Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion [OWMR]



(Record Group 250)
1941-1947
189 cu. ft.

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

  • 250.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 250.2 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION May-December 1943 8 lin. ft.
  • 250.3 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION AND RECONVERSION 1941-47 174 lin. ft.
  • 250.3.1 General records
  • 250.3.2 Records of the Office of the Director
  • 250.3.3 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for War Programs
  • 250.3.4 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for Agriculture
  • 250.3.5 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for Reconversion
  • 250.3.6 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for Information and Reports
  • 250.3.7 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for Production, Stabilization, and War Liquidation
  • 250.3.8 Records of the Division of Personnel
  • 250.3.9 Records of the Office of the Commissioner for War Mobilization and Reconversion, Office of Temporary Controls
  • 250.3.10 Records of the Advisory Board
  • 250.3.11 Records of related interagency committees
  • 250.4 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC STABILIZATION 1942-47 61 lin. ft.
  • 250.4.1 General records
  • 250.4.2 Records of the Director's Office
  • 250.4.3 Records of the General Counsel's Office
  • 250.4.4 Records of the Board of Economic Stabilization

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250.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: As an independent agency by the War Mobilization and Reconversion Act (58 Stat. 788), October 3, 1944, consolidating functions of the Office of War Mobilization and the Office of Contract Settlement. Acquired functions of the Office of Economic Stabilization, 1945.

Predecessor Agencies:

  • Office of War Mobilization (OWM), Office for Emergency Management (OEM, 1943-44)
  • Joint Contract Termination Board (JCTB), OWM, OEM (1943-44)
  • Office of Contract Settlement (OCS, 1944)
  • Office of Economic Stabilization (OES, 1942-45)
Functions: Coordinated wartime and postwar economic planning.

Abolished: By EO 9809, December 12, 1946.

Successor Agencies: By EO 9809, formulation and execution of economic reconversion plans assigned to John R. Steelman, former OWMR Director reporting directly to the President; all other functions to the Office of the Commissioner for War Mobilization and Reconversion in the Office of Temporary Controls (OTC), Office for Emergency Management.

Finding Aids: Homer L. Calkin, comp., Records of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, PI 25 (1951).

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Office for Emergency Management, RG 214.
Records of the Retraining and Reemployment Administration, RG 244. Records of the Office of Contract Settlement, RG 246.
Records of the War Assets Administration, RG 270.

Subject Access Terms: World War II agency.

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250.2 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION
May-December 1943
8 lin. ft.

History: Established in Office for Emergency Management by EO 9347, May 27, 1943. Joint Contract Termination Board established in OWM by order of OWM director, November 12, 1943. JCTB became an independent agency, Office of Contract Settlement, by Contract Settlement Act (58 Stat. 651), July 1, 1944. OWM and OCS superseded by OWMR, 1944. SEE 250.1.

Textual Records: General classified file, and cross-reference file of letters sent, May-December 1943. Minutes of the War Department Procurement Review Board, July 7-30, 1943. Office files of W.R. Stark, OWM representative on the War Production Board, July-October, 1943.

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250.3 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION AND RECONVERSION
1941-47
174 lin. ft.

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250.3.1 General records

Textual Records: General classified file, 1944-46. Indexes to letters received, 1945-46. Reports on the petroleum industry, 1941-45. Miscellaneous reports, 1943-47.

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250.3.2 Records of the Office of the Director

Textual Records: General classified file, 1943-46, with indexes, 1945-46. Records of Director John W. Snyder, 1945-46; and Deputy Director Hans A. Klagsbrunn, 1945-46. Records of the general counsel, 1945-46. Records relating to legislation, 1945-46. Reports and other records relating to war statutes, 1945-47. Records of the planning adviser, 1945; the special assistant on procurement and cutback determinations, 1945-46; and the special assistant on housing and employment, 1945-46. Reports and related records on economic problems of reconversion, 1946. General classified file of John R. Steelman in his capacity as Assistant to the President following the abolishment of OWMR, 1946-47.

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250.3.3 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for War
Programs

Textual Records: General records on manpower and employment, 1944-46. General records of the planning and statistics division, 1945. Reports and statistics on armed forces and export requirements, 1945. General file of Fred Searls, Special Assistant to the Director, 1944-45.

