Miracle in Berlin

By David Von Drehle
Washington Post deputy opinion editor and columnist 

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 marked an epoch in world history. It signaled the end of the Cold War and a victory of free societies over totalitarianism. But that day would never have come without the resolute decision of Harry S. Truman to save an outpost of freedom in Berlin four decades earlier. And Truman’s decision would not have been possible without the strength of the U.S. aircraft industry to deliver on his promise. This partnership produced a transformative event in aviation history, when, against all odds, a major city was entirely supplied by air for more than a year.  Read More

How Truman Became the Nominee for Vice President

Harry Truman did not want to be Vice President and he wasn’t shy about saying so to anyone who asked him, from his colleagues in the Senate to members of his family. “It is funny how some people would give a fortune to be as close as I am to it and I don’t want it,” he wrote to Margaret on July 9, 1944, just 12 days before he would ultimately accept the Democratic Party’s nomination.

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No Mail, Low Morale: The 6888th Central Postal Battalion

“No mail, low morale,” or so the motto goes. Even before the founding of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, the mail was piling up for the soldiers serving during World War II. The ever changing locations, duty stations, and movements caused a logistical challenge for getting the mail delivered on time.

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The Watchdog

How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two

By Steve Drummond

Winner of the 2024 Harry S. Truman Book Award

EXCERPT FROM THE WATCHDOG

Portland, Oregon, January 16, 1943

SATURDAY NIGHT WAS QUIETER THAN USUAL in war-booming Portland. A cold snap on Friday had killed two people in a storm that brought high winds and left a thin blanket of snow across the city. Temperatures were expected to sink into the low twenties.

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Address on the Occasion of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty: April 4, 1949

On April 4, 1949, the U.S. entered into its first peacetime military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty. After Secretary of State Dean Acheson signed the treaty, President Truman addressed the crowd. “In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression–a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens.”

Read on for more from President Truman’s address after the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. For the accompanying historic sound recording, click here.

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A Q&A With Washington Post Columnist David Von Drehle

KANSAS CITIANS ARE WILD ABOUT HARRY, perhaps none more so than David Von Drehle. A journalist, New York Times best-selling author, and lifelong history enthusiast, Von Drehle initially became involved with the Truman Library and Truman Library Institute more than a decade ago. Now, he is serving as Honorary Chair for the 25th annual Wild About Harry gala, a night celebrating the legacy of Harry Truman while raising vital funds for civics education at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum.

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First Family Stories

By Clifton Truman Daniel

“Margaret and Jack”

MY MOTHER, Margaret Truman Daniel, wasn’t much impressed by politics and politicians.

This was almost certainly a case of familiarity breeding contempt. Titles and position meant little to her, even when she was sitting in the White House.

During the early 1950s, while she pursued a singing career in New York, Mom kept an apartment at the Carlyle Hotel at the corner of Madison and 76th. My grandparents stayed there a few times, as well.

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Margaret Truman in the White House

By Natalie Alms

On June 11, 1945, nearly two months into his presidency, Harry Truman wrote to his daughter Margaret: “you evidently are just finding out what a terrible situation the President’s daughter is facing … so you must face it. Keep your balance and go along just as your dad is trying to go.”

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President Truman’s “Fair Deal” Speech

On January 5, 1949, President Harry S. Truman announced, in his State of the Union address, that every American has a right to expect from our government a fair deal. Truman’s “Fair Deal” was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union address. This single historic speech encapsulates the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953.

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The Truman Library Institute is pleased to announce the awardees of its Fall 2023 Research Grants. Grants of up to $2,500 are awarded twice annually to offset the cost of conducting research at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum.

This grant cycle will assist scholars advancing research on such topics as American intelligence, the U.S. Armed Forces, the history of humanitarian aid, foreign policy, national security and our American political system.

Together, these grants will ultimately help deepen the public understanding of our critical past and serve to illuminate issues of national and global significance today and in the years to come. Read More