Social Sciences
National Archives Meets Hollywood: Shares Records Behind UNBROKEN!
Free screening, document display, and article highlight National Archives? connection
Washington, DC
Special free screening of UNBROKEN
Tuesday, February 10, at 7 PM, William G. McGowan Theater
Major Japanese newspapers and commentators such as the Yomiuri Shimbun identify Unbroken as a "novel" and think the movie will heighten anti-Japanese sentiment. This view is part of rightwing campaign in Japan to re-interpret the war and depict its victims as liars. The National Archives will open an exhibit to take on this denier history on February 5th.
- Sourcing Misinformation From Japan's Rightwing
Denying cannibalism by Japanese troops is popular trope used by Japan's Rightwingers to discredit the book and film Unbroken. The net-uyoku have accused the author of Unbroken of spreading a lie about Japanese having a ?custom? of cannibalism....
- Defending Women's Words
The Daily Telegraph in "Japan's nationalists attack Angelina Jolie war film" quoted my observation on these Japanese right-wing attacks on Louis Zamperini. The Rightists contend that he exaggerated the brutality of his experience as POW...
- Louis Zamperini Unbroken
On July 3rd, Louis Zamperini died. He had faced death many times as a young man. And defied the "odds" many more. As a POW of Japan he was beaten, starved, experimented upon, and dehumanized. It was with God's grace that he survived to be 97. You...
- The Date That Will Live In Infamy
President Obama's Proclamation In the wake of the bombing of our harbor and the crippling of our Pacific Fleet, there were those who declared the United States had been reduced to a third-class power. But rather than break the...
- The History Issues
TAIWAN?S COMFORT WOMEN: AN UNTOLD STORY. 5/4, 3:30-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: CNAPS Brookings. Speaker: Sandy Yu-Lan Yeh, CNAPS Visiting Fellow, Taiwan. RECONCILIATION AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY ON WAR CRIMES. 5/4, 10:30am, Washington, DC. Sponsor:...
Social Sciences
Exhibition of Archival Documents Supporting Unbroken
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National Archives Meets Hollywood: Shares Records Behind UNBROKEN!Free screening, document display, and article highlight National Archives? connection
Washington, DC
Special free screening of UNBROKEN
Tuesday, February 10, at 7 PM, William G. McGowan Theater
Major Japanese newspapers and commentators such as the Yomiuri Shimbun identify Unbroken as a "novel" and think the movie will heighten anti-Japanese sentiment. This view is part of rightwing campaign in Japan to re-interpret the war and depict its victims as liars. The National Archives will open an exhibit to take on this denier history on February 5th.
Join the National Archives in downtown Washington for a free screening of the film UNBROKEN (2014; 137 minutes; trailer), based on the 2010 book by Laura Hillenbrand, UNBROKEN: A World War II Story of Survival Resilience and Redemption. The film, a World War II action drama, was produced and directed by Angelina Jolie and stars Jack O'Connell, Takamasa Ishihara, and Domhnall Gleeson. Presented in partnership with NBCUniversal and in conjunction with the UNBROKEN Featured Document display, February 5 through March 4, 2015.
Register online or call 202-357-6814. Theater doors will open 45 minutes prior to start time. Walk-ins without reservations will be admitted 15 minutes prior to start time, depending on available seats. Attendees should use the Special Event entrance on Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW.
UNBROKEN Featured Document Display*
February 5 through March 4, 2015, National Archives East Rotunda Gallery
The National Archives welcomes UNBROKEN with a special display of Olympian Louis "Louie" Zamperini?s wartime service records and his Purple Heart, which he gave to UNBROKEN author Laura Hillenbrand. The display is free and open to the public at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW.
On May 27, 1943, Army Air Force bombardier Louis ?Louie? Zamperini?s B-24 airplane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louie survived 47 days at sea, only to be taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. His fate unknown, Louie was declared dead a year and a day after his plane went down. His family received a condolence letter from President Franklin Roosevelt and a Purple Heart medal for ?wounds that resulted in his death.? Against all odds, Zamperini survived and was liberated at the end of the war. The National Archives Museum?s ?Featured Documents? exhibit is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation.
Display highlights include:
The National Archives holds hundreds of millions of records created or received by the U.S. Government during World War II, including the original records of hero Louis Zamperini. See:
Air Crew Report on the disappearance of the Green Hornet, Zamperini's B-24 plane.