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250.3.4 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for
Agriculture

Textual Records: Office file of Deputy Director John B. Hutson, 1942-45.

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250.3.5 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for
Reconversion

Textual Records: Records of Deputy Director Robert R. Nathan, 1945. Records of the Construction Division, including War Production Board reports, 1942-47. Records of the Foreign Operations and Stockpiling Division, including surplus property disposal records, 1945-47. Records of the Manpower and Veterans Affairs Division, 1945-46. Records of the Reconversion Programming Division, 1945-47. Office files of James R. Newman, Chief of the Science Division, 1945-46. Office files of Charles J. Hitch, Chief of the Stabilization Division, 1945-46.

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250.3.6 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for
Information and Reports

Textual Records: Office file, 1945-47, including Deputy Director's file, 1945-47. Files maintained by Charles J. Durham, including records relating to his responsibilities as clearance officer, 1945-46; as information specialist, 1945-46; and as Chairman of the Famine Emergency Committee, 1946. Correspondence with magazine publishers and editors, 1946. Press digests, 1945- 46. Records of the Reports and General Information Division, including files of information specialists A.R. Hilliard, 1945- 46, and Una Franklin Carter, 1945-47; and press releases and related records, 1944-47. Working papers used by the General Information Division to prepare policy statements, speeches, reports, and press releases ("Work Assignments"), 1945-46. Records of the Media Programming Division, 1945-47.

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250.3.7 Records of the Office of the Deputy Director for
Production, Stabilization, and War Liquidation

Textual Records: General records, 1946-47. Records relating to federal construction projects, 1946; to the Lustron-Tucker Plant controversy, 1946; and to products in short supply, 1946-47.

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250.3.8 Records of the Division of Personnel

Textual Records: Records of the Personnel Director, 1945-47. Official personnel folders, 1942-47.

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250.3.9 Records of the Office of the Commissioner for War
Mobilization and Reconversion, Office of Temporary Controls

Textual Records: General classified file, letters sent, indexes to letters received, OWMR history, and issuances, 1946-47. Records relating to common carrier and public utility rate increases, 1947.

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250.3.10 Records of the Advisory Board

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1945-47. Minutes and resolutions, 1945-47. Records relating to Report on Guaranteed Wages (1947), 1945-47.

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250.3.11 Records of related interagency committees

Textual Records: General records of the Committee on Carbon Black, including records of the Senate Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (Mead Committee), 1942-45, and War Production Board records on carbon black, 1943- 45. General records of the Committee to Coordinate the Export of Civilian Supplies, 1944-46; the Policy Committee on Rubber, 1945- 46; and the Reconversion Working Committee, 1945-47.

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250.4 RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC STABILIZATION
1942-47
61 lin. ft.

History: Established by EO 9280, December 5, 1942, to control wartime inflation and reduce economic dislocation. Abolished by EO 9620, September 20, 1945, with functions to OWMR. Reestablished in OEM by EO 9699, February 21, 1946. Transferred to OWMR as Office of Stabilization Administration by EO 9762, July 25, 1946. Consolidated with OWMR in OTC by EO 9809, December 12, 1946.

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250.4.1 General records

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1942-1946. Correspondence relating to price stabilization, 1942-46; and price controls and subsidies, 1946-47, with indexes. Letters sent, 1946. History project papers, 1947.

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250.4.2 Records of the Director's Office

Textual Records: General file of OES Director Chester Bowles, 1943-46. General records of OES Director William H. Davis and Stabilization Administrator John C. Collet, 1945-46. Records relating to the OWMR Advisory Board, 1945. Records relating to construction, 1945-46. Records relating to commodities, decontrol, housing and building materials, food problems, and textiles and clothing, 1946. Records of economic adviser Walter Salant, 1945-46. Directives, press releases, and issuances, 1942- 46. Office files of the Chief of Information, 1945-46.

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250.4.3 Records of the General Counsel's Office

Textual Records: General records, 1944-46. Records relating to stabilization policy, and wage and salary matters, 1945-46. Records relating to the National War Labor Board, including compliance case files, 1944-46, and referrals, 1945-47; wage- price case files, 1943-46; and seizure case files, 1944-46.

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250.4.4 Records of the Board of Economic Stabilization

Textual Records: General records and minutes, 1942-46.


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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