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late as the 1990s. Distrustful of the Agency, many American politicians have demanded the release of all CIA records dealing with Nazis and their collaborators. (U)
The Nazi war criminal investigations are now the longest-running examination in the CIA's history. Decades after the end of World War II, controversies about the Agency's role linger. Most, but not all, of the records of the Office of Strategic Services and the Strategic Services Unit have been declassified and released to the National Archives. The US Government, however, retains control of countless other records from the early Cold War period. Until all of this information is available to the public, the Agency will continue to defend its past in the face of suspicion, intrigue, and guesswork. (U)
In researching and writing this study, the author would like to acknowledge the support and patience of J. Kenneth McDonald, [ ], chief historians of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1991 to 2002. As pressure mounted for the Agency to reveal its relations with Nazi war criminals, Ken McDonald assigned me to write a history of the period in 1992. As a newly minted Ph.D. and CIA historian who had joined at the end of the Cold War, the Nazi war criminal project has proven both fascinating and frustrating. Little did I know that I would still be hard at work on the topic over ten years later. (U)
During this journey, many individuals have assisted me. Over the years, my colleagues at the History Staff and at the Center for the Study of Intelligence have provided me with many references in the Agency's records and have graciously read the
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