New York State War Council Office of Civilian Protection Eastern and Western District Deputy Directors' Local War Council Correspondence and Directives A4308

New York State War Council Office of Civilian Protection Eastern and Western District Deputy Directors' Local War Council Correspondence and Directives

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

The Office of Civilian Protection divided the state into three districts: Eastern District; Western District; and Metropolitan New York City and Long Island. The deputy directors of each district acted as supervisors and liaisons between the federal and state directors of civil defense activities and local war councils. This series contains the Eastern and Western District deputy directors' local war council correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, directives, and informational releases documenting the directors' supervision of and assistance to local war councils.

Creator:

New York State War Council. Office of Civilian Protection

Title:

Eastern and western district deputy directors' local war council correspondence and directives

Quantity:

7.75 cubic feet

Inclusive Dates:

1941-1945

Series Number:

A4308

Arrangement

Organized into two subseries: Subseries 1, Western District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives, 1942-1945, 3.75 cu. ft.; and Subseries 2, Eastern District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives, 1941-1945, 4 cu. ft.

Subseries 1, Western District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives:alphabetical by city or county.

Subseries 2, Eastern District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives:alphabetical by city or county, or by topic.

Administrative History

The Office of Civilian Protection (OCP) divided the state into three districts. John J. Farrell was deputy director of the Eastern District (initially called the Northern District) covering the area from Clinton County south to Dutchess County and west to Oneida County. E.G. Ziegler was in charge of the Western District, including everything west of Oneida County. Metropolitan New York City and Long Island formed the third district. The deputy directors acted as supervisors and liaisons between the federal and state directors of civil defense activities and the local war councils.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, directives, and informational releases documenting the deputy directors' supervision of and assistance to local war councils. The subjects covered in the two subseries are very similar.

Subseries 1, Western District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives, 1942-1945: This subseries contains correspondence and directives between E.G. Ziegler and local war councils, as well as between Ziegler and the state and federal civil defense organizations. These records document Ziegler's supervision of the Western District's local war councils. Topics include air observation posts, blackouts, and organizational and procedural issues. Correspondence from the United States Office of Civilian Defense, the OCP's director, members of the State War Council, and other organizations involved in civil defense work is also found in this series. Correspondence with, and directives to, the local war councils covers topics such as: the explanation of regulations and their pertinence to specific situations; operational problems; some organizations' exemptions from blackout drills; organizational and personnel changes; volunteer recruitment and training; local war councils' responsibilities to inspect local facilities for defense readiness; and disaster response.

Subseries 2, Eastern District Deputy Director's Correspondence and Directives, 1941-1945: This subseries contains correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, directives, informational releases, and a radio script which document Farrell's supervision of the Eastern District's local war councils. Topics and materials are similar to those found in Subseries 1, but also include a radio script promoting OCP activities. Informational releases and directives found in this subseries cover subjects similar to the correspondence but are more general in nature (training or meeting announcements, or the clarification of procedures or regulations) and usually were mimeographed and sent to all local war councils.