Smithsonian.com ?Deep Dive? on the Air Crew Report that includes an interview with archivist Eric VanSlander.
National Archives blog post ?Louis Zamperini: The Story of a True American Hero.?
The East Rotunda Gallery and William G. McGowan Theater are located in the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Metro accessible on Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. To verify the date and times of the programs, call the National Archives Public Programs Line at: 202-357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online.
* Please note: a July 12, 1973, fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) of Army and Air Force service members, including Zamperini?s file. In reconstructing his service record, official copies of these original records were incorporated into Zamperini?s OMPF by the National Archives.
Register online or call 202-357-6814. Theater doors will open 45 minutes prior to start time. Walk-ins without reservations will be admitted 15 minutes prior to start time, depending on available seats. Attendees should use the Special Event entrance on Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW.
UNBROKEN Featured Document Display*
February 5 through March 4, 2015, National Archives East Rotunda Gallery
The National Archives welcomes UNBROKEN with a special display of Olympian Louis "Louie" Zamperini?s wartime service records and his Purple Heart, which he gave to UNBROKEN author Laura Hillenbrand. The display is free and open to the public at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW.
On May 27, 1943, Army Air Force bombardier Louis ?Louie? Zamperini?s B-24 airplane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louie survived 47 days at sea, only to be taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. His fate unknown, Louie was declared dead a year and a day after his plane went down. His family received a condolence letter from President Franklin Roosevelt and a Purple Heart medal for ?wounds that resulted in his death.? Against all odds, Zamperini survived and was liberated at the end of the war. The National Archives Museum?s ?Featured Documents? exhibit is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation.
Display highlights include:
-Letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Zamperini Family after Louis was mistakenly declared deceased, May 28, 1944.* National Archives at St. LouisOnline resources: Zamperini?s Paper Trail at the National Archives
-Certificate awarding the Purple Heart medal to Louis Silvie Zamperini after he was mistakenly declared deceased, October 12, 1944.* National Archives at St. Louis
-Purple Heart medal awarded to Louis Silvie Zamperini, ca. 1944. Courtesy of Laura Hillenbrand, author "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," who received it as a gift from Louis Zamperini.
The National Archives holds hundreds of millions of records created or received by the U.S. Government during World War II, including the original records of hero Louis Zamperini. See:
Air Crew Report on the disappearance of the Green Hornet, Zamperini's B-24 plane.
Smithsonian.com ?Deep Dive? on the Air Crew Report that includes an interview with archivist Eric VanSlander.
National Archives blog post ?Louis Zamperini: The Story of a True American Hero.?
The East Rotunda Gallery and William G. McGowan Theater are located in the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Metro accessible on Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. To verify the date and times of the programs, call the National Archives Public Programs Line at: 202-357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online.
* Please note: a July 12, 1973, fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) of Army and Air Force service members, including Zamperini?s file. In reconstructing his service record, official copies of these original records were incorporated into Zamperini?s OMPF by the National Archives.
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William G. McGowan Theater
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Directions
Visitor's Guide
William G. McGowan Theater
See More Related Documents and Images
- Sourcing Misinformation From Japan's Rightwing
Denying cannibalism by Japanese troops is popular trope used by Japan's Rightwingers to discredit the book and film Unbroken. The net-uyoku have accused the author of Unbroken of spreading a lie about Japanese having a ?custom? of cannibalism....
- Defending Women's Words
The Daily Telegraph in "Japan's nationalists attack Angelina Jolie war film" quoted my observation on these Japanese right-wing attacks on Louis Zamperini. The Rightists contend that he exaggerated the brutality of his experience as POW...
- Louis Zamperini Unbroken
On July 3rd, Louis Zamperini died. He had faced death many times as a young man. And defied the "odds" many more. As a POW of Japan he was beaten, starved, experimented upon, and dehumanized. It was with God's grace that he survived to be 97. You...
- The Date That Will Live In Infamy
President Obama's Proclamation In the wake of the bombing of our harbor and the crippling of our Pacific Fleet, there were those who declared the United States had been reduced to a third-class power. But rather than break the...
- The History Issues
TAIWAN?S COMFORT WOMEN: AN UNTOLD STORY. 5/4, 3:30-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: CNAPS Brookings. Speaker: Sandy Yu-Lan Yeh, CNAPS Visiting Fellow, Taiwan. RECONCILIATION AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY ON WAR CRIMES. 5/4, 10:30am, Washington, DC. Sponsor:...