK 44; an aircraft crash; and reconnaissance images of Bacau and other sites in Romania, including the Szentkatolna Airport, the bridge over the Szeret River, and the towns of Moinesti and Doftana. The album has Hungarian captions, which have been translated by the donor. The smaller photo album contains eight autographed 5 by 7 black and white portraits of Becker's comrades in the FliK 44. The loose photographs are mostly official portraits of Becker, but there are also a few group shots of the FliK 44. This collection also includes a small snapshot of Becker's Bradenburg C.I(U) mounted onto cardboard, with autographs on the reverse. There are also photocopies of Becker's death certificate and Buchenwald Camp entry paperwork.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged by type of material. Folder titles in brackets were applied by the archivist.
Biographical / Historical:
Dezsö Becker (1896-1945), a bookkeeper by profession and a skilled amateur photographer, was a Lieutenant with the FliegerKompanie (FliK) 44 in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. FliK 44 was activated in April of 1917 as a reconnaissance unit. From May until December 1917, Becker was on the Romanian Front (Siebenburgen) and from January 1918 until October 1918, he was on the Piave Front. He was a photographer for the FliK 44, and flew in a Bradenburg C.I(U). Becker was a decorated World War Air Corps Officer; however, because he was a Hungarian Jew he was drafted into an army labor battalion in 1940, first as an officer, than as a forced laborer. He was shipped to the provinces of Hungary and later to Germany. Becker died in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, January 1945.
Provenance:
Ivan Becker, Gift, 2007, NASM.2008.0004
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Belly of the beast : a POW's inspiring true story of faith, courage, and survival aboard the infamous WWII Japanese hell ship Oryoku Maru / Judith L. Pearson
Judgment at the Smithsonian / edited and introduced by Philip Nobile ; Smithsonian script by the curators at the National Air and Space Museum ; afterword by Barton J. Bernstein
